Matteau, Geoff Courtnall, Shayne Corson, Yuri Khymlev, and even Tony Twist. In the brief period of time he played with the team, Gretzky and Hull would be paired with all of them interchangeably. Louis had a multitude of left-wingers in 1995-96. Louis Blues after coming over in a trade. Wayne Gretzky was captain for the 1995-96 St.
Tikkanen arguably clicked with the duo the best. Lennon and McCartney always needed a George Harrison, so to speak. Jaroslav Pouzar, Esa Tikkanen, even Dave Semenko filled that role as the left-winger for Gretzky and Kurri, and it worked. When Gretzky won four Stanley Cups with the Edmonton Oilers, there was always a wingnut on the left side that accentuated his and Jari Kurri’s prowess as hockey’s most dangerous scoring threat. Something Was Missing on the Port SideĪnd that may be one of the reasons why the 1995-96 Blues did not win it all. Separately, Gretzky and Hull both combined to assist on a marker from left-winger Stephane Matteau. Gretzky helped set up three of Hull’s goals, while Hull set up two of “The Great One’s”. In those 18 regular season games, he and Hull combined for goals on six different occasions. The other obvious reason for the trade was the chance to place the game’s greatest playmaker on a line with one of the grandest pure goal scorers in Brett Hull. Louis’ version of Gretzky and Kurri in Edmonton (Photo by Bruce Bennett Studios/Getty Images) Or so general manager and head coach “Iron Mike” Keenan believed at the time.īrett Hull and Wayne Gretzky were to be St. Gretzky was the player who would get them over the hump. The deal was made in order to give the Blues that final push needed to win the Stanley Cup. Neither Hogan nor Zultek ever played a game in the NHL. They also included their 5th round pick in the 1996 draft (Peter Hogan) and their 1st round pick in the 1997 draft (Matt Zultek) as part of the deal. Louis shipped forwards Craig Johnson, Roman Vopat, and Patrice Tardif to the Los Angeles Kings to obtain Gretzky.
The Blues obtained Gretzky for next to nothing. And that is what makes Gretzky’s 1995-96 season one for the ages. One could make the argument that every season of Gretzky’s career was important and unique but there is something particular about his time with the 1995-96 Blues that contributed noteworthy moments to “The Great One’s” career. What fans and historians of the game need to realize is that this particular juncture in Gretzky’s career holds a lot of hidden gems and interesting tidbits. Explore everything hockey with THW’s Hockeypedia pages.
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