frrom Allan Muir of Sports Illustrated,
On the 28th anniversary of Wayne Gretzky's stunning trade to the Los Angeles Kings, here's a look at five other blockbuster deals that fundamentally shifted the foundation of the NHL:
Detroit trades Marcel Dionne and Bart Crashley to Los Angeles for Terry Harper, Dan Maloney and a second-round pick
June 23, 1975
Owner Jack Kent Cooke wanted to grab headlines for both of his Los Angeles-based teams in the summer of 1975. And so, just days after signing top NBA free agent Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to the Lakers, he pounced on Dionne who was coming off a 47-goal, 121-point season with Detroit. But because free agency was a nascent concept at the time, the league required compensation be given to the Red Wings. The Kings paid a steep price for the promising sniper, giving up Harper, their captain and top defenseman, along with a solid young power forward in Maloney in a deal that infuriated coach Bob Pulford.
And understandably so. Los Angeles changed dramatically after the deal.
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