Having earlier read and reviewed here a book on the NHL’s Kansas City Scouts, I was interested in this one on the franchise’s next home in Denver. Here is my review of a book about those six mostly miserable seasons in the Mile High City.
Title/Author:
“Rocky Hockey: The Short But Wild Ride of the NHL’s Colorado Rockies” by Greg Enright
Rating:
4 of 5 stars (very good)
Review: When a sports fan thinks of a team called the Colorado Rockies, baseball is usually the sport associated with that team name. But between 1976 and 1982, there was a hockey team with the same name in the NHL. Those years in which the franchise played its home games in Denver are recalled in this book by Greg Enright.
The team was trying to make a fresh start in a new city during that fall in 1976 after two disastrous seasons as the Kansas City Scouts. With a better arena already built and a city that had never had a hockey team at the highest level, it was believed that the franchise would improve in both its won-loss record and its financial situation.
However, as Enright describes well, that was not the case. The Rockies remained at or near the bottom of the NHL standings as well as in attendance. The team had a revolving door in both ownership (4 different owners) and the head coaching job (6 different coaches in 6 seasons). As for players, while there were a few bonafide stars on the team such as Wilf Paiement, Barry Beck, Lanny MacDonald and Rob Ramage, the team was mostly made up of young players or cast offs from other teams. That was the state of the team in Kansas City and also in Denver.
The book is written in chronological order by season and well organized. The writing is mostly like long recaps of each season, both on the ice and in the front office. However, that doesn’t mean it’s dry or boring because Enright includes many entertaining quotes and stories from players, coaches and front office personnel. This is the case right up to the fateful day in 1982 when the NHL voted unanimously to allow the franchise to relocate to the New Jersey Meadowlands (with some extra cash to the Islanders, Rangers and Flyers to soften the blow of having another team in their market).
If a reader enjoyed hockey during that era, they will enjoy reliving the mostly down years of this team that happily found success in its new home. One doesn’t have to have been a Rockies (or New Jersey Devils) fan to like this book.
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