as Castlagar News 410»! 10. 190s Opinions vary on big trade By The Canadian Press Following is a selection of excerpts from editorials in Canadian news papers concerning the trade of hockey star Wayne Gretzky to the Los Angeles Kings from the Edmon ton Oilers Vancouver Province: Can you be lieve the Griffiths family turned down a deal that would have brought Wayne Gretzky to the lowly Van couver Canucks National Hockey League franchise? To the Vancouver public been waiting so long for a contending team, Gretzky would be like Moses — ready to lead them to the prom ised land. He's the most charismatic sports figure in North America The wonder is that Edmonton Oil ers owner Peter Pocklington was ready to deal him away at all True, the Griffiths would have had to have given up control in favor of a couple of other businessmen. But those businessmen, Jim Pattison and Nelson Skalbania, were prepared to pay the $20 million Pocklington sought as part of the trade sought as part of the trade Winnipeg Sun: What the wily (Oiler coach and general manager Glen) Sather has done is greatly improve the long-term prospects of his hockey club He got rid of a superstar who has maybe three years left, gained a couple of budding scorers and. as- sured himself a stable of young colts for years to come (The Gretzkys) are probably firmly ensconced in their Bel-Air mansion preparing for their appearance on Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. Expositor: All F was in a state of profound shock. All across the great metropolis, forlorn little knots of citizens gather- ed to share their grief and to wonder “what was to become of their city now. All Edmontonians knew instantly that they would forever remember the precise moment, and exactly where they were, when they first heard the news that made it seem as if the earth had stopped in its tracks and the whole universe turned upside down, and their existence with it When, in short, they heard that Wayne Gretzky had been traded to Los Angeles. who've Edmonton Sun: If anybody out there expects us to join the bunch of badmouths over the Gretzky trade you're wrong To those of you who are sniping at Wayne, his new wife Janet, Peter Pocklington or Glen Sather, we have a piece of advice for you Shut up! Gretvky gave us 10 great years and helpgd ‘the Oilers to four Stanley Cups. He was our city’s greatest ambassador. He put us on the map Nobody expects this city — the City of Champions which played a large part in creating — to be happy about the deal But let's say goodbye to Gretz with class. And wish him the best of luck — except. of course, when the Kings play the Oilers. Edmonton Journal: The City of Champions has lost its quintessential champion To thousands of Edmontonians. Gretzky is more than a sports star He is part of this city’s personality Fdmontonians have a_ proprietary interest in him that goes beyond mere fan adulation He wasn’t just a hockey star, but this city’s very own hockey star. The Gretzky greatest player in the world, but also our player Right or wrong, Pocklington’s EDMONTON continued from front poge In a column that's sure to add to the speculation about reasons for the trade, the Journal's Cam Cole scoffed at suggestions Gretzky asked for it. And Paul “It'll be clear sailing for the Flames from here Coffey, Gretzky's former teammate who. was traded last season to the Pittsburgh Penguins, told the newspaper: ‘'There’s no bloody way he wanted to go there Some fans looked at the players coming to young star Jimmy Carson, top draft pick Martin Gelinas and three future draft choices — and predicted the Oilers’ reign atop the NHL will mor, Edmonton continue “I think we're going to have a very young, strong team for years to come," manager of a sports pub. Reaction was positive in Calgary, Edmonton's 1 city 300 kilometres south. Fans of the Flames, perennial losers to the Oilers, were ecstatic arch-ri about Gretzky's departure. WILL FALL APART? Chortled Richard Zellmer, a Calgary season- ticket holder: ‘*The strongest brick in their so-called City of Champions hi team's going to fall apart now." on in.”” with (Edmonton said Kim Davis, saying, arrival Flames’ devotee David Scott called it ‘such good news that this should be a civic holiday here."’ Calgary Mayor Ralph Klein does not plan to declare a civic holiday, said spokesman Rod Love. “But he is going to be looking forward to his bet Love said, referring to bets the two mayors annually make at playoff time. Decore, meanwhile, was despondent. “It’s like ripping a heart out of\a city and *Put it back together,’ watching Gretzky's news conference. In Los Angeles, long-suffering Kings fans hope two decades of frustration will end with Gretzky's “‘Where do I get my tickets?’ Punderson, a Kings’ fan for a number of years. just crumbled. Their whole Mayor Laurence) Decore a lot he’ said after asked Adrian Royal birth big news By MAUREEN JOHNSON Associated Press LONDON — She's only fifth in line to the throne, but from the hospital crowds to the headlines, the birth of Britain's newest princess has shown the Royal Family working a magic that defies even the experts. “I can't think why there’s such hysterical interest really,’’ Charles Kidd, editor of Debrett’s Peerage, which chronicles Britain's blue bloods, said in an interview “But it just keeps increasing Maybe it’s because there's been a levelling out of social classes — which is very good, but at the same time does make for rather boring reading “And these characters are sup. posed to be a bit bigger than life, or we're led to believe they are."” And so they seemed Tuesday. Almost al] of Britain's dozen na tional newspapers splashed across their front pages the Monday night birth of the Princess of York to the Queen's second son, Andrew, and his wife, Sarah Radio and télevision networks led bulletins repeatedly with the news. edging out the ceasefire agreement in the Iran-Iraq war. Only the Communist party’s Mor- ning Sfar and the newest upscale newspaper, the 375,000-circulation Independent, ignored or paid little attention to the birth of Queen Eliz- abeth’s fifth grandchild RECORD EVENT “We are not much interested in minor royals, but we did record the event,"’ said John Price, news editor of the Independent, which gave the story three lines on page 2. ‘The Independent’s view is that these people don't matter."” It was a lonely view. Compared with the attention given to Europe’s other major surviving monarchies — the Spanish, the Scan- dinavians, the Dutch and the Bel gians — Britain erupted with royal fever The monarchs of Sweden, Den mark and Norway attract plenty of at- tention among their Scandinavian subjects, but not much elsewhere. In the Netherlands, by the time former queen Juliana’s youngest grandchild, also Juliana, was born in October 1981, interest in royal babies had cooled. The little Juliana was the ex-queen’s 13th grandchild. In Sweden, the birth in 1982 of a third child, Princess Madeleine, to King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia, dominated the local news but did not make world headlines. Royal babies not in direct line to the throne receive scant attention Only one newspaper in Norway men- tioned the birth in Brazil last month of Norwegian King Olav’s second great-grandchild. In Belgium, pictures of King Bau- douin and Queen Fabiola seldom ap pear in newspapers. The heir to the throne, Baudouin’s nephew, Prince Albert, keeps even further out of the limelight IN LIMELIGHT In contrast, the royal family of the tiny principality of Monaco has the photographers in hot pursuit, parti cularly Princess Caroline and Prin- cess Stephanie, daughters of Prince Canning Specials B.C. Pickling Gukes 79° B.C, Silverskin 99° » te, DISCOUNTS ON BULK ORDERS OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. 2165 Columbia Avenue (beside Kal Tire) 365-2328 _ 100 MILE 3. BIKE RACING : EVENT! > oS _, REGISTRATION CASTLEGAR COUGARS 191 Columbioe Ave. Castlegar * 365-5873 OR GERICK CYCLE Trail © 364-1661 ar x SATURDAY, SEPT. 10 & SUNDAY, SEPT. 11 Saturday, Sept. 10. . . Opening Event Location Stanley Humprhies Secondary School block REGISTER NOW! & JOIN THE FUNI!! Sunday, Sept. 11. . . Take-Off at 10 a.m. 13th Ave. From Castlegar to Warfield, Trail, Montrose Fruitvale, Salmo, Nelson and back to Castlegar Rainier and the late P born Grace Kelly Announcing British Columbia’s New Family Maintenance Enforcement Program — wem How to register. If the well being of your children depends on regular child support payments, you can now register with a new program of the Ministry of Attorney General to ensure you receive those payments on time. After all, we owe it to our children ° LEARNING TO SWIM . . . Red Cross swim instructor Sonja Pratt leads class of little ones through lesson at Clarke's Pool. Summer-long Pool. Canucks turn down Gretzky VANCOUVER (CP) — The Van- couver Canucks put a deal together weeks ago that could have brought hockey supetstar Wayne Gretzky to the West Coast club, says a Van- couver Province columnist who wrote a book on Gretzky. Jim Taylor says in his colump in today’s edition that the deal was put together by a group that included Ie Vancouver i Jimmy Pattison and Nelson Skal- bania. The deal was on the table weeks ago, before serious negotiations be- tween Kings’ owner Bruce McNall and Oilers’ boss Peter Pocklington ever began, said Taylor. Under the proposed deal with the Canucks, the new group would buy S1 per cent of the Canucks, purchase Gretzky outright from the Edmonton Oilers for $20 million, and give 25 per cent of the club to Gretzky. Taylor says the Great One would agree to play fora. minimum five years and, upon retirement, become assistant and eventually head coach: The Province columnist says the deal fell through, according to Skal- bania, because the group couldn’t get the controlling interest from the Griffiths family, who own the Can- ucks. Walter Gretzky unfazed