Gretzky back issues. Did it start during the 1990 season and not after the 1991 Canada Cup?

[sawchuk1971]

I just watched the 1990 series between the oilers and kings where gretzky got plastered into the boards by steve smith in game 3....

This hit injured his back....

Also before the playoffs, it was known that he had back issues late in the 89-90 regular season..

People say gretzky was not the same when he got hit from a cheapshot check by gary suter in the 1991 canada cup.....contributing to his back issues,,

I disagree with this theory...I think gretzky's back issues started during the 89-90 season which was aggravated in game 3 against the oilers..

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[BraveCanadian]

Yes he had a series of injuries to his back and shoulder but the biggest drop off in his play happened after the Canada Cup.

 

[The Panther]

Yes, he was badly crunched between two New York Islanders (one being Baumgartner), wrenching his back, on March 22, 1990, which ended his season prematurely. He missed the final 7.5 games of the regular season.

He came back for the playoffs, but couldn't dress for all the games vs. Calgary. He played vs. Edmonton, but not well, and then, as the OP says, was crunched by Steve Smith from behind, into the boards, wrenching his back again, and had to leave the series prematurely.

Then, 16 months later, the Suter-ing.

 

[Crosby2010]

He had a better season in 1991 than in 1990. As did the Kings. He also had 122 assists to Brett Hull's 131 points. So in a way he had a year where he almost lapped the NHL. Something he didn't do in 1990. This despite Kings management making a string of bad trades in his Kings' career (think Bernie Nicholls in 1990 as the worst).

But his play from 1991 to 1992 is noticeable. His dad Walter's health issues started right in the beginning of that year too. Overall 1992 was not a good year for him, his worst up until that point. Which is funny, a guy gets 121 points in a season and we cringe and shudder at it. That tells you how good he was and what was expected of him

 

[The Panther]

He had a better season in 1991 than in 1990. As did the Kings. He also had 122 assists to Brett Hull's 131 points. So in a way he had a year where he almost lapped the NHL. Something he didn't do in 1990. This despite Kings management making a string of bad trades in his Kings' career (think Bernie Nicholls in 1990 as the worst).

Yes, it's true that his 1990-91 was better than 1989-90, and the Kings had a much better season. I suspect the two injuries in spring 1990 were fairly serious (he missed several games), but having the whole summer to recuperate had him feeling swell again by September 1990.

My guess would be the Suter hit was serious in itself but also likely re-aggravated the earlier injuries, but now with permanent consequences.

But his play from 1991 to 1992 is noticeable. His dad Walter's health issues started right in the beginning of that year too. Overall 1992 was not a good year for him, his worst up until that point. Which is funny, a guy gets 121 points in a season and we cringe and shudder at it. That tells you how good he was and what was expected of him

Gretzky was way off the mark right at the start of 1991-92. After two assists in an L.A. win on opening night, he then put up a measly 15 points in the next 14 games (-11).

The only calendar month he was dominant was Feb. 1992, with 30 points in 14 games (and +6). There was a period of maybe 45-50 games or so where he was the League's leading scorer in mid-season, but the difference with every season of his past was his even strength results. He was getting beaten at even strength for the first time because he wasn't able to produce big numbers at even strength anymore.

We often see this with high-skilled players as they age, but you rarely see it as suddenly as in Gretzky's case to start 1991-92. His even strength production fell off, like, 50% overnight.

 

[Dingo]

im glad he got so many seasons in a league that mostly couldnt catch him when he was young. He was not built to take abuse. Good thing he avoided it for so long.

 

[oilexport]

The Janet factor as well. She got his attention....