Ok, so today is the 22nd anniversary of the Gretzky trade from the Oilers to the Kings. There are a ton of articles about how the trade changed the game forever.... for the better. While they don't say it out right all the articles are talking about the benefits of the trade and how it helped grow the game in non-traditional markets.
Well I'm here to talk about how much that sucks. First of all, if the trade showed anything is how much Gretzky SUCKED without his beloved Oilers. was he a great player? Of course, not denying that, he did help the Kings to the final practically single-handedly. However the Messier-led Oilers won again in 1990 AND Messier won AGAIN in NY... without Gretzky and without the oilers... Now THAT'S a great player.
Not to mention what is so great about growing the sport in nontraditional markets? Of all the canadian teams only Ott is a "recent" expansion team yet Winnipeg and Quebec have been relocated. Not to mention Quebec was on the cusp of being a force to be reckon with (the Avs won 8 division titles in a row and two Stanley Cups with their core). On the other hand what the hell have the Florida Panthers done? SQUAT. Sure Tampa and Carolina have won cups, but Carolina did it on the back of a moved franchise (I still miss the Whalers and so does Hartford) and Tampa's was a happy accident since they haven't tasted similar success since, unlike Carolina that has been a decent club with relative playoff success.
While Colorado at least gets snow, would it have killed the NHL to give Seattle a team again? How about Halifax? Does NY or Cali really need three teams? Hell Florida has two and they both suck ass and haven't done anything to "grow the market." Neither has Phoenix for that matter. The only reason people loved the Coyotes last season was because they started winning... Oh, WITHOUT Gretzky as their coach. There is no loyalty in non-traditional markets. In traditional markets people go to the games because they love the GAME. Sure who wouldn't want to have a winning team, but going to the a game is also something to do. Just like High School football games on Friday nights in small towns, so is hockey in traditional markets.
Gary Bettman has turned the NHL into a NBA clone and his mistakes are finally starting to show. Sure Gretzky make hockey cool in Cali, but what Florida and Phoenix have shown is that only because a city has over 2 million people it doesn't mean 20,000 of them are going to go see your games. quote unquote smaller markets like Winnipeg and Quebec filled those stadiums with considerably smaller populations. Not a single Canadian city has the population of the American cities housing NHL teams, yet games manage to be sold out.
Another thing that pisses me off is the focus on mindless offense. I say this, because every Aug 9th people wonder if this is the year somebody hits or breaks the 92 goal mark. Gretzky one thought that Crosby would do it, but now thinks it will be Ovi. Sure Ovi scores more goals, BUT he shoots upwards of 400 shots per season. He's playing the "one of them is bound to go in" game.
Lemieux had a 19% career shot average, Gretzky had a 17%... both their averages would be considerably higher had it not been for their last 3 seasons. Ovi... in his young career is averaging 12% and has never shot UNDER 350 shots. Crosby's average is 14% and has never shot OVER 300... My verdict is neither will break it unless Ovi becomes more efficient or Crosby starts shooting more.
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