October 6, 2009, at 10:20 pm
Tonight, ESPN aired Kings Ransom, the first part of their “30 For 30″ documentary series. As someone who loves documentaries and worships Wayne Gretzky, I was really excited about this, even though Puck Daddy didn’t exactly gush over it. Thankfully, Kings Ransom wasn’t what I was afraid it’d be and, in many ways, it exceeded my expectations.
Like I said, I tend to obsess over the Great One, so the story isn’t exactly new to me. It isn’t new to many people, either; just last year, the NHL Network did their own documentary about the trade. Kings Ransom covers similar ground, but in a different way. By including a great deal of footage from the events leading up to the trade, we get an almost voyeuristic view of Gretzky’s life at that time. We’ve all seen clips of Gretzky breaking down at his press conference in Edmonton, but seeing his whole speech is a bit jarring. The same can be said for the footage of his limousine just after his marriage to Janet Jones. Through these clips, we see the human side of Wayne Gretzky, which is welcome, as these 21 years have taken away some of the emotion of the moment.
So much has been said about this trade that we almost forget that this was probably the biggest trade in sports history. Director Peter Berg tries to remind us of this fact by demonstrating how big hockey is in Edmonton and how special Gretzky’s time with the Oilers truly was. Kings Ransom doesn’t make much of an attempt to absolve Peter Pocklington of the blame for the trade, nor should it, especially since Glen Sather, Janet Jones, Bruce McNall and Jim Matheson all point their fingers at Pocklington. What’s interesting is, Gretzky is the only person to defend Pocklington.
Puck Daddy’s review criticized Gretzky for appearing unemotional about the trade in Kings Ransom, but the reason Gretzky is so composed is that he’s discussed this trade a million times. He can’t pretend to be as angry about it as, say, Sather was, simply because Sather has had less of a chance to vent in front of a camera. Gretzky has told his side of the story in his own autobiography and Ed Willes’ Gretzky to Lemieux. By chance, I’ve read both over the past two weeks. The story doesn’t change, but time (and constant discussion of the deal) has changed Gretzky’s mindset. Gretzky’s autobiography, written in 1990, reflects a bitter look at the trade. Today, Gretzky can calmly state that he understands why he was traded. That’s great for avoiding trouble, but as Puck Daddy states, it takes away from the documentary.
That Kings Ransom barely touches on the successes of the Kings and Oilers is refreshing, as the impact of this trade had nothing to do with anything that happened on the ice. It would have been nice to hear about the 1989 Kings-Oilers playoff series, but I was glad that Kings Ransom was about the trade and not the 1993 Kings. Also, it was nice to show the real aftermath of what happened – while it was true that Pocklington sold Gretzky to raise cash, it is also stated that Bruce McNall bought Gretzky with dirty money.
Kings Ransom really excelled in the subtle areas. The montage of Gretzky highlights at the beginning of the documentary wasn’t just any random highlights thrown together. Instead, they told the story of Gretzky’s time in Edmonton. Among the goals shown were Gretzky’s 50th goal in 39 games, Gretzky’s goal to beat Mike Vernon in Game 2 of the 1988 Smythe Division final, Gretzky’s 500th goal, and Gretzky’s goal to open Game 5 of the 1984 Stanley Cup final. Berg showed his fandom and true understanding of Gretzky’s career in this sequence. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t tip my cap to ESPN for their handling of this documentary. We do more than our fair share of ESPN bashing in these parts, but they nailed this one. They kept the commercials to an absolute minimum and didn’t run a score ticker at the bottom of the screen, even as the AL Central one-game playoff reached extra innings. Best of all, they didn’t look down on hockey the way many of us accuse them of doing. Instead, they let Peter Berg tell his story. More than that, they chose Wayne Gretzky and the National Hockey League lead this much-hyped series of documentaries. That says something.
While Kings Ransom isn’t a perfect documentary – in no small part because this is a story that we’re all familiar with – it does succeed in presenting a familiar story in a different light. It’s nice to see a hockey story on ESPN, in high definition, with a famous director using cutting-edge ideas and technology. The documentary does a great job of showing the conflicted nature of all parties involved with the trade; while all express regret on some level about the trade, all admit that the trade was for the best. Berg seems to agree, ending his documentary on the note that three NHL teams call California home. Though that’s not all Gretzky’s doing, Kings Ransom does an effective job of showing the trade’s influence on the NHL and sports in general.
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