“Treated Like Some Rock Band”: Wayne Gretzky’s Controversial Trade and Stars Like Sylvester Stallone and Tom Cruise Proved to Be a Turning Point for L.A. Kings in 1988

Wayne Gretzky’s trade from the Edmonton Oilers to the LA Kings has to be one of the biggest trades in sports history. Notably, back in his playing days, Wayne Gretzky himself meant hockey. Such was the impact he had on the game. Although even The Great One was not happy with the trade at first, his emotions changed when he saw the impact of his trade, especially when Hollywood stars like Sylvester Stallone and Tom Cruise started showing up for NHL games.

On one hand, it was the saddest thing for the Oilers, while on the other hand, it became the turning point for the Kings.

The trade that changed the course of the game

Ever since that trade, hockey has never been the same for Americans. Gretzky wasn’t the only one who was traded that day. Along with him came the defenseman Marty McSolery and the center Mike Krushelnyski. In return, Jimmy Carson, the center, and Martin Gelinas went to Edmonton Oilers.

Gretzky was brought in to rebrand the image of the sport in L.A. The owner of the Kings went on record to say, “I’ve got to do something to sell hockey in L.A., and there’s no name in hockey like Wayne Gretzky.” Before Gretzky, NBA overpowered the market in Los Angeles. The lack of craze among the fans made the NHL players feel like outsiders in their home ground.

“Even on the road in some random city, we were treated like some rock band coming to town,” said Tom Laidlaw, Kings’ defenseman, in 1988. However, bringing in Gretzky proved to be a move worth the risk. The Great One soon became the face of the sport. His popularity at the time was such that Laidlaw said, “Wherever Gretzky was is where hockey was.”

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Gretzky reignited people’s interest in the sport. Since then, the game has been slowly but steadily growing till date. Laidlaw further added that the presence of stars like Sylvester Stallone, Tom Cruise, Michael J. Fox, etc. at the games helped boost the popularity of the sport.

The Oilers fans tried to stop the Wayne Gretzky deal!

‘Upset’ wouldn’t be the right term to define how the Oilers’ fans felt when they heard about the trade. Rather, they were enraged. The fans went to extreme lengths to try to stop the trade. They threatened to cancel their tickets for the season and withdraw their support for the team forever.

Some even went as far as demanding the government to interfere and stop the transaction. They tried all they could to keep Gretzky with a Canadian team. Even Gretzky’s wife, Janet Jones, took some of the burns for it. Some fans blamed her for being the reason Gretzky agreed to be traded.

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However, regardless of the resistance, the deal still went through. Decades later, it remains to be one of the most talked about events in NHL history.

Do you think Gretzky’s trade did any good to the sport? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!