@@moappleseider1699 just think yzerman feds, and 99 down the centre, with the grind line playing pk? man the lines they could have made around those three.
Thanks Wayne Gretzky's dad. I grew up in Southern California and if he never came to LA, I surely wouldn't be playing beer league hockey into my 40's today.
Ditto here!! 49 yr.Old living in Oregon but from the same rink in TO that Mooresy grew up at. I and a lot of friends from So Cal played competitive ice and roller hockey for years because of Wayne telling his son to choose LA.
Not only that but I'm pretty sure he also brought roller hockey to CA too right? Dude absolutely changed the hockey culture in LA in seismic ways we're still beginning to understand.
I had no idea about this. Imagine Stevie, Sergei, and Wayne on the Same line….geez. Not to mention Vladdy and lidstrom on defense. That’s at least two more cups
@@pianotalent6437 Wings might not have been able to draft Lidstrom, Fedorov and all them if they traded for Gretsky. Idk what the deal would have been but it would have costed players and picks so who knows. Yzerman could have been part of the deal for all we know
@@johnnyslokes2712Wouldn’t have mattered. Those guys weren’t 1st round picks. Detroit was the only team that took Europe as seriously as they did. Today Lidstrom would probably be the number 1 pick, but back then Detroit would still have been able to take him if they’d won the Stanley Cup in 89.
I’m a diehard Detroit fan but comparing Howe to any generational talent of the 90’s and beyond is just a joke lol. Gordie was beating full time milkmen, not full time hockey players 😂💀
As a childhood flyers fan I wish he came to us!! My dad hates him cause he stopped us from winning the cup but I feel he wouldn’t dislike him so much if he helped us win one or two 😂😂
Man what a great story..props to Papa Gretzky 👏 giving Gordie Howe the respect he deserves and the Detroit Red Wings..but I would of loved seeing Gretzky playing for the wings even though we were a dynasty without him
And that little advice from Wayne’s father changed hockey forever. If Wayne didn’t go to LA, we don’t have teams like the Ducks, Coyotes, Lightning, Panthers, etc. in the league. Thank you Mr. Gretzky
@@WhiteGuysMadder because in the late 80s - early 90s hockey wasn’t popular in places like California, Arizona, Florida, etc. There was no market for hockey in those places. That all changed when Wayne Gretzky got traded to the LA Kings. It brought hockey to those regions and made it possible for franchises like the ones I mentioned to exist
This was before he became the unquestioned GOAT of hockey. LA was where his career went to die, the fans there don't know hockey at all, and by the time he made it to NY he was basically in an adult diaper.
Thank you for coming to LA. I’ll never forget when I heard the announcement. I was at work, it was 6:00 am, the news came on and the lead story was,”Wayne Gretzky may be coming to the Los Angeles Kings.” I thought, yeah, right.
If it weren’t for the trade to Los Angeles, we would NEVER have had such a marvelous explosion of hockey rinks, leagues, and talent in California. Thank you forever Wayne.
Crazy seeing the thumbnail with those Jofa gloves. I have a pair of the same ones but black and sometimes it’s fun to give my fancy gloves a break at the ODR and bust out the old ones.
Well I live in New Zealand. My only connection to Canada was my grandads war buddies. I had never watched a game of hockey in my life. I don't even think we had a place for people to play ice hockey in our entire country at the time. But I had an LA Kings jersey. It was the coolest thing you could wear at that time. I made my mum spend quite a bit (for us) and I was hot shit at school I tell ya. Thank god I was a fashion victim, with a love of sport. Coz I learnt all about The Great One after that.
Well Gee Thanks Mr Gretzky! We Red Wings fans would have just hated having an all time great in his prime right at the start of our build towards a Stanley Cup.
Gretzky is the leading goal scorer, assist producer and point scorer in NHL history, and has more assists in his career than any other player scored total points. Incredible.
He had a point, by the time I was watching hockey Wayne was in LA. That is how I was able to identify him. Not only that but he made the biggest mark there when nobody already had one.
His father’s advice that there’s only one Gordie shows that the Gretzky’s have great respect for the history of hockey. And Wayne taking that advice is in his own way paying tribute to the great one’s that have come before him.
