won the Jack Adams Trophy in 1985–86 as the NHL's coach of the year. In the 1988 offseason, Gretzky was traded to the Los Angeles Kings. The Oilers finished the season third in the Smythe Division, and then were eliminated by Gretzky's Kings in the first round of the playoffs in seven games. Afterward Sather relinquished his title of head coach to Muckler, but remained general manager of the Oilers. For the 1989–90 season, the Oilers returned to the Finals where they again faced the Boston Bruins, winning in five games for their fifth Stanley Cup. While the Oilers remained competitive during the first half of the 1990s, it was obvious they were no longer the powerhouse they had once been (they last won the division title in 1986–87). This was mainly because key players such as Mark Messier, Jari Kurri, and Esa Tikkanen left to seek higher salaries elsewhere (caused in part by the Gretzky trade in 1988). It has been argued that the high turnover came about from Pocklington's cost-cutting moves in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The Oilers' decline was precipitated by poor scouting and drafting in the 1980s. This was largely overlooked during their glory years, since their stellar records resulted in them drafting fairly late and Sather was fairly adept at making trades to fill in the pieces. However, the lack of depth in the minor-league system finally caught up with them when the last veterans from the dynasty years left town. This left the Oilers so bereft of talent that Sather was forced to rush many prospects to Edmonton before they had sufficient time to develop. While the Oilers dropped to third in the Smythe Division in 1991 and 1992, they had enough heft to make it all the way to the Conference Finals both years. The bottom fell out in 1993, when the Oilers missed the playoffs for the first time in their NHL history. Of the 17 players that Sather chose in the first round from 1982 to 2000, only Jeff Beukeboom in 1983 and Jason Arnott in 1993 turned out to be successful for the Oilers. This deficiency was particularly crucial as the Oilers' precarious financial situation in the 1990s kept them from paying their top players enough to keep them in Edmonton, and also locked them out of the market for top free agents. After four years out of