Just 16 years ago last week was the infamous non-call by Kerry Fraser. In game 6 of the playoff series between Toronto and Los Angeles, Wayne Gretzky high-sticks Doug Gilmour. The rulebook says it's an automatic five and a game, Fraser and his linesmen huddle up and then decide that nobody saw anything, and Gretzky scores the OT winner seconds later. Years later, Fraser finally came clean to the Toronto Sun and admitted that he blew the call. He claims he was blocked out on the play but the video below shows that he did have a clear view.
The Leafs were leading the series 3-2, and were a win away from meeting the Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley Cup final. Wendel Clark was a dominant force in the series. In that 6th game he had a hat trick including the tying goal in the 3rd period with the goalie pulled.
Then came the infamous non-call. The Leafs might have very well beaten the Canadiens but for Kerry Fraser. It may very well have been the only Maple Leaf Stanley Cup win I would have witnessed as an adult. I was just a kid when the Leafs won in the 1960s. I have the sick feeling that the Leafs will not get to a Cup final in my remaining life. I still feel robbed to this very day.
12 years ago
