In June 1988, Nelson Skalbania attempted to broker a deal with his friend, Edmonton Oilers owner Peter Pocklington to acquire Wayne Gretzky for the Canucks. Skalbania was also in talks with Gretzky's agent Mike Barnett. Pat Quinn secured a good chunk of the Canucks future by drafting Trevor Linden second overall in the Entry Draft, and would continue his wheeling and dealing that had begun the previous summer. The Canucks only had to part with a third-round pick in 1989 (Veli-Pekka Kautonen) to obtain the services of veterans Paul Reinhart and Steve Bozek from Calgary on September 6. The next day, defenseman Robert Nordmark and a second-round pick in 1989 (Craig Darby) arrived from St. Louis for Dave Richter. The Canucks would have their power-play point men for the coming season in order, and gave up hardly anything to get them. The free-agent signing of Harold Snepsts returned a familiar face to the Canucks blueline, and suddenly defence seemed to be a strength of the Canucks. Combined with solid netminding from Kirk McLean and Steve Weeks, only powerhouses Montreal and Calgary would surrender fewer goals than the Canucks this season. This would also be the grittiest team that Vancouver fans had seen in a while. With Garth Butcher, Rich Sutter, Stan Smyl, Jim Sandlak, Ronnie Stern, Darryl Stanley, and Snepsts in the line-up, Vancouver was suddenly a not-so-pleasant stop on a western road trip.