(Stats Hockey-Reference.com)
In 1988 and 1996, Wayne Gretzky nearly became a Vancouver Canuck. We will examine the 1988 near-occurrence first, then the 1996 story. There will be context too. Then, just for fun, let’s see what might have happened. Enjoy!
In 1988, the Edmonton Oilers had just won the Stanley Cup championship, and Wayne Gretzky was in the prime of his career, but Oilers Owner Peter Pocklington was in a financial struggle, so he shopped Wayne Gretzky. Gretzky, who had a spectacular 1669 points in 696 Oilers games, had just won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. The Canucks had just finished a 59 point-season. Late in 1988, the Oilers offered the Vancouver Canucks a Wayne Gretzky trade. The deal would send Forward Greg Adams, Goalie Kirk McLean, three first-round picks, and 25 million dollars to the Edmonton Oilers while the Canucks took Gretzky. The trio of Arthur Griffiths, Pat Quinn, and Brian Burke analyzed the trade prospects, and Burke mentions in his book, Burke’s Law, and this video how they couldn’t recoup the money in 10 years even with increased prices. Also, he believed it would handicap them on the ice, which Pat and Arthur agreed with, so the trade never was. After, the Canucks made gradual improvements before falling a game short of winning the 1994 Stanley Cup championship.
Eight years later, in 1996, Gretzky almost signed with the Vancouver Canucks. That year, Gretzky’s Los Angeles Kings (the team who traded for Gretzky after Vancouver did not) tenure ended when the St.Louis Blues brought him in as a trade deadline rental. The Blues lost, and when they chose to keep Mike Keenan as Head Coach, Gretzky looked for another home. The Canucks swooped in and put together a deal with Gretzky to sign him into Vancouver, and it worked. Gretzky informed the team he would accept their offer of about $5 million at three years in the morning, but Stan McCammon ruined it. He told Pat to notify Gretzky the contract had to be signed immediately, at 1:30 am. Gretzky did not sign after that call, and that is how he ended up finishing his career with the New York Rangers instead of playing in Vancouver with the Canucks.
However, what if the Canucks traded for Gretzky, or what if they signed him in 1996? If they acquired Gretzky, Vancouver would likely have won Stanley Cup championships. In 1989, the Canucks lost in round one to the eventual champion Calgary Flames in a game seven overtime. With Gretzky, though, they could easily have won the series providing one of their other goalies, like Steve Weeks, could step up. In that case, they might have won the Stanley Cup. The year after, they missed the playoffs because their goaltending wasn’t good. Then, they commenced a six-year playoff streak. In 1991, they lost to the Kings, led by Gretzky, but it is safe to assume they would have won if Gretzky was on the opposite side, but they would have lost to the eventual champion Oilers.
It starts to get interesting in 1993 and 1994. The Canucks lost to the eventual Stanley Cup finalist in the second round, the Kings, in 1993. Again, they would have won if Gretzky played for the other team, but could they have beat the Montréal Canadiens? I would believe not. They had a godly Patrick Roy in goal and a great team all-around. However, in 1994, I think they would have beat the New York Rangers in the Stanley Cup Final. If they came one win away, would replacing Kirk McLean and Greg Adams with Wayne Gretzky not win them the decisive game seven? I argue they would have won. However, I don’t think they would win the next two years, and Gretzky would probably leave in free agency. This article believes the trade might have resulted in a financial crisis and an NHL collapse, which I agree with except for the last part about the WHA.
In 1996, the Canucks nearly signed Gretzky, but I don’t think he would have won them anything. The Canucks wound up missing the playoffs the next four seasons, and Gretzky was no longer in his prime. However, I wonder if they might have traded him. If they dealt him before the 1999 season, they’re good, but if not, they won’t have the Sedins. In 1999, Burke navigated through multiple teams to pick up the Sedins, but if the Canucks pick is later, can he still pull off such miraculous deals? I guess we’ll never know, but speculating on what could have been sure is fun.
