After less than two games with the St. Louis Blues, Wayne Gretzky is injured following a hard hit to his head that his coach called a "cheap shot."
"Hopefully, he'll be back soon," St. Louis coach Mike Keenan said Sunday after after Kelly Buchberger elbowed Gretzky and caused a concussion during the Blues' 4-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.Gretzky probably will return to St. Louis for further tests, and it was not immediately clear how long he will be sidelined.
"Of course it means the ultimate in terms of our franchise and club," Keenan said.
Gretzky was acquired Tuesday from Los Angeles for three young players and two draft choices following months of on-and-off negotiations and rumors of possible trades to other teams, most notably the New York Rangers.
He had played just one full game with the Blues since the deal, scoring in a 2-2 tie with Vancouver. He set up another goal by Al MacInnis in the first period of the game against Edmonton.
Gretzky's return with the Blues created a stir in Edmonton, where he led the Oilers to four Stanley Cups in the late 1980s. A last-minute rush to the box office lifted the struggling club to a sellout for the third straight game.
Gretzky, the NHL career scoring leader, is rarely hurt - some say because of an unwritten league rule that finesse players are off limits to rough play. He did miss the first 39 games of the 1992-93 season with a herniated disc after being checked from behind during 1991's Canada Cup.
He sustained the concussion, which doctors called minor, in the second period, falling to the ice from Buchberger's elbow. He lay motionless for a brief period, then was helped to the locker room by teammates.
"He was out cold," Keenan said. "There's no question about it. He was pretty groggy when we came in at the end of the period. He looks better to me now."
No medical personnel confirmed that the 35-year-old center was unconscious. St. Louis trainers reported before game's end that he had a severe headache.
Neither referee Mick McGeough nor linesman Mike Cvik penalized Buchberger, but Blues' defenseman Murray Baron immediately goaded the Oiler forward into a fight.
Keenan said Buchberger should be disciplined and plans to send a videotape of the hit to league officiating director Bryan Lewis.
Buchberger claimed he never intended to hurt Gretzky but merely raised and folded his arm as the two players met.