Because the Oilers didn't fold, they hung on to Gretzky, but were moved to the end of the draft order? That article kind of glossed over the mechanics of how that worked. Growing up in Hartford, I was a huge fan of WHA hockey, and even saw a game with Gretzky in his rookie year (the program, which I still have, says something like "the Oilers expect youngster Wayne Gretzky to contribute"). So did the WHA teams who remained all move to the end of the draft that year?
On topic, my vote is for 2003, but I guess we won't know until everyone finishes his career and the HOF nods come in. The game is too different now to simply compare goals and/or points.
Because the Oilers didn't fold, they hung on to Gretzky, but were moved to the end of the draft order? That article kind of glossed over the mechanics of how that worked. Growing up in Hartford, I was a huge fan of WHA hockey, and even saw a game with Gretzky in his rookie year (the program, which I still have, says something like "the Oilers expect youngster Wayne Gretzky to contribute"). So did the WHA teams who remained all move to the end of the draft that year?
On topic, my vote is for 2003, but I guess we won't know until everyone finishes his career and the HOF nods come in. The game is too different now to simply compare goals and/or points.