Gretzky Nearly Retired After Dirty Hit
Published on March 26th, 2024 12:56 pm ESTWritten By: Dave Manuel

On September 14th, 1991, Canada was playing the United States in the first of a best-of-three final.
Canada was stacked with the likes of Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and Paul Coffey, and the United States had a very good team as well.
This was a pre-season exhibition series, though it was taken very seriously by the participants.
During Game 1 of the finals, Gary Suter hit Wayne Gretzky with a cheap-shot hit from behind that sent Gretzky crumpling to the ice. Gretzky attempted to skate it off, but eventually pulled himself from the game.
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Heading into the 1991 Canada Cup, the 30 year-old Gretzky was still in the prime of his career. In the previous season with the Los Angeles Kings, Gretzky had put up 41 goals and 122 assists for a total of 163 points.
Gretzky had dealt with back issues prior to the Suter hit, though this was a particularly vicious blow that changed the trajectory of Gretzky's career.
In fact, Gretzky dealt with so much pain as a result of the hit that he contemplated retirement.
In the end, however, Gretzky would press on.
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The Gary Suter hit effectively brought an end to Wayne Gretzky's prime.
Gretzky would never hit 40 goals in a single season again, and his even strength point production would fall off of a cliff, dropping by near 0.5 PPG.
Gretzky would still have some very productive years, including in 1993-94, when he would put up 38 goals and 92 points, though his effectiveness was certainly brought down a notch by Suter's hit.