Gretzky Trade 20 Years Later

I know I missed the actual 20th anniversary of this historic happening but I wanted to share my thoughts about it. At the time it happened I was devastated. Even though I live in Pittsburgh I was angry because the whole thing felt wrong, as if it wasn’t done to try to make each team better, it was done because of outside “force” which had nothing to do with hockey. Plus, the best player ever was going to a franchise who’s fans and support could only be termed half-hearted. So, at the time I felt sick about the whole thing.

It’s funny how time has made me appreciate the trade in more overall terms. Would there be NHL hockey in the southeast and southwest United States if the trade had not been made? The answer is no and the Kings franchise became a respectable one, not just one who had cool away uniforms. Looking back I feel like if Michael Jordan was traded to the Raptors, in his prime, from the bulls basketball would grow throughout Canada and the important growth in any sport starts with kids playing hockey. Those 6 and 7 year olds playing Pee Wee and Mite hockey today, in 20 years those are you season ticket holders and sponsors and advertisers.

So, at the time I was crest fallen that my favorite player was leaving a cool team to head to LA of all places, who I felt didn’t deserve him, but just like everything he does, it turned out that things turned to gold and Hockey in the USA would not be at the level that it is at w/out the trade. There’s plenty of room for growth but the Great One did all that he could and that’s saying a lot for someone who was the league for such a long time. Bruce McNall, wherever you are, you and Peter Pocklington helped USA hockey more then you’ll ever know.

Thanks for reading, comments are always welcome!

Howard Shapiro

Author, “Hockey Days” and “Hockey Player For Life”

www.howardshapiro.net

866.520.4286