As a life long Red Wings fan, I think this would not happen effected the players they ended up drafting from Europe like Lidstrom, Federov, and eventually Datsyuk and Zetterberg. In those days European guys didn’t get the exposure they do now. So we would have been able to draft them wherever we picked. I couldn’t imagine Gretzky playing in the same line as Yzerman, and Federov. With Lidstrom on the blue line.they’d have to call some games at the second intermission, because of mercy.
You have to be realistic, Yzerman would have gotten traded. And I'm not entirely sure if Wayne would have bought into a defensive system as he out the door in 99.
Sane advice. Later Gretzky would have ramifications with Detroit, losing the puck to Steve Yzerman who scored the winner from the blueline in the 2OT playoff game versus St. Louis.
Never knew this. Interesting The Rangers though? What the hell kind of package would they have had to put together with what they had at the time? It took Granato and Sandstrom to get Bernie Nicholls. It took Bernie Nichols and Steven Rice (who was still a big prospect) to get Messier. They would have had to part ways with Brian Leetch no doubt. Leetch and much more to get Gretzky
Detroit was heavy in the conversation to acquire Gretzky, especially cause they were Wayne's favorite team growing up. The question is,who would Detroit have sent. Yzerman? New York had the "brilliant" Phil Esposito,who "DiDn'T wAnT tO GiVe uP haLf tHe tEaM" for Gretzky (meanwhile, half the Rangers' 1987-88 team wasn't anywhere near Wayne Gretzky's level. I can't imagine Wayne in Philadelphia,though. I shudder at that thought
Ah man, Gretzky's dad really kept him off my Wings huh 😂. Damn. Everything worked out though. But hard not to imagine the greatness considering Detroit was the best run franchise in the league for 20 or so years there. Thankfully we have an amazing front office again though.
Sam Pollack the GM of Montreal was making arrangements to get Gretzky when he was still in the WHA. Sammy wanted to pull off another Lafleur steal. unfortunately Sammy was retiring and his replacement had no clue about hockey.
As a detroiter,I'm glad he didn't come. Yzerman was actually willing to sacrifice offense. And stayed with us til 2006. Wayne left in 99 and was declining hard by then.
Wow. But if we had Wayne Gretzky we probably wouldn't have gotten Brett Hull or Brendan Shanahan. We had Paul Coffey for a while and they probably would have played together. Now that would have been extremely cool...
I cannot imagine the great one wearing a FLYERS jersey...I WOULD'VE LOVED IT BEYOND BELIEF...sometimes...its nice to dream...lolololol. The 🐐 in 🍊&⚫ would of been a trip!!!
The Wings and Gretzky would have won a couple more cups. Shame.
And have Probert to watch his back.
@@insertnamehere313 Lol right. Get that man his much earned cups
@@moappleseider1699 just think yzerman feds, and 99 down the centre, with the grind line playing pk? man the lines they could have made around those three.
@@lancenorman7548 they would’ve been beyond dominant
@@iso33 it honestly would have been crazy. I cant even imagine the tear they would go on
I love how the morning after winning the Stanley Cup, the Great One is at the kitchen table eating his mom's scrambled eggs. Humble icon.
Thanks Wayne Gretzky's dad. I grew up in Southern California and if he never came to LA, I surely wouldn't be playing beer league hockey into my 40's today.
Same. The notoriety he brought to us in Cali was, is and will be (imo) immeasurable for so many ppl
Ditto here!! 49 yr.Old living in Oregon but from the same rink in TO that Mooresy grew up at. I and a lot of friends from So Cal played competitive ice and roller hockey for years because of Wayne telling his son to choose LA.
sounds like he should've gone to Detroit 😂
That trade to LA did so much for Hockey.
Not only that but I'm pretty sure he also brought roller hockey to CA too right?
Dude absolutely changed the hockey culture in LA in seismic ways we're still beginning to understand.
So, as a Wings fan, everything obviously worked out pretty well in the 90s for us. But man…. Stevie and Wayne on the same team? Insane…
I had no idea about this. Imagine Stevie, Sergei, and Wayne on the Same line….geez. Not to mention Vladdy and lidstrom on defense. That’s at least two more cups
@@pianotalent6437 Wings might not have been able to draft Lidstrom, Fedorov and all them if they traded for Gretsky. Idk what the deal would have been but it would have costed players and picks so who knows. Yzerman could have been part of the deal for all we know
@Johnny Slokes
This is very true. I was thinking Stevie would have been part of the deal. In the end, everything worked out for everyone.
