re: Was the Gretzky trade from Edmonton to LA the biggest sports trade ever?

I don't think it did generate billions in revenue. You, of all people, should know better. This is like arguing that a new stadium is worth it because of all of the ancillary benefits to the local economy.

The NHL expands south even without this trade. In fact, it had already started. The league expanded in 1967, 1970, and 1979. It had already tentatively started to move south with franchises in Washington and St. Louis. The expansion in 1992 added a Canadian team in Ottawa and one southern team, Tampa. It was a success, so they expanded again to Florida and Anaheim.

The 1991 expansion to San Jose was merely returning a team to the Oakland area to replace the defunct Seals from the WHA. The Stars moved to Dallas in 1993 due to population shifts. They weren't expansion, they were using the old trick of holding a city hostage for a new stadium. Gretzky raised the profile of the league no matter where he played. The league expands regardless because of the markets they were ignoring in the south.

As much as I dislike the guy, hiring Bettman over Ziegler to copy the NBA's marketing and get a deal with ESPN was far bigger than the Gretzky deal. Stein and Bettman were the guys who got a new TV deal and championed the NHL in the Olympics. Without a new commish, the Gretzky deal is just Peter Pocklington being a cheap bastard.