It';s been 30 years since the Wayne Gretzky trade to the Los Angeles Kings that
 sent shock waves throughout Edmonton, all of Canada, and the entire hockey
world.

This was a major event for the NHL, sparking hockey interest in the south and
west and ultimately leading to a demand for more franchises. The Ducks, Sharks,
 Coyotes, Stars, Panthers, and Lightning fan bases can all thank Peter
Pocklington's stretched budget and preemptive planning for NHL teams in their
cities.

ESPN's 30 For 30 franchise featured the trade in one of their documentaries,
interviewing all parties involved and chronicling the events that led up to and
 consequently followed the seismic trade. In the documentary, Gretzky mentioned
 that he was allowed to pick his next destination and that decision ultimately
came down to two teams: the Los Angeles Kings and Detroit Red Wings. The Kings
traded a fortune for Gretzky and the rest was history.

But what would have happened if Gretzky had chosen the Red Wings to continue
his illustrious career?If the Red Wings Had Won the Wayne Gretzky Trade

To speculate what would have happened if the Detroit Red Wings walked away with
 Gretzky as the face of their franchise, the players involved in the trade
would first need to be examined. Edmonton traded Gretzky, former Red Wing Mike
Krushelnyski, and Marty McSorley to the Kings for (another former Red Wing)
Jimmy Carson, Martin Gelinas, first round draft picks in 1989, 1991, and 1993,
and $15 million, which covered growing expenses in Edmonton.Wayne Gretzky
(Photo by B Bennett/Bruce Bennett Studios/Getty Images)

Los Angeles gave up two talented, young players in Carson and Gelinas. Carson
had just come off of a 55-goal season and Gelinas was one of the Kings' top
prospects playing junior hockey. The Red Wings' equivalent of those two players
 would have likely been Adam Oates, Petr Klima, and Joe Murphy. Oates and
Klima were just coming off of a great playoff series against Edmonton and
Murphy was a former first overall pick that still had a lot of upside at the
time.Wayne Gretzky.

In retrospect, that would have been a solid deal for the Red Wings, especially
considering who those players were eventually traded for. However, the draft
picks play a crucial role when evaluating this trade. In 1989, 1991, and 1993,
Detroit spent their first round picks on Mike Sillinger, Martin Lapointe, and
Anders Eriksson, respectively. While Sillinger did not have much of an impact
with the Red Wings, Lapointe and Eriksson did, in different ways. Lapointe
scored timely goals during the 1997 and 1998 Stanley Cup runs and Eriksson was
the key piece to acquire Chris Chelios from Chicago, who subsequently helped
the Red Wings hoist the 2002 and 2008 Stanley Cups.

Additionally, Gretzky's influence on the Red Wings would have further
consequences with draft picks. Following Gretzky's first year in Los Angeles,
the Red Wings selected Sillinger, Bob Boughner, Nick Lidstrom, Sergei
Fedorov, Dallas Drake, and Vladimir Konstantinov in the 1989 NHL Draft. If
the Red Wings had acquired Gretzky, they would have likely had a better record
and may not have been in position to select some of these critical players of
their Stanley Cup runs. Continued success could have possibly prevented the Red
 Wings from selecting Keith Primeau, Slava Kozlov, Chris Osgood, Darren
McCarty, and Tomas Holmstrom from following years' drafts as well.Wayne Gretzky
 Trade';s Impact on Steve Yzerman

Gretzky's arrival in Detroit could have spelled the end of Steve Yzerman's
tenure in the Motor City. He had been the face of the franchise and would have
had to play second fiddle to the NHL's greatest player. Yzerman could have
demanded a trade or had his development hindered with Gretzky as Detroit's top
center. Furthermore, success at that time could have allowed Jacques Demers to
remain coach for years and possibly result in the Red Wings not having a chance
 (or need) to hire Scotty Bowman, who had an enormous impact on Yzerman's
career.Steve Yzerman. (Photo by Bruce Bennett Studios/Getty Images)Final
Thought on the Wayne Gretzky Trade

It's nice to have retrospect. While it would have been great to have Gretzky in
 a Red Wings' uniform, the resulting events may not have surpassed how history
actually played out. Immediate and short-term success with Gretzky on the
roster would more than likely prevented the Red Wings from developing
long-term, sustained success through excellent draft classes. Detroit would go
on to create their own destiny and win four Stanley Cups since 1988, which is
more than any team in that time frame and four more than Gretzky has won since
leaving Edmonton.

This article was originally published in August, 2015.

The post Wayne Gretzky Almost Joined the Detroit Red Wings appeared first on
The Hockey Writers.

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