BRANTFORD, ONT. (CP) — The parents of hockey superstar Wayne Gretzky sat emotionless in the trophy room of their southern Ontario home swim classes occur each year at both Bob Brandson and Clarke's CosNewsPhoto BRUCE McNALL Kings owner pleased By Press Owner Bruce McNall had the perfect model Tuesday night when he unveiled the new uniforms his Los Angeles Kings will wear next season. Wayne Gretzky looked outstanding in silver and black, his surname and No. 99 stitched across the back. At great cost, McNall had obtained the holder of 44 NHL records, the man who led the Edmonton Oilers to the NHL's Stanley Cup championship four of the last five years. Some would say McNall ransomed his team’s future for an immeidate grab at the spotlight, but possession of the greatest player in the game overrode the criticism. ‘| want to see hockey become a major-league sport in California,” McNall said after introducing Gretzky at a Los Angeles news conference. Along with Marty McSorley and Mike Krushelny- ski, Gretzky goes to the Kings for Jimmy Carson, Martin Gelinas, about $14 million US and the Kings’ first-round draft picks in 1989, 1991 and 1993. Gelinas was the Kings’ No. 1 pick, seventh overall, in June's entry draft out of the Hull Olympiques of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Gretzky is said to be in line for one-third of the cash payment plus a cut on any increase in Kings’ attendance. “I feel like a young guy coming into the game again,’’ Gretzky said of the move to the Kings, a team weak on defence which has not been able to get close to the Oilers through most of the 1980s, ‘‘Hopefully, I'll play better hockey than I've ever played.” ASKED FOR TRADE Gretzky said he requested the trade so he could be near his pregnant wife. He married Los Angeles actress Janet Jones in Edmonton on July 16. Gretzky's new teammtes are flabbergasted at the development. “I pinched myself a few times to see if I was dreaming,” said Kings’ goalie Rollie Melanson from his home in Shediac, N.B. ‘‘I just find it incredible. “I’m almost speechless to find him playing on the same time. I think it’s just great for hockey.”” Carson will take Gretzky's centre-ice spot in Edmonton. He says he'll do the best he can but that nobody should expect him to fill Gretzky’s place in the Oilers’ lineup. “It was a shock,’’ Carson said. ‘‘Now I'll be the ig to Edmonton is a great break for me, with many great players. I hope I can help them win another Stanley Cup. But by no means will I ever replace the Great One.” Carson, who turned 20 on July 20, is one of the NHL's bright young stars. The Southfield, Mich., native scored 5S goals for the Kings last season, his second in the NHL. Gelinas was beside himself with joy. ‘‘I feel so happy. Edmonton is the best team in the NHL. I want to be on a winning team,"’ The Kings have never won a division title in their 21 years in the NHL. The Oilers have dominated the league. While losing the sport's biggest name, the Oilers have further added to a deep pool of talent capable of continuing the franchise’s success for many years to come. TIME WILL TELL “We've got a lot of prospects now and a lot of draft choices,’’ Edmonton co-coach John Muckler said from his home in Providence, R.I. ‘‘You can never replace a Wayne Gretzky, but I don’t think we'll know about our end’ of the deal until three or four years from now."’ Kings general manager Rogie Vachon says the acquisition of Gretzky should vastly improve atten- dance, which usually is from 10,000 to 12,000 specators a game. Pat Quinn, general manager and president of the Vancouver Canucks who share the Smythe Division with Los Angeles, Edmonton, the Calgary Flames and the Winnipeg Jets, said: “There's no question L.A. will be a better hockey team with the world’s greatest hockey player, but whether he'll make them the contender everyone hopes he will remains to be seen. This is something (the Kings) have looked at for three years. So, a lot of thought has gone into it."’ Quinn was head coach of the Kings before moving to the Canucks. “The trade is good for hockey, especially for the Los Angeles market where there will be increased interest because of the star syndrome that exists in that city,"’ Quinn said. ‘‘As far as the loss for the Edmonton fans and Canada, it's a tough deal and I would be very disappointed if I were an Edmonton fan “The trade will affect the Canucks so from my standpoint I hope it screws both teams up."’ Augus! 