Wayne Gretzky to Detroit Red Wings Could Have Happened, but at What Cost? (2024)

It is a question worth asking after The Great One revealed that his potential destinations were New York, L.A. or Detroit, per Bill Graveland ofThe Canadian Press (via the Toronto Star).

In Graveland's article, Gretzky said, "I got sold. I didn't get traded. ... At the end of the day and this is kind of unique the Oilers said, ‘what city do you want to go to?’ I had the choice of New York, Detroit or L.A."

Gretzky went on to say that "Everyone thought that my wife (actress Janet Gretzky) had picked L.A. and my wife said, ‘you should play in Detroit.’ It was my dad who called me and said, ‘you should play in L.A.’ For whatever reason, he said, ‘I think you should move to L.A.’ and I became an L.A. King after that."

Simply known as "The Trade," the deal sent Gretzky, Marty McSorley and Mike Krushelnyski to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for Jimmy Carson, Martin Gelinas, $15 million in cash and three first-round picks in 1989, 1991 and 1993.

So, who would the Red Wings have needed to give up to make this happen back in 1988?

Well, assuming the $15 million in cash and three first-round picks stayed the same, the Red Wings were really looking at giving two players back.

Who Would Jimmy Carson Be on the 1988 Detroit Red Wings?

Jimmy Carson was just 20 years old when he was part of The Trade. Carson, fresh off a 107-point season with the Kings, would put up one more 100-point season in the NHL and then watch his numbers slowly trickle down.

So, who would the "Jimmy Carson" piece have been in a hypothetical trade with Detroit?

Well, the Wings presumably did not want to get rid of captain Steve Yzerman, who proceeded to put up 155 points the next season, but they did have Adam Oates playing behind Yzerman.

Despite the fact that Oates had never eclipsed the 54-point plateau in his two seasons with Detroit, he had promise, and Oates would go on to center Brett Hull in St. Louis and reach the 100-point plateau in four of the next six seasons.

Who Would Martin Gelinas Be on the 1988 Detroit Red Wings?

For how solid of a player Martin Gelinas ended up being in the NHL, his career highs were 35 goals and 68 points. Gelinas only hit the 30-goal plateau twice and only hit the 60-point plateau once, so for all intents and purposes, he was a minor part of the Gretzky trade.

Who could've been "Martin Gelinas" on Detroit's end?Petr Klima would be a good guess.

But why Klima?

Well for starters, Klima ended up getting traded to the Oilers just over a year later. He was a pretty decent player in Detroit, so he could have had more market value than Gelinas on the whole. He ended up winning a Stanley Cup with Edmonton and was obviously a player that the Oilers had their eye on.

Which Draft Picks Would the Red Wings Have Lost?

The Red Wings would have given their first-round picks in 1989, 1991 and 1993.

Those players ended up being Mike Sillinger, Martin Lapointe and Anders Eriksson. Judging by those three names alone, one can safely say that neither of the three players had a significant impact on the Red Wings over the next decade.

While Lapointe did help Detroit win two Stanley Cups in 1997 and 1998, if Gretzky had been in Detroit in his stead, it is safe to say that Gretzky would have had a tad larger impact.

The Results

One can't argue with the 1997, 1998 and 2002 Stanley Cups that Detroit took home as a result of not trading for Wayne Gretzky in 1988.

But even still, one has to wonder if the Wings would have won the Cup earlier (and how many more times) had the Oilers seriously gauged the Red Wings' interest in trading for The Great One. Detroit seemingly had the players, the draft picks and the monetary resources and willingness from their owner, Mike Ilitch, to pull off the trade.

But at the end of the day, this non-trade will go down as just another unanswered question in Red Wings hockey history.