August 9, 1988. It is a day that lives in infamy, and hockey fans far and wide will never forget where they were or what they were doing that day. Why? This day, 27 years ago, was the day that the greatest player to ever play the game, Wayne Gretzky, was traded from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings.
It was a message heard around the world, and not just the hockey world, but the entire world of sports. The game of hockey would change forever. Gretzky, a hero who brought four of five Stanley Cups to Edmonton, was now gone.