10,1988 @ 0 D Kootenay Savir CTT ILLIA Gretzky raded to Kings By NEIL STEVENS The Canadian Press It’s difficult to believe but hockey’s No. 99 now is a Los Angeles King. Saying he is putting his new family first, the superstar who led the Edmonton Oilers to four NHL Stanley Cup championships in the last five years said goodbye to Canada on Tuesday. This deal was sealed July 16 when Wayne Gretzky, 27, wed Janet Jones, an American actress living in Los Angeles, in an Edmonton ceremony that many likened to Canada's equivalent of a royal wedding ‘*Wayne came to me shortly after the wedding and said it might be time for him to move on,"’ Oiler owner Peter Pocklington said after announcing one of the biggest trades in sports history. Gretzky revealed during a news conference in Edmonton that Jones is pregnant. “*I decided that for the benefit of Wayne Gretzky, my wife and our expected child in the new year, it would be beneficial for everyone involved to let me play in Los Angeles,"’ he said. BROKE DOWN Gretzky said he was to leave E broke down, tears interrupting his statement. Some fans fulminated that Jones was behind the move but Gretzky insisted it was his idea. **I don’t know if I was really one of the reasons,’’ Jones said at a later news conference in Los Angeles. ‘‘Edmonton treated me very well and the way they treated us at our wedding was very touching and it meant a lot to me. “*I really hope they don’t hate me up there now."’ The deal was hot news on both sides of the border, eclipsing passage of the free-trade deal with Canada by the U.S. House of Representatives on newspaper front pages. Canadian members of Parliament offered their opinions while the details were reported on prime-time U.S. network newscasts. Pp i a i of wide int: its and no financial fool, has peddled hockey’s greatest asset while he was at his highest market value. Gretzky had four years left on a contract that would have made him a free agent without compensation to the Oilers upon its conclusion. — and HAVE COMPANY Gretzky, a centre who was the league’s most valuable player eight years in a row and scoring champion seven consecutive years before Pittsburgh’s Mario Lemieux took both honors last spring, will have company in Los Angeles. Veterans Marty McSorley and Mike Krushelnyski will join him with the Kings Going to Edmonton are high-scoring centre Jimmy Carson, 20, left winger Martin Gelinas, 18, the Kings’ first-round draft positions in 1989, 1991 and 1993, and more than $10 million in cash. The Toronto Stag,reports that the cash total will be $14 million, and Gretzky will get 2 $5-million share of it. The newspaper also says he will get a piece of the gate in Los Angeles, which would push his salary next season to about $1.5 million US. The first regular-season game next season between the Kings and the Oilers is scheduled for Wed., Oct. 19, in Edmonton. Pocklington said the Vancouver Canucks also tried to obtain Gretzky. One report indicated $20 million was offered and Gretzky would have owned a piece of the team. But Gretzky preferred Los Angeles. SET DESTINY **Wayne has given so much to this city and to hockey in the past decade that I believe he has the right to set his own destiny,”’ Pocklington said. ‘*We're all trying to do something that is good for Wayne, for the Oilers and for the National Hockey League,"’ said Glen Sather, Edmonton's president, general manager and head coach Some Oiler fans saw it differently “The Oilers are gone,"’ said Jennifer Hilchey shocked when I heard it “*I'm sure there's going to be no more Stanley Cups here, so our ion (as a city of c is gone."” Edmonton mayor Lawrence Decore said he was shocked. *‘It's like taking all the bridges away and saying, ‘Edmonton, this is what you're going to ‘ook like.’ "’ Telephone lines to the Oiler offices were overloaded by fans wishing to voice their disgust. Some said they wanted to cancel “TL was just Starting now we'll do all we can to ensure ba nd your children receive their support payments Simply call either of the toll free numbers listed below, or pick up a filing kit at any court house, government agent or legal aid office. name won't be spoken kindly today by many Fdmonton hockey fans. perhaps Gretzky insisted upon mov- ing to Los Angeles where his wife is pursuing an acting career. Perhaps Pocklington felt the money in the season tickets. On a radio talk show, callers likened Jones to Yoko Ono, whose marriage to recording artist John Lennon was blamed by some music fans for the 1970 breakup of the Beatles. MET BY WIFE After the initial announcement in Edmonton, Gretzky, flying in a jet provided by King’s owner Bruce McNall, left for Los Angeles Tuesday as rumors their son would be traded to the Los Angeles Kings were confirmed on a televised news- cast from Edmonton. “Well, that's it,"’ Walter Gretzky Quinn said the Canucks had made a serious bid for Gretzky but the deal bogged down at Edmonton’s end answer to many trivia questions: Who was traded for Wayne Gretzky? deal was persuasion enough for deal ing away hockey’s greatest player. This city, where hockey is more the stuff of reality, will sorely miss him No one will hesitate to wish him good luck and to give thanks for the count less hockey memories accumulated on a thousand winter nights. Halifax Chronicle-Herald: The lights at Wrigley Field are a fact and Gretzky has been traded. So much for tradition. Sports fans must won. der if there is no sacred cow that