On the list of villains and scapegoats in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ nearly 50-year Stanley Cup drought, Kerry Fraser is near the top.
The former referee famously failed to call a penalty on Wayne Gretzky for high-sticking the Leafs’ Doug Gilmore in Game 6 of the 1993 conference final. Gretzky scored the winning goal moments later, and his L.A. Kings went on to win the series in seven games. Leafs fans have not let Fraser forget it.
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If you are one of those fans who has spent all these years wondering just what Fraser was thinking, Fraser is here for you. The retired ref has opened up on the incident in a piece for The Players’ Tribune, published Tuesday. An excerpt:
Fraser goes on to describe his consultation with linesmen. They could not offer nothing definitive. And then:
There you go, Leafs fans. Kerry Fraser feels you. He is sorry.