@@johnnyslokes2712 Fedorov and Lindstrom were like 2nd and 3rd round picks lol
@@johnnyslokes2712Wouldn’t have mattered. Those guys weren’t 1st round picks. Detroit was the only team that took Europe as seriously as they did. Today Lidstrom would probably be the number 1 pick, but back then Detroit would still have been able to take him if they’d won the Stanley Cup in 89.
As a life long Red Wings fan I'm glad things worked out the way they did
As cool as it would have been to have Wayne play for the Winged Wheel, yeah I’m happy he didn’t come to Detroit.
Oilers fan here. Saddest day in Oilers history.
"There's only one Gordie Howe" well said Gretzky Sr.
I’m a diehard Detroit fan but comparing Howe to any generational talent of the 90’s and beyond is just a joke lol. Gordie was beating full time milkmen, not full time hockey players 😂💀
Yet we still don’t have a fucking hockey team here down in Houston.
@@Dillon6479 who do you think paved the way for this to become a sport anyone would pay attention to? Guys like that. Stop being a millennial dink
Vancouver Canucks fans in shambles (including myself)
Winnipeg was first on the list
I’m scarred as a Canucks fan
@@swurIe we all are
Can’t believe you’re a Canucks fan I’m amazed. Love your videos !
My goodness, that "...and Philly" just broke me heart 💔 🧡🖤
I screamed “NOOOOOOO” like I had just witnessed philly lose the cup before my very eyes when I heard that lmao
That's an amazing story. There is only one Gordy Howe but Yzerman made his own name there as Gretzky would have.
Lots of great players out of Detroit in the 90's
Thanks for the stop in St Louis Great One. Sorry it didn't work out. But it was a blast while you were here!
Really cool story there as a kings fan, thanks Wayne’s dad!
His face at the end when he says ‘that’s really how I ended up in LA’ 😂😂
Wow that sucks his dad didn't want him in Detroit it's not like he be living in the hood LA got bad areas too
As a lifelong Wings fan... this hurts me deep in my soul in a way I cannot articulate.
Why they won hella cups anyways with a different sports icon
It all led to way to the Yzerplan in 2024
The more I hear Wayne Gretzky talk about his father, I'm convinced he (the father) is a quiet genius.
"The Great One" is the most understated nickname of all time. Simply the GREATEST ever!
Met Wayne Gretzky a few times in Buffalo. Very nice guy.
I met him and his wife in Southern Cal. They were very sweet
As a childhood flyers fan I wish he came to us!! My dad hates him cause he stopped us from winning the cup but I feel he wouldn’t dislike him so much if he helped us win one or two 😂😂
it's really cool to hear how things happened, how history was made and how close it was different!
He woulda won 5 more rings in Detroit
For real, Yzerman may have got moved tho
@@anmcrypto9281 they drafted so good for 20 years that they really wouldn't have needed yezermen there with gretzky there
@@anmcrypto9281 I'm pretty sure they would have kept him to win some cups !!!
Definitely!!!!!!
Cups
I never knew he had a chance to come to Philly. But damn that is very deep man.
Nothing can take away from his greatness...He will always be the Great One!
Man what a great story..props to Papa Gretzky 👏 giving Gordie Howe the respect he deserves and the Detroit Red Wings..but I would of loved seeing Gretzky playing for the wings even though we were a dynasty without him
I think trading him for Yzerman would have derailed everything. Remember Wayne left in 99 I was declining by then.
If he was a red wing it def would have been raps for the other teams
And that little advice from Wayne’s father changed hockey forever. If Wayne didn’t go to LA, we don’t have teams like the Ducks, Coyotes, Lightning, Panthers, etc. in the league. Thank you Mr. Gretzky
Why
Yeah because the panthers and coyotes were great
@@WhiteGuysMadder because in the late 80s - early 90s hockey wasn’t popular in places like California, Arizona, Florida, etc. There was no market for hockey in those places. That all changed when Wayne Gretzky got traded to the LA Kings. It brought hockey to those regions and made it possible for franchises like the ones I mentioned to exist
@@davidkruse4030the cats have actually had some decent runs.
@@TicTacTone23 cups for the lightning, 2 for the kings, 1 for the ducks and 1 for the golden knights. Not bad for sunbelt hockey.
This is the first time I've heard the Flyers mentioned as an option. Wow!