cannot be set aside Moncton Times-Transcript: In light of the 10 years of immense pleasure he has given Canadian fans, the great sporting reputation he has gar- nered for himself and which has so favorably reflected on Edmonton and Canada, all that is left is to admit there are deep regrets, but to admire him for having the courage to do what he felt he had to do Wish him well. He may be based in L.A., but he's till Canada’s Gretzky Ministry of Attorney General Honourable Bud Smith, Attorney General Call toll free. Lower Mainland residents call 6603281 Outside Lower Mainland residents call 1-800 663-9666 said calmly as the conference ended. “I'm hungry. Phyllis, let's go and eat and then we'll go the ball game.” The elder Gretzky owns the Brant- ford Red Sox, scheduled to play ait Inter-County Major Baseball League playoff game Tuesday night. Asked if he thought his son had actually requested the trade from the Edmonton Oilers, four-time Stan- ley Cup champions, Walter Gretzky “Well, you heard what they Edmonton owner Peter Pocklington told reporters No. 99 had asked for the trade. The Great One said he wanted to be traded so he could spend more time with his wife, the former Janet Jones, an actress-dancer. He also Jet it slip that he and Janet will be parents sometime next year. Tuesday started early for the Gret- zky clan, They were awakened at 3:15 a.m. by an Edmonton reporter wanting to know about the impend- ing deal. L.A. now a hockey mecca LOS ANGELES (CP) — Drive-by shootings, hot tubs, smog, earth- quakes — and now Wayne Gretzky: Los Angeles, the polluted, deca- dent, sun-baked home of the Ameri- can Dream, welcomed Canada’s big- gest star on Tuesday. And judging by the jubilant reaction — at least at Gretzky's first news conference in L.A. as a King — the city knows what it has on its hands. “The impact of this, not only on Los Angeles but the United States and throughout the world is going to be anbelievable,’’ Kings’ radio ‘broadcaster Bob Miller -said in an interview. ‘‘We have the most dom- inant player ever in the history of any sport, “This is the day hockey truly ar- tived in Los Angeles." Hockey fans in L.A. have waited a long time for something good to come of their team. And as they sat in traffic jams in grimy Inglewood, inching- toward the freeways after another lacklustre loss in a half- empty Forum, they couldn't have even dreamed that The Great Gret- zky would one day be on their team. Gretzky will certainly light a fire at Kings’ games, which tend to be a docile mix of boy-crazy girls in Kings Bweaters, sports-crazy guys drinking beer and the odd Sunset Strip couple. CHEER CHECKS Talk among fans in the seats is often mild and idle, with the most frequent question being “‘Why did the whistle blow?'’ and the biggest cheers coming for a stiff body check. Now, with Gretzky, there will be more inexperienced fans than ever. And some predict they will come in droves. Dennis Metz, sales manager for the Kings, said once word of Gret- tky's arrival leaked out, ‘we had 1,000 phone calls” tickets. “On a regular day we might have had 10.” Gretzky's mission here is not just to sell hockey in the desert but to make hockey truly respectable in the United States. Forum co-owner Jerry Buss, Kings owner Bruce McNall and Gretzky himself all spoke Tuesday of the impact they hope Gretzky's arrival will have on the future health of the National Hockey League Even after four Stanley Cups and two Canada Cups, it would be Gret- zky's toughest challenge — and yet he is probably the only one who could dare to take the test. “Wayne is the only player in the National Hockey League whose presence in Los Angeles would mean anything,’’ said Jim Lampley, sports correspondent for CBS. seeking season where he was met by Jones. Another news conference followed where Gretzky modelled the Kings’ new silver-and-black uniforms — No. 99 with the surname across the back. Gretzky, who holds 44 NHL scoring records, goes to a team that has failed to qualify for post-season play three times in the last six years. After 21 years in the league, the Kings sell only 10,000 to 12,000 of 16,000 available tickets each game. But McNall figures Gretzky will change all that. ‘tin this city, you get what you pay for and I'm happy to get Wayne Gretzky,” he said. Dennis Metz, sales manager for the Kings, said the team had 1,000 phone calls for season tickets Tuesday. “On a regular day we might have 10,"’ he said. Added Kings’ fan Jerry Lindsey: ‘I’m shell-shocked. It's on the proportions of trading Babe Ruth or one of the all-time greats in sports."" HOLDS RECORD Gretzky holds the NHL record for most goals (92). assists (163) and points (215) in a season. He also is the all-time assist leader with 1, \ But Gretzky, who had played 10 years in Edmonton, has met every challenge he has faced so far in his illustrious career. “*I feel I'm still young enough and capable enough to help a new franchise win the Stanley Cup,” he said.