So, why did Gretzky leave St.Louis in 1996?

[Bring Back Bucky]

I've never really understood this. The Blues, as far as I know, wanted to keep Gretzky heading into 1996-97. St.Louis had had a very nice playoff showing in '96, taking down Toronto and then being one shot away from eliminating 1st-overall Detroit despite starting their back-up goaltender (thanks, Kypreos). Even though the much hyped Gretzky-Hull combo hadn't exactly set the world on fire, they hadn't been that bad either and had been heating up as the playoffs rolled along (final two games vs. Detroit being the exception).

A couple of factors make me more surprised that Gretzky bolted: (1) the Blues had and were retaining a lot of his buddies -- Brett Hull, Shayne Corson (from Brantford, knew Wayne's family), Al MacInnis (teammates on All Star teams and Canada Cup '91), Geoff Courtnall (teammates back in '88), Craig MacTavish (teammates 1985 to 1988), and of course Grant Fuhr; and (2) Gretzky's wife is from the St.Louis area, making it seemingly a perfect place to settle in for a few years as Wayne headed toward retirement.

When Gretzky went to New York, he had to take a large pay-cut, which presumably he wouldn't have done in St.Louis.

So, why? The only explanation I've heard is from, I think, Chris Pronger (a young player then), who claims that Keenan decided to rip into Gretzky in front of the whole team one intermission during a bad loss.

I mean, certainly Keenan was a loose cannon and Brett Hull already had it in for him, which might have influenced Wayne, but Gretzky had already played quite well and seemingly happily for Keenan on two Canada Cup-winning teams. By which I mean that I think Gretzky knew what he was getting into, no surprises.

So, yeah, thinking about it now I'm actually not aware of why Gretzky wanted to leave St.Louis.

Some pretty big stretches on some of those “buddy” assumptions.

 

[Boxscore]

I remember Keenan was one of the reasons Gretzky wanted to leave St. Louis. However, I'm sure part of the decision had to do with Gretzky being a huge ambassador of the league. What better place to get notoriety after LA than the bright lights of NYC.

 

[Normand Lacombe]

Found this on youtube. Maybe Toronto was Gretzky's first choice as a free agent in 1996. Wayne's father, Walter was ill and Cliff Fletcher wanted to sign Gretzky, but was overruled by the Maple Leafs board.

 

[Bluesguru]

Once Gretzky got to St Louis, he didn’t exactly care for Keenan. He had no idea the kind of coach he really was.

But the kicker was the contract offer for 3 years at 7m. It was pulled off the table after the Blues dropped the opening 2 games in Detroit. Ha, I remember telling my friend on the phone during game 1 saying Gretzky is killing us. He had some good chances in that game and he couldn’t bury them.

But the Blues won the next 3 games of series with Wayne playing a major role in 2 of the wins.

Blues ended up losing that series but Wayne was playing with a bad back. No doubt in my mind that if he was healthy, Blues win that series.

Back to the contract being pulled, some people say it was Jack Quinn who pulled it and not Keenan. But the fact is Wayne was insulted and that really deteriorated the relationship.

 

[cowboy82nd]

I was surprised Gretzky was traded to the Blues in the first place. From what I recall, the Rangers and Leafs were attempting to trade for him, so St. Louis came out of left field.

I don't think the Leafs were trying to trade from him. There was an insert from a book I was reading (can't remember which book) where the GM asked the owner of Toronto if they should go after Gretzky, and the owner responded with " Will Gretzky help our bottom line?" The GM said no, since Toronto sells out no matter what. And with what Gretzky will cost, the owner decided against it.

 

[Supreme King]

Short and sweet, Mike Keenan.

Rumors were rampant that Gretzky and Keenan had multiple conflicts and Gretzky wanted no part of playing for him again.

Why else leave for less money????

 

[voyageur]

Once Gretzky got to St Louis, he didn’t exactly care for Keenan. He had no idea the kind of coach he really was.

But the kicker was the contract offer for 3 years at 7m. It was pulled off the table after the Blues dropped the opening 2 games in Detroit. Ha, I remember telling my friend on the phone during game 1 saying Gretzky is killing us. He had some good chances in that game and he couldn’t bury them.

But the Blues won the next 3 games of series with Wayne playing a major role in 2 of the wins.

Blues ended up losing that series but Wayne was playing with a bad back. No doubt in my mind that if he was healthy, Blues win that series.

Back to the contract being pulled, some people say it was Jack Quinn who pulled it and not Keenan. But the fact is Wayne was insulted and that really deteriorated the relationship.

Gretzky must have had some idea about Keenan as he played for him in the 1987 Canada Cup.

 

[Voight]

Gretzky must have had some idea about Keenan as he played for him in the 1987 Canada Cup.

1991 as well.

Regardless, Wayne had lots of friends around the league and surely would've known what type of coach/person Keenan was even without the prior experience of playing for him.

 

[Stephen]

Lol.

I was 27 years old and finishing grad school in 1996 and believe me NO ONE i knew was surprised, because he was NEVER EXPECTED to stay in St. Louis.

The media constantly speculated on the Blues as a stopover/segue point, "a pit stop", not a final destination.

When they lost the series, we knew what was coming next (buh-bye).

Gretzky was traded to the city and left four months later! He didn't really leave because he never moved his home there. He was a playoff rental. Full stop.

Yeah, St. Louis and Mike Keenan were all over the map with big bombastic roster changes during that time too. You look at Gretzky's landing spot in Manhattan, playing with Messier? Seems like a no brainer.

 

[MarkusKetterer]

Yeah, St. Louis and Mike Keenan were all over the map with big bombastic roster changes during that time too. You look at Gretzky's landing spot in Manhattan, playing with Messier? Seems like a no brainer.

Yea you look at that Blues team on hockeydb and the roster size is huge. Pretty much the only consistent member is Fuhr (not really, but seems like it).

 

[SettlementRichie10]

Gretzky has said he wished he’d just stuck it out in LA or returned. But the team was a joke in 1995/1996 and not doing anything to build a contender. So he made the decision to leave.