Canadian Crisis and the NHL's Gain

Wayne Gretzky is arguably the greatest hockey player to ever lace up a pair of skates.  He was a Canadian hero and icon and an instant legend.  He played for Canada’s own Edmonton Oilers and dominated with them, winning Stanley Cups and setting all sorts of individual records.  However, one day changed everything for Canada and they lost their hero.  When Gretzky was traded to the Los Angeles Kings, a team that did not put fans in the stands in a city that did not get very cold, the whole country was devastated.  Canadians were constantly losing and finishing behind the United States in everything including sports, politics, and economics.  Canada had Gretzky and then they lost him to the country that always one ups them.  The free trade agreement scared Canadians that the United States would somehow take over and control parts of Canada.  Ben Johnson was stripped of his gold medal for cheating and Gretzky married an American woman before being traded.  Canadians were on hard times and the Gretzky trade made things worse.  It did however help the NHL.  It brought great hockey to a region that never experienced that before.  It opened up an entire new market and games in Los Angeles and against the Kings were selling out and the NHL was making a lot of money.  The NHL loved the trade, but good luck explaining that to Canadians.  Edmonton was set to win a few more Stanley Cups, Gretzky was on pace to break more records, and the history books would be filled with information about the great Oilers dynasty, but things changed that night when Gretzky left Canada.