Wayne Gretzky
season. Included are many record-shattering performances, such as: scoring 50 goals in his team's first 39 games in 1981-82 and setting the all-time regular season mark with 92 goals by season's end; a consecutive point-scoring streak of 51 games to start the 1983-84 season; setting an all-time single season scoring record for the playoffs with 47 points in 1984-85 and setting the all-time regular season mark with 215 points in 1985-86. The Oilers reached the Finals five times, capturing the Stanley Cup four times. In addition, Gretzky was an integral part of the 1984 and 1987 Team Canada squads that won the Canada Cup.
On August 9, 1988, after helping Edmonton capture a fourth Stanley Cup and winning a second Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, Gretzky was traded to the Los Angeles Kings in one of the biggest deals in sports history. Gretzky, along with teammates Marty McSorley and Mike Krushelnyski, was dealt to Los Angeles for Jimmy Carson, Martin Gelinas, three future first-round draft choices and cash ($15 million). That August day would forever change the NHL landscape in the United States. Gretzky joined a Kings team that had averaged just over 10,000 fans per game in its 21-year history. With Gretzky as the star attraction, hockey became one of the hottest tickets in California. By 1991, the team would become the only franchise in Southern California to sell out every home game for an entire season. Hockey's success in a warm-weather environment paved the way for acceptance of the sport in America's Sun Belt, enabling hockey to prosper in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.
His first season in a Kings uniform was an unqualified success, as the team finished with the most improved record in the NHL (42-31-7) and placed second in the Smythe Division. Gretzky finished second in League scoring with 168 points (54-114-168) and won his ninth Hart Trophy. The following season, Gretzky became the NHL's all-time leading scorer when he passed Gordie Howe's total of 1,850 points at Edmonton on October 15, 1989.
On April 28, 1992, Gretzky's Kings were eliminated in a six-game opening round playoff series by the Oilers. It would be the Great One's last NHL game for more than eight months as a debilitating back injury (a herniated thoracic disk) would call into question whether Gretzky ever would be able to return. Experts said he would be out of hockey for at least one year, but by early December, Gretzky had resumed skating and on January 6, 1993, he was back in the Kings lineup for his 1,000th career game, assisting on two goals.
Despite the eight-month layoff, Gretzky would rebound to register 65 points (16-49-65) in 45 games and would lead the Kings to the Stanley Cup Finals for the only time in franchise history. The Kings lost in five games to the Montreal Canadiens, but Gretzky proved he was back at the top of his game by registering 40 points in 24 postseason games. The following season, Gretzky scored [next page]