“Put 20 stitches”: Wayne Gretzky fainted

The legendary hockey player Wayne Gretzky complained about his state of health. Recently, the holder of many NHL records lost consciousness and suffered several injuries when he fell, as a result of which about 20 stitches were placed in the hospital.


One of the most legendary National Hockey League players, former striker Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers Wayne Gretzky was hospitalized after passing out. According to the famous Canadian nicknamed "The Great", a few days ago during breakfast, he lost consciousness and fell. In the fall, he received several cuts on his face, as a result of which the doctors put him about 20 stitches.

“Recently, while having breakfast in one of the establishments, I drank coffee with my family. Seeing my friend, I wanted to say hello to him. However, rising, lost consciousness and fell. At the hospital, I had a full examination - from the brain to the heart. It turned out that fainting occurred as a result of dehydration.

Doctors stitched about 20 sutures on the chin and four or five on the eye. Now I'm still recovering. Doctors said that soon I would be completely healthy, "

- quoted by Gretzky The Athletic.

As the hockey player admitted, initially it seemed to him that unknown people “poured drugs” into his coffee, but the results of a medical examination showed that there were no additives in the drink. Gretzky himself reproached himself for "negligent and too frivolous attitude to dehydration and his own health."

The figure of Wayne Gretzky in the entire hockey world is almost the most iconic, but in the NHL - for sure. 58-year-old Canadian during his playing career set more than a dozen different league records. In total, he has 61 records on his account - no one can boast of such an indicator. So, Gretzky is still the best in the number of goals scored in the history of the NHL: in 1487 matches of the regular season he scored 894 times. If we take the statistics from the playoff games (208), then the whole Great marked 1016 goals. Gretzky also remains the best assistant of the league: in the NHL regular season, he made 1963 assists, and in total, including playoff matches, - 2223.

If we talk about the records of the Canadian legend “Edmonton”, with which he won the Stanley Cup four times, recently one more modern star in the NHL, Alexander Ovechkin, looms around the “Great” figure.

Of the current league players, it is the forward and captain of the Washington Capitals who are the closest pursuer of Gretzky in terms of the number of goals in the regular season. In his career, Ovechkin played 1090 matches in the championship, in which he scored 662 times - the last puck currently scored by Alexander in the match against the Dallas Stars the day before.

To surpass, perhaps, the eternal achievement of Gretzky, the Russian hockey player needs to throw another 234.

Given that for eight consecutive seasons Ovechkin has chalked up at least 50 goals in the regular season, the idea that Alexander the Great can really break the Canadian record does not seem fantastic. By the way, about the seasons: it was Gretzky, along with ex-New York Islanders striker Mike Bossi, who were the only players in the history of the NHL who managed to reach the mark of 50 goals for the season nine times in a row. Ovechkin, in this case, has every chance to enter the historical three: now he has four goals in six matches. With stable performance, a Russian should take five years to stand ahead of Gretzky.

Now Ovechkin is already 34 years old, but the captain of Washington does not think about ending his career in the coming years.

“My goal has always been to score as many goals as I can. But every day it becomes more and more difficult. Gretzky's record? There is always a chance, but I need to play the same and do the same. I have to use my chances and we'll see there, ”the NHL press service quoted Ovechkin as saying.

However, Gretzky himself has repeatedly openly stated that he really wants Ovi to conquer his achievement. According to the legendary Canadian, the Russian striker "has done a lot for the development of hockey both in America and around the world."

“He is able to get around me. He is a good athlete, stands for an excellent club, he plays in a team with good hockey players, so there is no doubt that he has chances to update my record. If he does, I will be the first to shake his hand. I think it's great for hockey, ”he said.

Wayne Gretzky completed his playing career in April 1999, after which he was included in the NHL Hall of Fame. Moreover, a special exception was made for him - he entered the Hall of Fame seven months after leaving hockey. According to the rules, a player’s name can be immortalized no earlier than three years after the end of a career. Gretzky himself later engaged in coaching and became a mentor to the Phoenix Coyotes (now Arizona Coyotes), which he co-owned from 2000 to 2009. In 2002, he was also the general manager of the Canada national team, who won gold medals at the Salt Lake City Olympics.