Today was the big day.
He didn't think that day would come.
The city of edmonton never though that day would come.
In fact, nobody in canada ever thought that this day would even be possible. He was the crown jewel of edmonton, of the entitre maple leaf sports landscape. Wayne gretzky was untouchable. The edmonton oilers dominated the decade with their ridiculous depth and their beautiful, free-flowing hockey. and their record-breaking exploits every season put canada on the edge of their seats.
Alas, all good things comes to an end.
The first signs of the end of times in edmonton
The writing was already on the wall. The oilers's owner, Peter pocklington, was losing money at an alarming rate, each of his business were failing one by one. The ever increasng salaries in the hockey world were taking a toll on his finances, to the point that the team was in serious financial trouble. They simply cannot keep the team together. They had to shed payroll.
The first signs arrived when andy moog was traded to boston and gretzky's close friend paul coffey got shipped to pittsburgh to join mario lemieux and the penguins before the season began. Losing a major defenseman in coffey was a hard blow to the edmonton faithful, and pocklington's money problems were becoming publicly known very fast. While the dread would temporarily be offset by the stanley cup win, their 4th in 5 years, fans knew that the dismantling of the team was inevitable.
The final swansong...?
They were bracing themselves to see the guys leave one by one. Icons like Fuhr, anderson, mactavish, kurri, lowe, beukeboom, huddy, ruotsalainen, siltanen...hell, they were even ready to see mark messier go!
But surely, wayne's gonna stay, right?
After all, he's canada's national treasure. It's like a star wars movie being bad or hulk hogan turning heel: it's inconceivable that he would play anywhere else.
Wayne, 18, in his first year as an oiler.
And that's what wayne thought, too. Sure, he got married to his beloved janet, an aspiring actress, and she didn't really like the cold weather in edmonton, but he simply couldn't imagine himself playing for another team...
That is, until he met his father, walter, two hours after he won his fourth stanley cup. He was expecting his father to congratulate him on yet another cup win, but he immediately stopped smiling once he saw him with a sad, dire look on his face.
"Wayne, we need to talk...it's about your future."
The two then met in a secluded spot inside the arena, so as not to attract anybody. That's where walter begrudgingly dropped the bad news on his son.
"Wayne, you will no longer be an oiler."
Walter explained to wayne that pocklington was shopping him to three potential suitors: los angeles, Detroit and Vancouver, with toronto and the new york rangers also being considered, due to his other businesses falling apart.
Wayne was stunned. He was gonna be traded. He tried to forget about it all by celebrating with his teammates and going on his honeymoon with janet, but the thought always haunted him.
He was gonna be traded.
After keeping it all to himself, wayne finally spilled the bean to janet, explaining his whole situation. Janet wanted wayne to go to L.A, so they can live together. His father also told him that going to the city of angels would also significantly boost hockey's popularity in the united states, something which the NHL has been dying to build so that it can truly legitimize itself among the top sports leagues in north america. Plus, L.A is L.A. he would be living in the shadows of stars significantly more popular than he was in uncle sam's country, and he and janet could raise a family in anonymity.
Vancouver? A hard no.
But there was one choice that made his heart beat faster everytime he thought about it. They were his personal choice
They were his favorite team growing up.
It was gordie howe's team...
Nobody worshipped the number 9 more than wayne gretzky (well, except canadiens fans, but it belonged to another guy.). He watched him play since he was a kid, and he got to know him up close and personal in his rookie year in the WHA. Now, he might have the chance to play for the same team that his idol built into a powerhouse in the 50s.
Alas, the post-howe years hasn't been so kind to the red wings. Years upon years of mediocrity has turned the franchise into a laughing stock in the early 80s. However, since being bought by little caesar owner mike illitch, Detroit has been building itself back up, with some fine players in gerard gallant, petr klima, adam oates, paul maclean, joe murphy, steve chiasson, the rough and tough bob probert and an amazing youngster by the name of steve Yzerman, all coache dby an energetic and passionate coach in quebecer Jacques Demers.
With such a well coached, promising team and an ambitious owner who loves the red wings like his own baby, its no wonder why Wayne thought detroit was a very tempting option. Janet, however, still prefered L.A, which is understandable.
Tlthe gretzkys honeymoon residence
After this much needed talk, the newlyweds managed to enjoy their honeymoon plentifully in the city of angels. One day, while janet was out to do some gardening, a sleepy wayne was put out of his slumber by a phone call. As soon as he grabbed the receiver and put it on his hear, he was greeted by calm, yet confident voice.
"Is this wayne gretzky?"
"Yeah, it's me. Who is this?"
"Hello, wayne! I'm mike illitch, owner of the Detroit Red Wings..."
TO BE CONTINUED...