As a wings fan since 94, I have nothing but respect for this legend. And his dad for the words that shaped the golden boy.
So humble, there's only one Gretzky too. Class act.
He’s a Canadian hero. Much respect. But he still shoulda been in the box in 93 against the Leafs.
That would have been unreal. My red wings would have been unstoppable.
Wings might not have been able to draft all those awesome players in the 90s if they traded for Gretzky
Old school gentleman. Takes dads consideration and makes a decision. Much respect!
Can u drop the full video on RUclips
That trade would've gutted the Red Wings with possibly losing Yzerman. As a wings fan, wouldn't change how things played out.
Thank you. Tired of seeing people overhyped the scenario.
Omg! If he came to Philly it would have been incredible
Not really
Glad you listened to Pops!! Thank you for bringing Hockey to the Sunbelt state's. GKG
Wise dad. Good on him to listen.
This was before he became the unquestioned GOAT of hockey. LA was where his career went to die, the fans there don't know hockey at all, and by the time he made it to NY he was basically in an adult diaper.
Thank you for coming to LA. I’ll never forget when I heard the announcement. I was at work, it was 6:00 am, the news came on and the lead story was,”Wayne Gretzky may be coming to the Los Angeles Kings.” I thought, yeah, right.
If it weren’t for the trade to Los Angeles, we would NEVER have had such a marvelous explosion of hockey rinks, leagues, and talent in California. Thank you forever Wayne.
Crazy seeing the thumbnail with those Jofa gloves. I have a pair of the same ones but black and sometimes it’s fun to give my fancy gloves a break at the ODR and bust out the old ones.
Damn. Never knew he was almost a Flyer. That would have been crazy
Well I live in New Zealand. My only connection to Canada was my grandads war buddies. I had never watched a game of hockey in my life. I don't even think we had a place for people to play ice hockey in our entire country at the time.
But I had an LA Kings jersey. It was the coolest thing you could wear at that time. I made my mum spend quite a bit (for us) and I was hot shit at school I tell ya.
Thank god I was a fashion victim, with a love of sport. Coz I learnt all about The Great One after that.
no shame.
We won without him !!
that being said...
I love Gretzky and his greatness on ice !!
He made hockey possible in southern US with that move. No LA Gretzky? No Ducks, no Coyotes, no Panthers......
I did NOT know that Gretzky was almost a flyer. Wow. I can't imagine how amazing it would've been
Oh man him in Philly would've been insane
Speechless!!!
Young enough at the time he valued the opinions of his family. What a great man.
I had no idea, I live in Metro Detroit all my life, a big Wings fan, and I never heard of this. It makes sense.
It wasn't about replacing Howe, he should of honored him by wearing the winged wheel.. but then again who cares we had "The Captain"
Should have
I’m happy he didn’t go to Detroit. In some way it would feel selloutish.
Yeah because Detroit never did anything to sell out buy buying off Russians to paying over the top for free agents
I can't imagine what he would have been in Detroit, that team would have won every cup in the 90s
I think I speak for all Red Wings fans here, Thank you, Walter!
I sat behind the glass for the first game he played against Edmonton as a King. It was weird.
Gretz in Vancouver. In another parallel universe my childhood is devoid of trauma.
That’s a good point. Hard to compete with Gordie. Even if you’re Gretzky.
😭😭😭😭😭😭 man that would have been fun watching yzerman and gretzky on the same line
We became a dynasty with out him so just imagine what would’ve happened if we DID have him….😮
Well Gee Thanks Mr Gretzky! We Red Wings fans would have just hated having an all time great in his prime right at the start of our build towards a Stanley Cup.
Ill never understand why they would trade the Goat
Because he went to LA, my hometown has the Golden Knights. All west coast hockey fans owe the great one.
Thanks alot walter..
Damn... Imagine if he went to Philly.
Daaaamn you Mr Gretzky!
Walter was and always will be a legend, the 7th man on the ice with Wayne from day one.
Gretzky is the leading goal scorer, assist producer and point scorer in NHL history, and has more assists in his career than any other player scored total points. Incredible.
As a Wings fan this is unfortunate. You don’t have to be goodie Howe or Yzerman, just be apart of a great story line and win more cups. But what ever
He had a point, by the time I was watching hockey Wayne was in LA. That is how I was able to identify him. Not only that but he made the biggest mark there when nobody already had one.
