Found Object: Trade Secret

Editor's note: Found Object is a new recurring feature that's part writing exercise, part old guy reflections. Each entry is about a different piece of detritus that I've collected at some point in my life.

Back in August 1988, the world was a much different place. I was 20, doing an internship with the Peabody Times after my junior year at UNH. Back in the late '80s, a career as a newspaper reporter was still something that made sense. You weren't going to make a lot of money, but it was a respectable profession and one that didn't seem to have an expiration date. 

Back then, newspaper internships were pivotal things. Not only did they give a prospective employer a glimpse at your skillset, they also give you an idea of whether you want to get into the business. It was one thing to write for the college newspaper, but another thing entirely to prove your worth for a daily paper. There were plenty of folks who had moved on to careers in journalism, but there were also those who couldn't handle the pressure of daily deadlines.

When I showed up in Peabody in June of '88, I found out that it wasn't going to be much of a challenge. My predecessor couldn't hack it and nearly quit after a month; he stuck around, but it was clear that he wasn't carrying a lot of weight. By the time I showed up, the editor of the Peabody paper was so desperate to not have the intern quit that she basically told me I could do whatever I wanted. I could've spent the entire three months doodling on a piece of paper and it wouldn't have mattered. But I wanted to make this my profession, so I wasn't about to waste it. I wanted to dive in. At first, there was a lot of puff pieces, mainly because there were three other reporters in the office to take the weightier stories. However, one of the reporters left in early August, which meant I was able to take on some more of the burden. More than anything, it proved that I was able to do the job.

So there I was on August 9, working on a story in the Beverly office of Essex County Newspapers, when I read on the AP sports wire that a big trade had gone through late in the day. This was a time before sports talk radio and Twitter and constant sports coverage, so I had no idea that the greatest hockey player of all time would be dealt at the peak of his powers. Indeed, Wayne Gretzky, who was coming off his fourth Stanley Cup win in five years with the Edmonton Oilers, was traded to the Los Angeles Kings. It was one of the biggest trades in sports history, especially given the fact that Gretzky was literally the best player in the sport and coming off a dominant stretch with Edmonton. Reading that he was getting traded was shocking, to say the least. There had been big trades before: Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito and many other stars had been traded, but none had been as key at the time of their trade as Gretzky was.

The trade of Gretzky to the Kings was a big deal for the NHL in terms of establishing itself in warm weather areas. The Kings had been in LA since 1967, and had had stars like Marcel Dionne, Luc Robitaille, Rogie Vachon and Dave Taylor, but Gretzky brought a whole new level of star power to the team. He attracted a whole new level of attention to the Kings, bringing in Hollywood celebrities and showcasing the game to a new audience. Even though the Great One was unable to bring a Cup to LA (although he did take them to the 1993 Cup final vs. Montreal), he generated so much interest in the game south of the border that it inspired a whole generation of American players.

The Kings eventually won Cups in 2012 and 2014, and while Gretzky was long gone at that point (he was traded to St. Louis in 1996 and retired in 1999), there's no denying the impact he had on hockey in California and the U.S. It would have been interesting to see what he could have done with Edmonton had he stayed (they won another Cup in 1990), but he clearly paved the way for U.S. hockey to reach many more kids.

I can still remember driving home from Beverly to Kingston, N.H., on August 9, 1988, shocked to the core that one of the greatest hockey players in history had been traded. A few weeks later, I headed back to Durham, N.H., for my senior year at UNH. A year later, I was back in Peabody, having been hired at the Times as a reporter. I was on to my career in journalism. How was I to know that things would change so radically for the entire newspaper industry? But in 1988, I was on the right track.

Now You're Gone

These days in professional sports, players rarely spend their entire careers with one team. Whether it's for performance or salary reasons, there is much more player movement nowadays. And if you're a fan of a particular team, you may become attached to certain players but you also know at any time that they can be traded or leave as free agents.

I discovered this at a fairly young age when my favorite team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, started trading away its best players. In the mid- to late 1970s, the Leafs had a strong core of good young players with Darryl Sittler, Borje Salming, Lanny McDonald, Ian Turnbull and Mike Palmateer. They didn't quite have enough to make it past the semi-finals, but they were seemingly a team on the rise. But GM Punch Imlach began feuding with captain Sittler and started trading away the players he was close to, including McDonald in late 1979. Eventually Sittler waived his no-trade clause and was dealt to the Flyers and the Leafs descended into sheer awfulness for pretty much the entire 1980s.

Another favorite player of mine, Leafs defenseman Tomas Kaberle, was dealt away today to the Boston Bruins for picks and a prospect. The trade was no surprise; Kaberle's been the subject of trade rumors for years as the Leafs have struggled to win games since the lockout in 2004. Kaberle had been with the Leafs since the '98-'99 season, a slick skater who quarterbacked the power play and always put up good numbers. He wasn't very physical, but he was a premier player for the Leafs his entire career.

Unfortunately, GM Brian Burke has been looking to deal him for the last few years and has come close a few times, but Kaberle wouldn't waive his no-trade clause. This year, he had enough and agreed to be traded to the Bruins; he's an unrestricted free agent after the season and probably wouldn't have re-signed with the Leafs. They got a decent return for him, but it's still a bummer to see him on another team, especially the B's, whom Kaberle helped the Leafs defeat Tuesday night.

I felt similar pangs of depression when the Jays traded away ace pitcher Roy Halladay after the 2009 season; Halladay was another player who spent his entire career in Toronto and was one of the best pitchers in the game. But it was another case of getting something in return for him before he left as a free agent.

It's part of the game. During the 2007-2008 season, Leafs captain Mats Sundin refused to waive his no-trade clause to allow the Leafs to get something for him before he became a free agent. Instead, he sat out the first half of the following season before signing with Vancouver and retiring after the season. He had played 13 seasons with the Leafs and had been one of their best players ever. It was a crappy way to go out. Kaberle saw that and decided he didn't want the same thing to happen to him, so he consented to the trade.

Tonight, he played in his first game as a Bruin, which Boston won 4-2 over Ottawa. He didn't have any points, but he kept the puck moving on the power play, which eventually led to the game winner by Dennis Seidenberg. It was strange to see him in a Boston uniform. It'll take a while to get used to that. But unlike the Boston fans who lustily boo most players who leave, I'll root Kaberle on, like I do for Halladay and other faves of mine who leave my teams. I rooted for Sittler on the Flyers, McDonald on the Rockies and Flames, Carlos Delgado on the Marlins and Mets, and many others who moved on. It's part of the game, and I understand that.