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Regal Rundown 8/12/19: The Gretzky Trade Legacy, Kings Interested in Ben Hutton?

Last week marked the 31-year anniversary of the Kings’ league-altering acquisition of Wayne Gretzky. The landmark deal that sent Gretzky from Edmonton to Los Angeles proved that even the most high-profile players can be moved in a trade if the price is right.

With that in mind, Sporting News’ Brandon Schlager compiled a list of the 15 biggest NHL stars ever to be traded. Unsurprisingly, Gretzky took top billing in the rankings. After outlining the trade, Schlager took a moment to outline what happened in the aftermath of the move.

It wasn’t a total loss of the Oilers. Jimmy Carson and Martin Gelinas helped capture another Cup in 1990, though neither was long for Edmonton. Gretzky carried the Kings to the Cup Final in 1993 but never again won hockey’s ultimate prize. After a cup of coffee with the Blues (following a trade to St. Louis that received significantly less fanfare), he signed with the Rangers as a free agent to wind down his remarkable career. All said and done, the Great One scored 1,188 of his untouchable NHL record 1,963 points after leaving the Oilers, and those in Edmonton will forever wonder how much more they might have accomplished with both Gretzky and Mark Messier in their primes.

Further down the list, Schlager mentioned another famous Kings-centric deal: the trade that sent Marcel Dionne from Detroit to Los Angeles.

Dionne was an offensive innovator and went on to become one of the greatest goal-scorers ever, piling up 731 in 19 NHL seasons. His 1,771 points rank sixth all time. The Red Wings missed the playoffs six times in seven years, ushering in the “Dead Wings” era.

You can read Schlager’s complete list at Sporting News.

Kings Interested in Ben Hutton?

The Kings’ relatively quiet summer could have another move in the works. According to The Fourth Period’s Dennis Bernstein, the Kings are among the four teams that have expressed interest in former Canucks defensemen Ben Hutton.

Hutton, a 26-year-old blueliner, notched 20 points in 69 regular season games for the Canucks last season.

Trophy Troubles

Robin Lehner was greeted with a surprise when he was presented with the Masterton Trophy. The former Islanders goalie took to social media to show that the trophy featured a noticeable mistake: instead of listing the Islanders on the trophy, the Rangers were featured on the placard.

Lehner, who signed with the Blackhawks this summer, is set to fulfill a role behind Corey Crawford in Chicago.

New Arena in the Works

Candice Ferrette and Jim Baumbach of Newsday highlighted the newly agreed upon funding for the Islanders’ new arena. The $1.3 billion venture will cover the following:

New York Arena Partners, the project developers, have proposed a 19,000-seat arena, 350,000 square feet of upscale shops and restaurants, a 250-room hotel and parking on 43-acres of vacant state-owned property at Belmont Park. The development group is a partnership of the owners of the Islanders, the New York Mets and the arena development company Oak View Group.

Empire State Development chairman Howard Zemsky shared his thoughts on the outcome after the vote.

“We are proud of the open, public process this project has gone through over the last two years, strengthened by the input and support of community members who made their voices heard and helped improve the plan, resulting in today’s positive outcome,” ESD chairman Howard Zemsky said in a statement after the vote. “We are committed to continuing to work with New York Arena Partners, community members, and local leaders to deliver on the thousands of jobs and billions in economic activity this project will create.”

You can read the full story from Ferrette and Baumbach at Newsday.

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