The day was August 8, 1988.
Wayne Gretzky was traded from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings. It changed hockey forever.
From then on, the sport was never the same. For good or for worse is hard to tell, but having Gretzky in North America the rest of his career definitely benefitted the sport in the United States
Peter Berg’s (“Hancock,” “Friday Night Lights”) documentary of the event, “Kings Ransom†does an admirable job showing the drama behind the trade, but that’s about it. There’s barely any conversation about how Gretzky affected the Kings and how his arrival there changed the game. Most of the film is about how the trade was orchestrated and the day it was made. Considering that, it gets the job done, but with such a rich subject, Berg could have made an even more compelling two-hour documentary, instead of a 52-minute feature that just focuses on the literal event.
Berg’s golf course conversation with The Great One, which takes up a small part of the film, but lays the groundwork for many of the events, satisfies. But it feels cold, almost as if Gretzky has to have this talk. Yeah, he’s honest about leaving the Oilers and how it might have affected his legacy, but there could have been more. There’s no Oprah moments, no tears, not even anything remotely close. Despite that, for these few minutes alone, this documentary shines but it feels like it’s a great quote or two away from being as special as it could have been.
The footage Berg has compiled of Gretzky during his time with the Oilers and his interviews with former Kings and Oilers owners Bruce McNall and Peter Pocklington are top notch. This, in a way, is what sells the idea of how important this trade was. It also makes the documentary sparkle. With Gretzky’s interviews alone, this film doesn’t have a leg to stand on. Pocklington’s interviews shed a ton of light on the subject and are interesting. McNall’s criminal history aside, he’s a charismatic character that adds another level of intrigue to the documentary.
The same thing can be said for Gretzky’s father, Walter. In just a few minutes, his no-nonsense and  brazen attitude personifies the event. It robbed Edmonton of its hero and made this 27-year-old legend think differently about the sport that he loved.
Away from the owners, Gretzky and his family, it would have been great to get some quotes from more players on the Oilers, but considering how in-depth Berg gets with Pocklington and McNall, the feature is accurately sourced and at times, entertaining.
It just ends too fast. You never get the feeling that #99 has shown you his heart.
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