Whistleblower Wednesday: The Phantom High-Stick – The Hit That Didn’t Exist

Gilmour bled. The refs blinked. Gretzky scored. Canada wept.

❄️ The Setup:

Date: April 27, 1993
Game 6, Campbell Conference Final
Toronto Maple Leafs 🍁 vs. Los Angeles Kings 👑
The series is on the line. Overtime. The hockey gods are watching.

Then, in the most cursed “oopsie” of officiating…

Wayne Gretzky swings his stick and catches Doug Gilmour in the face. Gilmour hits the ice, bleeding.

The rules?
Contact with the stick to the face = double minor.
Bleeding = even more severe.

The refs?
Looked around like they just lost the plot of the movie.
NO CALL.

Seconds later… Gretzky scores the game-winner. Kings win. Leafs crumble. History is stolen with zero blood-spattered consequences.

💬 The Fallout:

• Doug Gilmour (Maple Leafs Captain):
  "If I say what I really want, I’ll get fined."
  (Sir. We understand. Let the rage flow.)

• Wayne Gretzky (Kings):
  “I was surprised there was no call.”
  (Translation: I did that. Y’all just let me. Thanks.)

• Referee Kerry Fraser:
  Claimed he didn’t see the high-stick and didn’t want to guess.
  (Sir. The man's face was BLEEDING. Guess better.)

👥 Fan Reactions:

• Leafs fans:
  Still traumatized. The words “phantom high-stick” can start fistfights in Toronto bars.

• Canadian hockey fans:
  Some still believe this is why Canada hasn’t won a Cup since 1993. Honestly? Valid theory.

• Hockey Twitter (retro edition):
  If this happened in the modern era, the clip would’ve been remixed into TikToks within 3 minutes, all set to “Somebody’s Getting Fired Tonight.”

🐧 Pete’s Commentary:

“Gretzky could’ve signed Gilmour’s forehead with his stick and the ref still would’ve been like, ‘Seems clean.’”

“You miss a stick-to-the-face? The man was LEAKING. That’s not a ‘missed call,’ that’s a spiritual failure.”

“Some refs make tough judgment calls. This wasn’t one of them. This was Hockey Forensics 101 and the final exam was ‘Do you see blood?’ and they FAILED.”

📝 Pete’s Final Ruling:

Offense: High-sticking the truth and low-balling the rules.
Sentence: Ref must personally sharpen skates for every Leafs fan still holding a grudge (all of them).
Alternate Punishment: Ref gets hit in the face with a foam stick once a day, every day, for 93 days.

🧊 Want to air more icy injustices?
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The whistle may be silent, but Pete? Never.