Gretzky? Who needs him

"HE SAID WHAT?!"

That was my reaction, and I'm sure that of others, when they heard former Maple Leafs owner Steve Stavro turned down a chance to sign Wayne Gretzky as a free agent.

It was the summer of 1996. Atlanta was gearing up to host the Olympics, the Macarena was just starting to get on our nerves, the Nintendo64 was released, kicking off a decade of Nintendo failing to live up to the SNES, and Dolly the sheep was the first cloned animal to be born.

July 1st, 1996 came and NHL free agency kicked off. It was one of the biggest years for UFA’s as Wayne Gretzky's contract with the St. Louis Blues ended and he decided to take control of his future, and he had an idea in mind, from Sportsnet:

Gretzky, who grew up in Brantford, Ont., explained that he and his agent at the time, Mike Barnett, "were leaning to go to Toronto and be part of the Toronto Maple Leafs,"

What? Wayne wanted to come home? Why isn't there hundreds of Gretzky 99 Leafs jerseys at every game?

Well, the predominant story is that Leafs GM Cliff Fletcher had an agreement on the table with the great one, and when he took it to Maple Leafs owner Steve Stravo for approval, Stavro said "He wont put any more butts in the seats".

This story is one that is most popular, and helps people to show the hubris and greed of Toronto Maple Leafs owners.

But is it the right one?

Gretzky tells his side in the above linked Sportsnet story:

"Timing is everything, and unfortunately at that time they were trying to raise money to move out of Maple Leaf Gardens and move into a new arena, a new facility, and the ownership just felt at that time they need to concentrate and put more of their resources into building an arena than to sign me," Gretzky explained. "And that’s business and that’s what happens, but I thought I was close to signing in Toronto. I thought it was going to happen; unfortunately it didn’t."

Former 590 reporter Howard Berger had a story straight from Stavro himself up on his website, which is no longer available, so this copy/paste job from a forum will have to do:

"You want to know what happened, Berger?" he said, as if annoyed in perpetuity over the long-established reason. "It’s very simple. Gretzky and Michael Barnett wanted equity in the team… to own a part of the hockey club. Though I had taken Maple Leaf Gardens Ltd. private, I didn’t have sole authority over such a request, but I knew it would never fly. Not for a second. All of these years, I’ve gotten hell for not wanting Wayne Gretzky. That was never the case."

But wait! There's more! In his book ‘67, Damien Cox tells another version of events, beginning at Wendel Clark’s wedding:

"I felt bringing Wayne to Toronto would be the biggest shot in the arm for hockey in Canada," recalls Fletcher. "At the time, people were saying nobody wanted to play in Canada..."

At the 2002 NHL All-Star Game in Minnesota, [Gretzky] explained for the first time the sweeheart deal he had offered the team of his youth. "We were talking about something between $2 million and $3 million a season," he recalled. "...Vancouver was offering me $8 million a season but I wanted to be a Leaf in the worst way. I told Cliff [Fletcher] I’ll do whatever it takes to make it work, defer my salary for 25 years if you have to. Whatever it takes to get the deal done."

On the Canada Day weekend following Clark's wedding on the prairies Fletcher gave Gretzky the bad news. "[Fletcher] said he couldn't get the deal approved. They were serious about cutting back on payroll."

Three telling's of the story, two include Gretzky's memories, but 10 years apart.

In what is probably the best used examples of ownership interfering with hockey decisions, and yes, restricting the budget can count, we have one of the more frustrating times in Maple Leafs fandom.

We can only play "what if?" here, and while Gretzky wasn't in his prime anymore (remember he was 35 years old) having one of, if not the greatest player ever as your third line centre can't be a terrible thing. Plus this was before the cap so there was no reason to care about who got paid what.

Imagine this Leafs fans: heading into the '96/97 season your centre depth includes: Doug Gilmour, Wayne Gretzky, AND Mats Sundin.

If Gretzky is signed, this shows there's no cutbacks on salary, is Gilmour kept at the trade deadline that year? Could more UFAs have been brought in to make the team stronger? Would the Leafs have run those three centres on their amazing 1999 playoff run, in what was Gretzky's final season?

As we head towards some important milestones in the Maple Leafs rebuild, remember to keep looking at the future, the rearview mirror is small for a reason. Don't get caught up in a tunnel vision desire for the best free agents. One side may really be into it, but the other may just walk away.

Should the Leafs have signed Gretzky in 1996?