Signing 99

The Edmonton Oilers were impressed the first time they saw Wayne Gretzky play. Gretzky scored the first two professional goals of his career on October 20, 1978, against the Oilers. The Oil won the game 4-3, but Gretzky was the main attraction that evening.

Early in 1978, Gretzky shocked the hockey world when he decided to sign a seven-year deal with the Indianapolis Racers before his 18th birthday. At the time, players were not eligible for the National Hockey League (NHL) draft until age 18, so Gretzky’s decision stunned the NHL.

Gretzky played just eight games for the Racers, playing until the financial difficulties encountered by team owner Nelson Skalbania were too much for the club to bear. Skalbania met with Oilers’ owner Peter Pocklington and agreed to sell Gretzky’s contract along with forward Peter Driscoll and goalie Eddie Mio to the Oilers for $850,000. For Skalbania, it was a bittersweet move, as he once owned the Oilers before he took over the Racers franchise.

Unfortunately, the cash from the Gretzky deal did not revive the troubled Racers franchise. Although Skalbina was able to keep the Racers afloat for another month and a half, he folded the team on December 15, leaving the WHA with just six franchises.

Pocklington had a feeling Gretzky was going to be the Oilers' future foundation, and decided to offer Gretzky an unprecedented deal. On January 26, 1979, Gretzky’s 18th birthday, a 21-year personal service contract worth $21-million was signed in front of a large throng at Northlands Coliseum.

For Pocklington, the personal-service deal was a cunning move. He was fully aware that the WHA was in financial trouble, and the only way the Oilers could survive was if the National Hockey League adopted the team. The Racers folding was a harbinger of even tougher times for the league. The fact that Pocklington inherited a personal-service contract and not a traditional player’s deal was key. When the Oilers, Winnipeg Jets, Quebec Nordiques and New England Whalers were green-lighted to join the NHL, all WHA player contracts were waived and the players belonging to the four franchises were put into a draft pool. However, Gretzky's contract was officially with Pocklington, and not just the Oilers, and therefore was exempt from the dispersal. This unique deal guaranteed the most talked-about teenager in sports history would begin his NHL career with the Oilers.

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