"A King's Ransom" Gretzky Show

[dat's sick 1,002]

Is there anywhere to watch this online?

[toby91_ca 620]

Gretzky is the best ever offensive hockey player. While the league was not as tough, he still put up stupid point totals

I think a lot of people miss this point when dismissing some of his feats as being due to the high scoring 80s. Yes, scoring was definately high during his era, but he outscored his competition by a crazy margin....look at some of the years I've picked out:

1981 - Gretzky - 164 pts, #2 - 135 pts, diff = 29 pts (Gretzky's 2nd year in the league)

1982 - Gretzky - 212 pts, #2 - 147 pts, diff = 65 pts

1983 - Gretzky - 196 pts, #2 - 124 pts, diff = 72 pts

1984 - Gretzky - 205 pts, #2 - 126 pts, diff = 79 pts

1985 - Gretzky - 208 pts, #2 - 135 pts, diff = 73 pts

1986 - Gretzky - 215 pts, #2 - 141 pts, diff = 74 pts

1987 - Gretzky - 183 pts, #2 - 108 pts, diff = 75 pts

1990 - Gretzky - 142 pts, #2 - 129 pts, diff = 13 pts (Gretzky missed some games)

1991 - Gretzky - 163 pts, #2 - 131 pts, diff = 32 pts

Think about it.....the guy outscored the competition by at least 65 pts for 6 straight years.

[DraperFan MN 0]

My perception of this trade, particularly Gretzky, changed after watching this. Gretzky flat out said in the beginning he wanted to be "the highest paid player in hockey" and that "I think I deserved it".

While no one can discount that he should have been the highest paid player in hockey and that he did deserve it, becoming that individual and stating that was what he wanted before his contract was up put Pocklington in a very bad position, because it would require one of two things:

1. Wayne signing elsewhere

or

2. Wayne signs a monster contract with Edmonton at a time when the Canadian dollar was super weak against the American dollar, thus forcing Pocklington to dismantle the rest of the pieces around Gretzky.

The other fascinating piece to the story was that Wayne had an opportunity to call it off. He had the opportunity to say no, lets keep it here, lets work it out. Which leads me to believe that for him money won out, but he justified that to himself because it allowed Pocklington to keep the rest of the team together for a bit longer. As others have pointed out, they won another cup without Wayne.

Also, I think the public's perception of this trade has changed over the years and films like this help us understand the business side of the game much more so than we used to. We would also be naive to think that there were a lot of forces at work behind the scenes that were not even outlined in this movie. Ultimately, I don't think I can disagree that what ultimately ended up happening was the best thing for all sides at the time, as heartbreaking as it was, and there is no doubt that this event launched professional hockey into a new era.

[toby91_ca 620]

My perception of this trade, particularly Gretzky, changed after watching this. Gretzky flat out said in the beginning he wanted to be "the highest paid player in hockey" and that "I think I deserved it".

While no one can discount that he should have been the highest paid player in hockey and that he did deserve it, becoming that individual and stating that was what he wanted before his contract was up put Pocklington in a very bad position, because it would require one of two things:

1. Wayne signing elsewhere

or

2. Wayne signs a monster contract with Edmonton at a time when the Canadian dollar was super weak against the American dollar, thus forcing Pocklington to dismantle the rest of the pieces around Gretzky.

The other fascinating piece to the story was that Wayne had an opportunity to call it off. He had the opportunity to say no, lets keep it here, lets work it out. Which leads me to believe that for him money won out, but he justified that to himself because it allowed Pocklington to keep the rest of the team together for a bit longer. As others have pointed out, they won another cup without Wayne.

Also, I think the public's perception of this trade has changed over the years and films like this help us understand the business side of the game much more so than we used to. We would also be naive to think that there were a lot of forces at work behind the scenes that were not even outlined in this movie. Ultimately, I don't think I can disagree that what ultimately ended up happening was the best thing for all sides at the time, as heartbreaking as it was, and there is no doubt that this event launched professional hockey into a new era.

I haven't seen the film, but I don't have a big problem with someone wanting to get paid fairly. If you don't stick up for yourself and ask to get paid what you should be getting paid, then you won't get paid. If you are the best, you should get paid like you are the best. I think most people feel that's okay in the real world, but with athletes, it's frowned upon.

I can understand a little more in these days thinking that way (i.e. you are making $8 million, but someone else is making $8.5 million, therefore you want more), but it was different back then. Gretzky never even made $1 million with Edmonton.

[DraperFan MN 0]

I haven't seen the film, but I don't have a big problem with someone wanting to get paid fairly. If you don't stick up for yourself and ask to get paid what you should be getting paid, then you won't get paid. If you are the best, you should get paid like you are the best. I think most people feel that's okay in the real world, but with athletes, it's frowned upon.

I can understand a little more in these days thinking that way (i.e. you are making $8 million, but someone else is making $8.5 million, therefore you want more), but it was different back then. Gretzky never even made $1 million with Edmonton.

I completely agree, it was a tough decision all around. He deserved the money, no doubt, and he could have made it in Edmonton, but there were just factors that kept that decision from being made.