HockeyWe were the benefactors of great stupidity

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The day the hockey world changed.  Wayne Gretzky speaks at a press conference announcing his trade to the Los Angeles Kings from the Edmonton Oilers.

The game was changed forever on August 9, 1988 when Wayne Gretzky was traded from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings.

At the time I was a goaltender for the LA Kings and could not believe that the unthinkable had happened and that we were the benefactors of such stupidity.

Days before the trade I was wandering the streets of Pickering, Ont., when I ran into Bob MacKenzie. We exchanged pleasantries and then he informed me that the Kings were going to trade for the best player in the game. I remember thinking Bob's time was up as an "insider." I remember thinking the LCBO was across the street and maybe that was the reason for his temporary insanity.

We parted company and I chuckled about the scoop. Good one! The Kings are going to get the guy who won nine Hart trophies as NHL MVP, 10 Art Ross trophies for leading scorer in the league and two Conn Smythe trophies for playoff MVP right after winning his fourth Stanley Cup for the City of Edmonton. Next trick.

On August 9 we got No. 99. Bob MacKenzie and I still talk about that conversation in a Pickering strip mall and the events that ensued a few days later. I have never doubted Bob and his sources since.

The great trade changed the game. Hockey was suddenly alive in the U.S. South. Trust me when I say it wasn't alive before that day because I was one of the guys living the dream in my yellow L.A. King's sweater. The Kings gained immediate credibility and we were instantly a top team in the NHL with the addition of single player.

The culture of the organization changed that day. Now there's a new arena and a land play around the Staples Centre that is worth a few billion dollars. It was born on August 9, 1988.

Every player on that team who had a chance to play with Gretzky had his or her career change forever. You can't play with the best player in the game and not be a more complete player. You might not have been faster or stronger but the intangible side of your game improved exponentially.

As I look back on it today there are a few things that jump out at me.

I still can't believe that the deal was made. As a team we benefited from the Gretzky influence but then so did all the other NHL owners as the game grew in the U.S. I sat beside Gretzky at training camp in Victoria, B.C., that year and we had more reporters following our camp than the Stanley Cup finals a few months before.

He answered every stupid question that was thrown at him and I spent my time getting reporters to stop standing on my equipment and invading my stall.

Those were the days, my friend.

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