Wayne Gretzky’s iconic Trade Tree is finally dead after 34 years Offside

Nelson Nogier killed Wayne Gretzky’s trade tree.

Nogier, the last remaining part of the legendary trade that sent Gretzky from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings on Aug. 9, 1988, signed with the KHL’s Barys Nur-Sultan as an unrestricted free agent Tuesday, officially ending the tree created of hockey’s most famous trade at 12,453 days.

Nogier was acquired by the Kings in March in exchange for Markus Phillips. Phillips had previously been the last piece of the trade tree puzzle. Nogier was not qualified prior to free agency by the Kings this summer, making him a free agent.

Nelson Nogier was the last remaining piece of the Wayne Gretzky Trade Tree when traded from Edmonton to LA. It took 34 years! https://t.co/WoWTLIxjct

— Steve “Dangle” Glynn (@Steve_Dangle) September 13, 2022

Gretzky was traded by the Oilers to the Kings along with Marty McSorley and Mike Kruschelnyski in exchange for Jimmy Carson, Martin Gelinas, three first-round draft picks (1988, 1991, 1993) and $15 million.

It remains the most shocking trade in hockey history.

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The Oilers branches

Gelinas, the No. 7 pick in the 1988 NHL draft, was eventually traded from the Oilers to the Quebec Nordiques in 1993 in exchange for Scott Pearson. Pearson later traded to the Buffalo Sabers for Ken Sutton.

Carson was the No. 2 overall pick in the 1986 NHL Entry Draft and one of the best young players of the game. His first two years in the NHL were the most productive of any player, becoming only the second teenager in NHL history to score 50 goals in a season. He totaled 92 goals and 186 total points in two seasons at just 19 years old.

However, he asked for a trade from Edmonton in November 1989 and was placed with a move to the Detroit Red Wings. The Oilers brought back Adam Graves, Petr Klima, Joe Murphy and Jeff Sharples in the flip.

Murphy was later sold to the Chicago Blackhawks in a trade tree that brought the likes of Dan Clearly, Ethan Moreau and Chad Kilger to Edmonton.

Moreau, who played 653 games in 11 seasons for the Oilers and captained the team for three seasons before being released from the waivers by the 2010-11 Columbus Blue Jackets in the summer of 2010, was the last remaining link on the Edmonton side of the trade tree.

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The branches of kings

Gretzky played 696 games and amassed 918 points (246 goals, 672 assists) over nine seasons with Los Angeles, helping them reach a Stanley Cup Final in 1993 before joining the St. Louis Blues in 1996.

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This trade produced an overwhelming return including Craig Johnson, Roman Vopat (later to Martin Prusek), a fifth-round pick in 1995 (Peter Hogan), a first-round pick in 1997 (Matt Zultek) and Patrice Tardif.

The Kruschelnyski connection to the trade came from John McIntyre, who became Mark Hardy and a fifth-round pick (Frederick Beaubien) in 1993.

McSorley, however, has kept the trading tree alive for five decades.

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He was initially traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Sean McEachern, but a few months later they were the focus of a trade back. McSorley was traded again to the New York Rangers in 1997 for Mattias Norstrom, Nathan Lafayette, Ian Laperriere, Ray Ferraro and a fourth-round pick (Sean Blanchard).

Norstrom became the focal point of that move, playing 780 games in 11 seasons with the Kings before being wrapped in a 2007 trade that returned Jaroslav Modry, Johan Fransson, a 2007 second-round draft pick (Oscar Moller), a third-round pick in the year 2007 (Bryan Cameron) and a first round pick in 2008 (Viktor Tikhanov).

Tikhanov was equipped with the #17 pick in 2008 to move up to #12 in the same draft. Los Angeles then moved that No. 12 pick for the No. 13 pick and a third-rounder in 2009. The No. 13 selection became Colten Teubert.

Teubert was traded to the Oilers in 2011 with a first-round pick and a third-round pick in exchange for Dustin Penner. The third-rounder, No. 74, from that deal with Buffalo was traded to the Calgary Flames in 2009 in exchange for a later third-rounder and a fourth-round pick.

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The Kings traded the number 84 acquired from the Flames in 2009 and were wrapped up with potential Hudson Fasching in a deal with Buffalo, who earned a second-round pick (Alex Lintuniemi) in 2014 and a second-round pick (Erik Cernak) in 2015. landed), Jonathan Parker and Brayden McNabb.

Though McNabb was claimed by the Vegas Golden Knights in the expansion draft, Cernak was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning in a trade that brought back Ben Bishop and a fifth-round pick in 2017.

Bishop was then traded to the Dallas Stars in 2017 for a fourth-round pick, which was used to select Phillips.

Phillips was, of course, transferred for Nogier last spring.

Хоккейный клуб «Барыс» официально объявляет о заключении контракта с Нельсоном Ножье. Одностороннее соглашение с канадским защитником рассчитано на один сезон (dated 30 April 2023). pic.twitter.com/mTVvOuoCBw

— ХК «Барыс» (@AstanaBarys) September 13, 2022

Nogier’s signing in Russia on Tuesday ended Gretzky’s trade tree after 34 years and nearly 64 trades between the two teams and the most shocking trade in hockey to date.

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