Best thing for hockey as a sport.
Dosen't really matter bc he never won a cup after leaving Edmonton. Why was he traded from LA and from St Louis?
I love these Gretzky stories!
Wow..Wally was so wise..Wayne's hero was Howe but look what Gretz did for the American market and things worked out in Detroit..
As a Wings fan...
GODDAMNIT!
Walter was a smart cookie. He told my dad to get me an agent when I was 15 he didn’t listen🤷♂️
His father’s advice that there’s only one Gordie shows that the Gretzky’s have great respect for the history of hockey. And Wayne taking that advice is in his own way paying tribute to the great one’s that have come before him.
Detroit already had a very competent captain! Steve Y!!!
I thought LA was where his wife's family lived. Decisions are complicated, hard to sum up in one minute.
I would of loved seeing him in Detroit red wings
As a life long Red Wings fan, I think this would not happen effected the players they ended up drafting from Europe like Lidstrom, Federov, and eventually Datsyuk and Zetterberg. In those days European guys didn’t get the exposure they do now. So we would have been able to draft them wherever we picked. I couldn’t imagine Gretzky playing in the same line as Yzerman, and Federov. With Lidstrom on the blue line.they’d have to call some games at the second intermission, because of mercy.
You have to be realistic, Yzerman would have gotten traded. And I'm not entirely sure if Wayne would have bought into a defensive system as he out the door in 99.
Sane advice. Later Gretzky would have ramifications with Detroit, losing the puck to Steve Yzerman who scored the winner from the blueline in the 2OT playoff game versus St. Louis.
Never knew this. Interesting
The Rangers though? What the hell kind of package would they have had to put together with what they had at the time?
It took Granato and Sandstrom to get Bernie Nicholls.
It took Bernie Nichols and Steven Rice (who was still a big prospect) to get Messier.
They would have had to part ways with Brian Leetch no doubt. Leetch and much more to get Gretzky
Yzerman and Gretzky would have been some combo.
This shit is so fucking cool…these are all time stories
Nice going Walt! Gretzky in Detroit 😮
Could you imagine Gretzky, the Russian 5, lidstrom and co.
Detroit was heavy in the conversation to acquire Gretzky, especially cause they were Wayne's favorite team growing up. The question is,who would Detroit have sent. Yzerman? New York had the "brilliant" Phil Esposito,who "DiDn'T wAnT tO GiVe uP haLf tHe tEaM" for Gretzky (meanwhile, half the Rangers' 1987-88 team wasn't anywhere near Wayne Gretzky's level. I can't imagine Wayne in Philadelphia,though. I shudder at that thought
Imagine the modesty of Wayne Gretzky thinking "there is only one Gordie Howe"
Ah man, Gretzky's dad really kept him off my Wings huh 😂. Damn. Everything worked out though. But hard not to imagine the greatness considering Detroit was the best run franchise in the league for 20 or so years there. Thankfully we have an amazing front office again though.
As a detroit red wings fan I would have liked to see this
He did make the hockey Market WAY larger by going to a team like LA. However he would’ve won like 3 more cups with Detroit 😂
wayne gretzky most decorated flyer in history
Dan you Walter!! Haha
Sam Pollack the GM of Montreal was making arrangements to get Gretzky when he was still in the WHA. Sammy wanted to pull off another Lafleur steal. unfortunately Sammy was retiring and his replacement had no clue about hockey.
No way! I never knew that! Wow! Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda!
As a detroiter,I'm glad he didn't come. Yzerman was actually willing to sacrifice offense. And stayed with us til 2006. Wayne left in 99 and was declining hard by then.
The greatest hockey player to ever live, I'm a Red Wing fan, I would have loved to see him in Detroit, but L.A. is where he went.
Fantastic interview.
Wow. But if we had Wayne Gretzky we probably wouldn't have gotten Brett Hull or Brendan Shanahan. We had Paul Coffey for a while and they probably would have played together. Now that would have been extremely cool...
Dear lord, the God damn gauntlet Detroit would have been to go against.
Yzerman had 155 points that year too
I cannot imagine the great one wearing a FLYERS jersey...I WOULD'VE LOVED IT BEYOND BELIEF...sometimes...its nice to dream...lolololol.
The 🐐 in 🍊&⚫ would of been a trip!!!