Edmonton Oilers: What If Wayne Gretzky Never Gets Traded?

There’s no undoing the Wayne Gretzky trade. But in an alternate universe, what happens if the Edmonton Oilers don’t trade him?

The Edmonton Oilers were the kings of the NHL during the 1980’s. They five titles from 1980 to 1990. However, the Wayne Gretzky trade expedited the end of the dynasty. Sure, the Oilers were still very good without him, even winning a Stanley Cup in 1990 and making it to two Western Conference Finals after that. But the Gretzky trade is still frowned upon in Edmonton.

Peter Pockington is still “He Who Shall Not Be Named” for Oilers fans, which tells you how the trade is viewed in Alberta. Even if trading Gretzky helped keep the team afloat, it sure broke a lot of hearts. Including The Great One’s.

But what if the Gretzky trade never happened? Let’s look a hypothetical alternate universe where Pockington hangs on to the NHL’s biggest star ever. Before we begin, this also means the Oilers manage to keep Gretzky around despite him having an option to become a free agent after the 1988-89 season. Here’s how the Oilers and Los Angeles Kings are affected by a mulligan of the most famous NHL trade of all-time.

Oilers

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The Oilers go on to win the 1988-89 Stanley Cup. And that’s not a bold prediction, either. Sure, the Calgary Flames were a great team. But even at their best, they struggled to overcome the Gretzky and Mark Messier combo. It took them seven games to beat Oilers in 1985-86. While Edmonton would have needed seven games to beat Calgary, it would have happened. And then we’d get the Gretzky versus Patrick Roy Stanley Cup Final the universe deserved. Except a few years earlier when both are in their outstanding primes.

This would have given Edmonton five straight Stanley Cups. That’s an unquestionable dynasty. However, it would have probably ended in 1991. But at least hockey fans would get a Stanley Cup Final between Gretzky and Mario Lemieux. The Oilers probably still break up after the 1991-92 season because they simply had too many high priced players. And an owner who had significant financial issues. But at least they etch their names in the history books before the rebuild begins. And keeping Gretzky around would have gave them a slim chance of making enough money to keep the band together.

One thing to note, though. Jimmy Carson, who came in the Gretzky trade, helped the Oilers get Adam Graves, Petr Klima and Joe Murphy, plus defenseman Jeff Sharples. That helped them win the 1989-90 Stanley Cup. They probably still win without those guys (especially if they have Gretzky and Messier), but it’s something to ponder.

Kings

Who are these Los Angeles Kings you speak of? Oh, you mean the Seattle Thunderbirds? Yup, the Kings move to Seattle after not getting Gretzky. Hockey fails to take off in California without The Great One. Gretzky carried the Kings into relevancy, so naturally, without him, they’re not relevant.

What about those three first round picks they gave up? Two of them are busts while the other had a decent NHL career. You could argue the Kings would have taken Ray Whitney back in 1991, and that would have definitely helped. 1989 though? Yikes. And what about Jimmy Carson and Martin Gelinas? The former was, at the time, a promising young player. Carson did quite well when healthy, but he had trouble staying on the ice, sadly. Gelinas was an important member of the 1989-90 Stanley Cup team, but didn’t have much of an impact otherwise.

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Of course, there’s no guaranteeing Gretzky would have stayed with the Oilers past 1988-89. Maybe the rumors about his wife Janet wanting to go to Hollywood were true. But one thing’s for sure. The Gretzky trade changed the fortunes of no fewer than two franchises. Most likely, it changed the entire landscape of the NHL.

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