The 80's Aka The Get The Puck To Gretzky Years
Of course, there was the other side of the spectrum too as the Drink wore off and the Cocaine years began in the 80's. The WHA was assimilated by the much more financially secure NHL, leaving many potential future bar bouncers out of the sport. In the eighties, among the glitter of Reaganomics and Michael J. Fox, a small team from Canada's most northern city called the Edmonton Oilers changed the face of hockey and started it towards the mess it is today, all due to one kid,
Wayne Gretzky. Even if you have never played hockey, you should know the name; he is hockey's Michael Jordan, Pele, Tiger Woods, Luke Skywalker.
You can read about him here. He broke nearly every record there is in the NHL and revolutionized the way hockey is played and players are paid. By relying on only one or two bodyguards that would beat the crap out of the entire other bench, the Oilers let Gretzky score points by the handful at a pace unprecedented in league history. He was often referred to as 'The Great One' and is one of the best ambassadors to the game the league has ever had.
Plus his daughter is super-hot. The Great One became the league's leading draw and everywhere the Oilers went, the games sold out. Even people who didn't know just what was going on had to see this kid play. Of course, with this new-found celebrity came the followers, the leachers, the
former Union Boss who was embezzling union funds. Soon after another amazing player came along named Mario Lemieux who skills were comparable solely to Gretzky. Lemieux, aka 'The Next One' lived up to his billing in later years, especially after Canada's wet dream of seeing the two of them play together on Team Canada. They teamed up to beat the former Soviet Union's Red Army team in the Canada Cup in
one of the greatest hockey series ever played. Interestingly enough this combination of Gretzky and Lemieux on the same team was a little known contributing factor to the end of the former communist republic (citation needed).