Gretzky Is a Man Who Will Be King

Wayne Gretzky, eight times the National Hockey League’s most valuable player and a national treasure in his native Canada, has been traded to the Kings in one of the biggest deals in sports history.

In a deal completed early Tuesday morning, the Kings acquired the NHL’s all-time assist leader from the Edmonton Oilers for center Jimmy Carson; Martin Gelinas, the Kings’ No. 1 draft pick last June; first-round draft choices in 1989, 1991 and 1993; the rights to defenseman Craig Redmond, and more than $10 million, an unspecified percentage of which the Kings are expected to recoup by increasing the rights fees paid by the Prime Ticket cable television network.

Also sent to the Kings were Oiler forward Mike Krushelnyski, 28, and forward-defenseman Marty McSorley, 25.

Rogie Vachon, King general manager, called it “a fantastic deal.” He also said it would immediately put the Kings in contention for the Stanley Cup and would go a long way toward putting hockey on the map in Los Angeles.

Said owner Bruce McNall, responding to the suggestion that the Kings might have mortgaged their future: “I’m concerned with today. Let’s not wait for the future.”

At an emotional press conference in Edmonton, Oiler owner Peter Pocklington, who negotiated the deal with McNall, said that Gretzky had asked to be traded to the Kings.

Gretzky, 27, was married last month to actress Janet Jones, who lives in Sherman Oaks.

“He wants to spend more time with Janet and begin their family life under one roof, and in one city, and be able to call it home,” said Pocklington, who added that it was with “mixed emotions” and “a heavy heart” that he granted Gretzky’s request.

“The best comparison I can draw to this situation is this: What to do when an outstanding, loyal employee approaches you, the employer, and asks for an opportunity to move along for logical and understandable reasons?

“In an emotional sense, you know you don’t want to lose him, but at the same time, you don’t want to stop him from pursuing his dreams and achieving his goals.

“Wayne has given so much to our hockey club and to this city for the past decade (that) I believe he has earned the right to determine his own destiny in the National Hockey League.”

Said Gretzky, fighting back tears: “I decided that for the benefit of Wayne Gretzky and my new wife and our expected child in the new year that it would be beneficial for everyone involved to let me play with the Los Angeles Kings.”

Gretzky, though, said that Jones had not asked him to request a trade. “It was my own gut feeling,” he said.

“I’m disappointed about having to leave Edmonton. I truly admire all the fans and respected everyone over the years, but . . . “

With that, he broke down, wiping his eyes with a handkerchief and saying at one point: “I promised Mess (Oiler teammate Mark Messier) I wouldn’t do this.”

Tuesday night, in an extravagant press conference at the Sheraton La Reina in Los Angeles, a more composed Gretzky, modeling the Kings’ new black, silver and white uniform, said: “This morning it was very difficult for me to leave the city, to leave some of the people who have become my greatest friends.

“As is your basketball team down here, they are in their own category as far as winning, as far as sportsmanship and entertainment.

“Tonight, it’s all uphill. It’s very exciting. I’m sure it’s something that will not only be good for Wayne Gretzky and the L.A. Kings, but also for the game of hockey.

“It’s a disappointing day to have to leave Edmonton, but it’s a great new challenge for me.”

Gretzky, who holds or shares 41 NHL scoring records, scored a career-low 40 goals last season, when knee and eye injuries forced him to miss 16 games.

His 149 points, which left him second in the scoring race behind Mario Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins, represented his lowest production since 1979-80, his rookie season, when he had 137.

Still, he led the NHL in assists for the ninth straight season and then led the Oilers to the Stanley Cup championship for the fourth time in five years, establishing NHL records for most assists in the playoffs, 31 in 19 games, and most in the final series, 10, and earning his second Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player of the playoffs.

The Oilers, who finished second in the Smythe Division behind the Calgary Flames in the regular season, breezed through the playoffs, compiling a 16-2 record and sweeping both the series against the Flames in the Smythe Division final and the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup final.

Gretzky said at the time that he had never felt better and Messier said: “He played like he never has before.”

Gretzky holds NHL records for most goals, 92; assists, 163; and points in a season, 215. A seven-time scoring champion, he is the all-time assist leader with 1,086. Entering his 10th NHL season, he needs 219 goals and 182 points to become the all-time leader in those categories. Gordie Howe, the all-time leader, needed 26 seasons to amass 1,850 points.

Announcement of the trade drew strong reactions across Canada, where Gretzky’s wedding last month was viewed by many as a royal event.

