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Originally Posted by the-rasta-masta
Wasn't Skalbania the guy that brought the Flames to Calgary? If he hadn't sold Gretzky, could he have been a Flame? Imagine that alternate timeline.
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No, that couldn't have happened.
Skalbania owned the Indianapolis Racers of the WHA and had signed Gretzky as a 17 year-old. When it became clear the Racers weren't going to be one of the teams absorbed into the NHL, he sold Gretzky in an effort to make money to help the Racers finish the season.
The story goes that he had a deal in place with Pocklington, but offered to play a game of backgammon against the owner of the Jets with Gretzky on the line. If the Jets owner won, Skalbania would sell Gretzky's contract to the Jets. If Skalbania won, he would have received a percentage ownership of the Jets. The Jets owner declined the offer and Gretzky went to Edmonton.
Skalbania got involved with the Flames purchase more than a year after that all went down.