Gordon and George Gund have spent more than 22 years as owners of NHL teams in Oakland, Cleveland, Minnesota and San Jose, and along the way, they have learned a great deal about how to get what they want from the league.

The knowledge came in handy a decade ago when the brothers decided they wanted to move their financially-struggling Minnesota North Stars franchise to the Bay Area of California, a market that the NHL had targeted at the time for an expansion franchise that would bring it a $50 million fee.

The Gunds were frustrated by league bylaws which put restrictions on the movement of franchises, but found a way to achieve their goals by working out a complex arrangement with Howard Baldwin and Morris Belzberg, the men who would be granted the San Jose expansion franchise.

While simultaneously threatening to hit the NHL with an antitrust suit, the Gunds negotiated a deal with Baldwin and Belzberg in which the brothers would trade the North Stars along with $19 million to the recipients of the new NHL franchise.

The North Stars, a talented young team at the time, would be operated the following season by Baldwin and Belzberg, and then its entire roster would be delivered to the Bay Area for the 1991-92 season in exchange for full participation in the expansion draft.

The deal seemed brilliant for all involved. Baldwin and Belzberg got a franchise for $31 million, a price they could afford; the league established a new precedent by charging $50 million for an expansion franchise; and the Gunds got to relocate the team it had developed to the Bay Area at a cost that was far less than the NHL's going franchise transfer-fee rate.

Unfortunately, the league would have none of what one governor called "the rape of the North Stars," according to former league president, Gil Stein. Instead, a compromise was worked out in which the two teams would have an inter-club draft the following year to distribute Minnesota players between them Minnesota's players were then exempt from the expansion draft, and the two clubs, with alternating picks, would fill out their rosters with players made available by other NHL clubs.

The deal was approved on May 9, 1990 and the Gund brothers became owners of the franchise known as the Sharks. It was one of the most memorable episodes in NHL history, and it took place during the week of May 8-14

May 8

Mark Messier always came up big.(Allsport)

His name is synonymous with leadership because of the role he has played on six Stanley Cup-winning teams. But even if Mark Messier wasn't someone teammates could look up to for inspiration, he would be invaluable simply because of his great on-ice contributions, especially during the playoffs. Messier made that clear on this date in 1995 when he scored a goal for the New York Rangers in an Eastern Conference quarterfinal game against Quebec. It was the 100th playoff goal of Messier's career, allowing him to join Wayne Gretzky and Jari Kurri as the only players to do so.

May 9
Scotty Bowman remains the most successful coach in history.(Allsport)	What a difference a year makes. On this date in 1999, Detroit coach Scotty Bowman recorded the 200th playoff victory of his career, a 2-0 shutout of the Colorado Avalanche. He is the only coach in history to reach that lofty plateau. This year, of course, Bowman didn't have a chance to celebrate the anniversary since Colorado eliminated Detroit from playoff contention.

May 10
Bobby Orr's game-winner was his first goal of the series.(Provided to SportsLine)	It is known simply as "the goal," and it has left the image of Bobby Orr flying through the air etched in hockey fans' memories. The incredible Boston defenseman scored his most famous goal when he beat Glenn Hall on this date in 1970, giving the Bruins a 4-3 victory and a four-game sweep of the St. Louis Blues in their Stanley Cup Finals series.

May 11

Dino Ciccarelli didn't waste his chances.(Allsport)

Talk about being a true opportunist. Dino Ciccarelli, one of only 12 players to score at least 600 goals in his career, earned another distinction for himself on this date in 1995 when he scored three power-play goals for the Red Wings in a Western Conference quarterfinal game against the Dallas Stars. Nine other players have turned this hat 'trick,' but Ciccarelli became the first players to do so twice in his career.

May 12

Borje Salming is in the Hall of Fame.(Provided to SportsLine)

He never won any individual trophies, nor did he play on a Stanley Cup winner during his 17 seasons in North America. Still it is no exaggeration to say that Borje Salming made a lasting impact on hockey and was arguably the most important European ever to have suited up in the NHL. The smooth-skating Swede paved the way for future generations of Europeans to play in the NHL even though few people expected him to last when the Toronto Maple Leafs signed him on this date in 1973.

May 13

Art Ross was ahead of his time.(Provided to SportsLine)

It is somewhat ironic that Art Ross' namesake trophy is given to the NHL's leading scorer even though he spent his playing career as a defenseman. An original Hall of Fame inductee, Ross had a great career as coach and GM of the Bruins, is also remembered as a master innovator. He introduced new designs for goal nets, which remained in use until 1984 and for pucks, which are still used today. On this date in 1939, he introduced a new type of hockey stick with a metal handle and a replaceable wooden blade. It was a little before its time since it 50 more years for a modern-era aluminum stick to be used.

May 14

Al Arbour guided the Isles through their glory days.(Allsport)

The Islanders haven't come close to matching their playoff success of the 1980s in the 1990s, but on this date in 1993, their former coach, Al Arbour, reached a personal milestone worth noting. New York defeated Pittsburgh 4-3 in overtime to win the Patrick Division final in seven games, giving Arbour his 30th career playoff series victory. That moved him into a tie at the time with Scotty Bowman.