Said Oiler defenseman Kevin Lowe: “How do you replace Wayne Gretzky? Peter Pocklington lives in this town. . . . I guess we’ll leave that up to him.”

Gretzky joins a team that has never advanced past the quarterfinals of the Stanley Cup playoffs and last season was 30-42-8, finishing 31 points behind the Oilers and 37 behind the Flames.

Gretzky said, however: “I approached Mr. Pocklington about the possibility of playing with another hockey club, and I felt at the time that, after 10 years in Edmonton, I was still young enough and capable enough to help a new franchise win a Stanley Cup.”

The Kings, he said, are “a team that is not as bad as their record has indicated the last few years. I think they have a team that has a lot of heart and a lot of hard workers.”

Glen Sather, Oiler president, general manager and coach, said the trade would be beneficial to both teams, and to the NHL in general.

“He’s certainly doing something that’s going to be wonderful for the Los Angeles Kings,” Sather said of McNall. “And we think what’s happening here is going to keep us where we have been for a long time, at the top of the National Hockey League.”

Gretzky has four years remaining on a contract that last season paid him a reported $1.1 million in Canadian currency. Under NHL rules, he would now be paid the same amount in U.S. dollars, which would amount to about a 20% raise.

He said he planned to play as many as eight more seasons.

Carson, who was the No. 2 pick in the 1986 draft, was the Kings’ No. 2 scorer last season, when he established NHL records for a U.S.-born player with a team-high 55 goals and 107 points.

A native of Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich., Carson also became only the second teen-ager in NHL history to score 50 goals in a season.

The first was Gretzky.

Carson, who turned 20 last month, joined teammates Luc Robitaille and Steve Duchesne on the NHL all-rookie team in 1987 after a season in which Carson was the Kings’ No. 3 scorer with 79 points, including 37 goals.

The high-scoring center said he had mixed feelings about the deal.

“I liked L.A.,” he said. “I wanted to be a part of something there. But put it this way: I’m closer to the Stanley Cup than I was yesterday.

“I’m not upset at all. Actually, if you look at it in pure hockey terms, it’s the best thing for me. I’m going to play with great wingers and a great team.”

One more thing, too.

Said Carson: “I’ll always be the answer to the trivia question: ‘Who was traded for Wayne Gretzky?’ ”

Gelinas, who was the No. 7 pick in this year’s draft, played last season for the same junior team that produced Robitaille, the Gretzky-owned Hull Olympiques.

Gelinas, 18, was rookie of the year and a first-team all-star in the Quebec Major junior league, helping lead the Olympiques to the league championship and to within a victory of the Memorial Cup championship. He was Hull’s No. 3 scorer with 131 points, including a team-high 63 goals.

According to Vachon, the Montreal Canadiens regarded the French-speaking left winger as the No. 2 prospect in the draft.

Krushelnyski, a veteran of 6 seasons in the NHL, had 20 goals and 27 assists in 76 games for the Oilers last season. His best season was 1984-85, when he had 43 goals and 45 assists.

McSorley had the most productive of his 5 NHL seasons in 1987-88, scoring 9 goals and compiling 26 points in 60 games. His 223 penalty minutes increased his career total to 886 in 247 games.

WAYNE GRETZKY’S PROFESSIONAL RECORD

Season Club League Games Goals Assts. Tot.Pts. 1976-77 Peterborough OHA 3 0 3 3 1977-78 Sault Ste. Marie OHA 64 70 112 182 1978-79 Indianapolis WHA 8 3 3 6 Edmonton WHA 72 43 61 104 1979-80 Edmonton NHL 79 51 86* 137* 1980-81 Edmonton NHL 80 55 109* 164* 1981-82 Edmonton NHL 80 92* 120* 212* 1982-83 Edmonton NHL 80 71* 125* 196* 1983-84 Edmonton NHL 74 87* 118* 205* 1984-85 Edmonton NHL 80 73 135* 208* 1985-86 Edmonton NHL 80 52 163* 215* 1986-87 Edmonton NHL 79 62* 121* 183* 1987-88 Edmonton NHL 64 40 109* 149 Totals 843 699 1,265 1,964

Season Pen.Min. 1976-77 0 1977-78 14 1978-79 0 19 1979-80 21 1980-81 28 1981-82 26 1982-83 59 1983-84 39 1984-85 52 1985-86 46 1986-87 28 1987-88 24 Totals 356

*--Led league