“One of Those Can’t-Win Situations”: A Bizarre Injury Resulted in Wayne Gretzky’s Wife Bleeding From Her Mouth During an NHL Game in 1997

In October 1997, Wayne Gretzky had to make the toughest choice of his life when his wife was knocked unconscious in the middle of his game. The choice was between taking his wife to the hospital or staying back in the game and letting others handle the situation outside.

Janet Jones was carried to the nearest hospital before the game resumed for its final 6.18 minutes. While it was one of the toughest choices the player had to make on the ice, nonetheless, he received heavy backlash for his decision. Despite all his efforts that night, Gretzky’s team lost the match against Chicago Blackhawks, the score being 1-0.

Wayne Gretzky’s wife gets injured in the middle of a game

On 22 October 1997, the New York Rangers went up against Chicago Blackhawks in a nail-biting match. However, soon after the second quarter began, an unforeseen incident brought the intense game to a temporary halt. Two women were knocked unconscious by a “dislodged Plexiglas pane.” The incident occurred when Rangers’ Ulf Samuelsson checked Sergei Krivokrasov of the Blackhawks. Two players ran into the boards near the benches in the neutral zone after losing balance. The intense force led to the enormous Plexiglas flying into the audience, hitting whoever it first encountered.

The two victims of the glass were women. While one remained unidentified, the second was immediately recognized as the Rangers’ captain’s wife, Janet Jones. The impact from the hit knocked the two women unconscious, with Jones sustaining an additional cut on her lips. Jones lay there unconscious for nearly 5 minutes with blood seeping out of her mouth until medical help came.

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This was the situation that left Gretzky in a frenzy. Describing the helpless situation, Gretzky said, “It’s tough to put it out of my mind. It was one of those can’t-win situations when I got out there. Maybe I shouldn’t have gone back out. There really wasn’t a lot for me to do at that time. Kevin Stevens’s wife was with her. We knew at that point that she was going to be O.K. It’s just a matter of precautionary measures.”

The backlash after the incident

Following the incident, Gretzky received heavy criticism for returning to play the rest of the game. Apart from the fans, big media houses trashed the great one left and right. According to the New York Times, Gretzky’s response to the situation “raised eyebrows.” Whereas the New York Daily duped Gretzky’s reaction as a “freakish sequence with freakish behavior.”

However, through the tough time, Jones stayed on her husband’s team. “I definitely think Wayne shouldn’t take any flak for that, because he couldn’t be a better husband and father. I trust his judgment,” said Wayne Gretzky’s wife.

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Do you think Gretzky made the right choice or he should’ve left the game and taken care of his wife first?