The stunning and unexpected trade that sent Edmonton Oilers superstar Wayne Gretzky to the Los Angeles Kings 25 years ago today was a landmark event for the NHL that changed the entire landscape of the sport in the United States.
It started an immediate explosion of interest and growth in the NHL throughout America; the impact of the deal is still being felt today and will continue to affect the league well into the future.
Without Gretzky's move to Hollywood in 1988, the league may not have been able to successfully expand to nontraditional American hockey markets in western and southern states throughout the early-to-mid 1990s.
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