Kings Ransom (2009)

On August 9 1988 the NHL was forever changed with the single stroke of a pen The Edmonton Oilers fresh off their fourth Stanley Cup victory in five years signed a deal that sent Wayne Gretzky a Canadian national treasure and the greatest hockey player ever to play the game to the Los Angeles Kings in a multiplayer multimillion dollar deal As bewildered Oiler fans struggled to make sense of the unthinkable fans in Los Angeles were rushing to purchase season tickets at a rate so fast it overwhelmed the Kings box office Overnight a franchise largely overlooked in its 21year existence was suddenly playing to sellout crowds and standing ovations and a league often relegated to little brother status exploded from 21 teams to 30 in less than a decade