POINT / COUNTERPOINT : The Great Debate : COMMENTARY : He’s Owed What He’s Asking: Help to Build a Winner

The signs appeared gradually, spaced so widely that, at first, it was easy to ignore them.

It was impossible to accept that Wayne Gretzky was getting older. He still looked young, his face youthful and unscarred, his hair thick and his complexion tanned by the California sun.

But then he began experiencing back problems. And the gaps between his goals lengthened. There were no monumental struggles, nothing that would be noticed if it had happened to most NHL players. Still, there were definite indications that some day, the greatest player the game has seen would no longer be displaying his magic in a King uniform.

No athlete can compete forever, although Gordie Howe came close. It’s inevitable that, one day, the Kings will have to face life after Gretzky and find other players to entertain crowds and feed the fire Gretzky had lit.

Some day, but not yet.

Gretzky said he wants to see owners Philip Anschutz and Edward Roski commit the money and effort to acquire a couple of players and make the team competitive this season. He’s not asking for the moon. After hearing so many empty promises during the financially and morally bankrupt Bruce McNall-Joe Cohen-Jeffrey Sudikoff eras, he’s merely asking for action. He’s asking the general manager, Sam McMaster, to do his job. He’s asking not to be embarrassed.

Surely, after all that Gretzky has done for the Kings, they can do that for him.

Gretzky is far from finished, as evidenced by his brilliant play in the early weeks of this season. With help to bear the scoring burden, he could excel for the Kings for two or three more years. He could become a link between the stars of the 1980s and the stars of the next decade, players such as Vitali Yachmenev, Rob Blake and Aki Berg. He could play one season in the new arena that Anschutz and Roski promise to build and then retire to a front-office job, his dignity intact.

If the Kings trade him to the St. Louis Blues, as has been so strongly rumored, it will rank among the most colossal blunders in sports, with the Boston Red Sox’s sale of Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees--and look how the Red Sox have fared since. Trades the Kings have bungled, draft picks they have wasted and inexplicable hirings they have made occupy many spaces on any list of all-time mistakes, but this would top them all.

It would be a horrible move for several reasons:

--It would symbolize management’s fear of making trades and its inability to adjust in midstream. As the Kings’ fast start faded into memory, McMaster didn’t react. Nothing happened until Gretzky made it an issue. A competent general manager would have realized the team needed a boost and made a move. Joe Nieuwendyk was available until a few weeks ago, and had they tried, the Kings probably could have gotten Brett Hull.

The need for an offensive defenseman is harder to satisfy. Sandis Ozolinsh or Doug Bodger could have fit that role, but they went to Colorado and San Jose, respectively. Calgary has made Phil Housley available too.

--It would mean the Kings have conceded they will not win the Stanley Cup this season or next. By the season after that, two more general managers may have come and gone and decided to try yet another plan that will take three years to implement. The Rangers’ 54-year Stanley Cup drought will look like the blink of an eye compared to how long the Kings will wait to get back to the finals, let alone win their first Cup.

--It would mean Anschutz and Roski aren’t committed to maintaining a strong team or appointing a capable management team that would do so for them. Did they buy the franchise only because they expected to rake in money from luxury suites in this wonderful new arena of their dreams? Without Gretzky, they could be faced with a lot of empty suites and seats.

The only player they could acquire from St. Louis who would have anything close to Gretzky’s marquee value is Hull, but they almost certainly wouldn’t get him. Part of St. Louis General Manager/Coach Mike Keenan’s plan is to have Gretzky play alongside Hull.

--A cliche in real estate--the field in which Roski made his fortune--is that the three most important factors are location, location and location. Having Gretzky located in Los Angeles is good for the Kings and good for the NHL. It glamorizes the Kings and hockey in general in a city that’s celebrity-crazed.

Hockey existed in Los Angeles before Gretzky arrived, but it was treated as almost a cult sport. Gretzky brought hockey into the mainstream, not only in Los Angeles but in other cities where it was less entrenched than baseball, basketball and football. He gave hockey and the Kings a national profile.

--Worst of all, it would mean we no longer can watch Gretzky as often. We wouldn’t get to watch him set up behind the net, assessing his passing options and creating plays before the goaltender and defensemen can react. We wouldn’t get to see him put passes firmly on the tape of his wingers’ sticks, unerringly knowing who will be open and when, even before his teammates know they’re in the clear.

--Rooting for Gretzky now, by extension, would mean rooting for Keenan.

Some star players stick around long past the point where their skills have eroded and memories of their futile, hobbled efforts overshadow what they accomplished in their prime. That’s not the case with Gretzky. If the Kings trade him, we will be cheated of the glories he’s still capable of achieving in a King uniform.