Aug. 9, 1988: This day 24 years ago shocked an entire nation, particularly a certain city in Alberta. That was when Wayne Gretzky -- he of four Stanley Cup championships and eight Hart (MVP) Trophies at the time -- was traded from the Edmonton Oilers in his native Canada to the Los Angeles Kings.

The bittersweet move -- later the subject of Peter Berg's 30 for 30 offering "Kings Ransom" -- didn't immediately sink Edmonton; it won the Cup two years later. But the move did breathe life into the Kings, with the team reaching the Stanley Cup finals in 1993 -- 19 years before finally claiming the title, sans-Gretzky (obviously).