"I probably should have been in the sin bin": When Wayne Gretzky made a big admission about getting away with high stick penalty on Doug Gilmour

During his tenure with the Los Angeles Kings, Wayne Gretzky appeared in the Stanley Cup Finals once, in 1993. While that was an achievement in itself, some might argue he and his team shouldn't have made it there in the first place thanks to a Clarence Campbell Conference Finals Game 6 controversy.

During overtime in Game 6, with Toronto leading the series 3-2, Gretzky high-sticked Maple Leafs center Doug Gilmour who suffered a cut to his chin. Despite appeals, Wayne Gretzky wasn't handed a mandatory five-minute penalty. A game misconduct and suspension for the following game would also have been served but referee Kerry Fraser did not call the penalty.

Gretzky then scored the game-winner. Worse for the Leafs, Gretzky's presence in Game 7 was decisive, as he scored a hattrick and ended the Leafs' title chances. Toronto at the time had a twenty-six-year drought for the Stanley Cup, which has yet to be broken as of 2025.

During a 2024 roundtable on Sportsnet with Chris Chelios, Ray Bourque, and Wendel Clark, Wayne Gretzky admitted he deserved the penalty for his play. He also stated that Canada wanted the Leafs to go to the Stanley Cup Finals where they could face the Montreal Canadiens.

"Yeah, I probably should have been in the sin bin. It was such an emotional series for everyone, like it was… it took the whole country by storm. Everyone loved it. Everyone wanted that Montreal-Toronto matchup. And I say this everytime, I think Toronto was a better team than Montreal, Toronto probably could have beat Montreal," Gretzky had said.

Doug Gilmour and Kerry Fraser recalled their versions of Wayne Gretzky's high stick incident

As a recipient of a wrong call that his team had to suffer, Doug Gilmour has been very vocal about the officiating throughout Game 6 of the Conference Finals. In an exclusive interview with the Toronto Star in 2020, he said:

“I always joke, if I could go back before I retired, if I had one more game to play, I’d go back on the ice, mess up Kerry’s hair, and then go off and say goodbye. But it’s over and done with. And I always say, we had Game 7 at home. The best player in the world beat us, unfortunately.’ But it’s fun to watch. There’s good times, bad times. But you’re reliving memories.”

Like Wayne Gretzky, referee Kerry Fraser has also admitted to his mistake. In an article in 2016, he recalled not seeing the hit and having to make the call:

“I had to make a decision. In referee school, they hammer it into you: Call what you see. Don’t guess. The honest-to-God truth is, I didn’t see it. I had to eat it. I said, ‘No penalty.’"

The NHL over time changed rules to introduce a two-referee system. As for the Kings, they were beaten in the Cup Finals by the Habs 4-1, which remains the last time a Canadian team won the Stanley Cup.