Review of "The Original Six"

Okay, back to sports books.  With the NHL playoffs in full swing, I am watching more hockey than I did for most of the regular season (despite my favorite team, the Minnesota Wild, getting eliminated).  Most hockey fans know who the Original Six teams are, but many may not know their history during that time frame.  This book is a good look back at that era. 

Title/Author:

“The Original Six: How the Canadiens, Bruins, Rangers, Blackhawks, Maple Leafs, and Red Wings Laid the Groundwork for Today’s National Hockey League” by Lew Freedman

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

From 1942 to 1967, the National Hockey League consisted of six teams – Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs. While these six teams were not all part of the NHL when it was organized in 1917, these six were the franchises who were able to survive the chaos the league went through in World War II and created what many considered to be a golden age of hockey.  The history and most notable people for each team is chronicled in this book by Lew Freedman.

The format for each chapter is the same – the team’s history up to the 1966-67 season, stories about key players, front office staff and coaches during that time frame, and what the team has done since 1967.  That year is key because it was the year of the “Great Expansion” when the NHL doubled in size from 6 teams to 12.  If a player, coach or executive started their time with the team during the Original Six era but had most of his success after the Great Expansion, he will still warrant a mention in this book.

The depth of the stories depends on the star power of the person.  A player like Gordie Howe (Red Wings) or Maurice Richard (Canadiens) garnered a lot more ink in this book than someone like Camile Henry (Rangers) or Jimmy Thomson (Maple Leafs).  While that was to be expected, it was nice to see some not-so-well-known players get mentioned in this book. It’s especially nice to see this for readers like me to learn about these players who played for small salaries in a league that had limited exposure.

Each club in that era has a colorful history and Freeman does an admirable job of bringing that to life in this time of 32 NHL teams (although there were 30 at the time of the book’s publication in 2016.) Avid hockey fans like me always enjoy matchups of these teams and this book brings the colorful history of that era to life.

Link: Original Six: How the Canadiens, Bruins, Rangers, Blackhawks, Maple Leafs, and Red Wings Laid the Groundwork for Today's National Hockey League: Freedman, Lew: 9781613219492: Amazon.com: Books

Review of "Tales from the Montreal Canadiens Locker Room"

I started listening to this audio book on my recent trip to a Canadiens-Rangers hockey game, keeping in line with my policy to read or listen to books appropriate for my trip. However, I didn't finish it that night, had to put it aside to get another review done, and came back to it, finishing today.  Here is my review.

Title/Author:

“Tales from the Montreal Canadiens Locker Room: A Collection of the Greatest Canadiens Stories Ever Told” by Robert S. Lefebvre, narrated by J.P. Linton

Rating: 

3 of 5 stars (good)

Review:

As the hockey team who has won the most Stanley Cups, this book on the Montreal Canadiens from the collection of similar titles for other teams in the four major sports sounded like one that would be full of excellent stories.  While this book by Robert S. Lefebvre has a few of them, especially during the greatest eras for the team in the 1950’s and the 1970’s, overall, this book fell short of those expectations.

One aspect that did not fall short of expectations was the narration of the book by J.P. Linton.  Even more than the good stories, I felt that Linton did a fantastic job on the narration, especially in the earlier chapter when the connection between the Canadiens and the Francophone population in the province of Quebec.  His pronunciation of the French names was very good, and he provided excellent narration of the hockey stories as well.

Here is where the book was not what I expected – the actual stories.  When I see one of these books in the “Tales from the Locker Room” series, I expect a lot of stories about the players’ camaraderie, their antics away from the games and of course game action as well.  This book lacked much of these.  There were more historical stories of how great Canadiens teams were either built or had their dynasties come to an end.  This was especially true for the Montreal teams that won four consecutive Cups from 1976 to 1979.  The stories were more about the players after they left the Canadiens that led to the end of their dynasty in the spring of 1980.  Or, if not that topic, there were plenty on how some of those players were acquired, such as how the trade for Guy Lafleur was conducted. 

Those types of stories, which were many of them no matter what era was being discussed, were good and well-researched. They did hold my interest long enough for me to finish the book, although Linton’s narration helped with that as well.  This just was not the collection of stories I expected.  Readers or listeners who are more interested in the workings of the Montreal front office through the decades would be the target audience for this book.

Link: Amazon.com: Tales from the Montreal Canadiens Locker Room: A Collection of the Greatest Canadiens Stories Ever Told (Audible Audio Edition): J. P. Linton, Robert S. Lefebvre, Audible Studios: Books

Review of “Beyond Ken Dryden”

Regular readers here know that I have a policy of reading a book relevant to the game I am attending when riding a bus or train there. Last night I took the train to see a Rangers-Canadiens game and had this book loaded on my Kindle. It was a quick but excellent read - was finished before I arrive in New York City. Here is my review of “Beyond Ken Dryden.” 

Title/Author: “Beyond Ken Dryden” by Oren Safdie

Rating:  5 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review:  For some people, athletes and their teams can be more than just entertainers. Some of these people can take comfort in turning to sports to help deal with whatever is troubling. For a young Oren Safedie, that came during the 1970’s when his favorite hockey team, the Montreal Canadiens, won six Stanley Cups led by Hall of Fame goaltender Ken Dryden. 

This short memoir, covers a portion of Safedie’s childhood, tells how the Canadiens and Dryden were his escape from two traumatic events at that time. His family lost everything in a house fire and his parents divorced, which would be terrible for any child, but even more so for Safedie, given the tone of his description of the events. 

But what ties these events together with hockey is how Safedie weaves actual play by play into the book, especially when there’s a fight between his parents when his father is on the phone with his mistress and Safdie’s mother overhears it. When the parents get in a fight over this, the book alternates lines between the parents’ argument and play-by-play of game 4 of the 1976 Stanley Cup Finals when the Canadiens swept the Philadelphia Flyers to win the first of four consecutive championships. 

That is just one of the examples to link hockey to Safedie’s youth and events that took place. There’s humor as well. I laughed out loud when Safedie refused to go to the wedding when his father remarried and calling the new stepmother “Mike Milbury” because of the Boston star’s dirty play. Or linking the retirement of Dryden to when his father left the house. I felt that this was a very creative way to write a memoir.

Because it covers just a short period of his life, the book is a short but excellent read. If a reader wants a different type of memoir linking the author’s life to real time sports, this is a good choice.

I wish to thank the Literary Press Group of Canada for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley. The views expressed in this review are strictly my own. 

Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1773901923/ref=x_gr_bb_amazon?ie=UTF8&tag=x_gr_bb_amazon-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1773901923&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2 

Review of "Habs Nation"

I have always had at least a passing interest in the Montreal Canadiens, even though I cannot call myself a fan of the team.  So naturally I wanted to request a copy of this book when I saw ARCs were available.  I am very glad my request was approved as this was an excellent book. 

Title/Author:

“Habs Nation: A People’s History of the Montreal Canadiens” by Brendan Kelly

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review:

The Montreal Canadiens have one of the most storied histories in professional sports, having won 24 Stanley Cups and are also a source of pride for not only the city, but for the entire province of Quebec.  However, they have not won a championship since 1993 and the number of French-speaking players from Quebec, once a source of pride for the team and province, has been dwindling during that time. This book by Brendan Kelly not only explores this phenomenon but also connects it to the movement by some Quebecers to secede as an independent, French-only nation.

Kelly does a great job writing about both the political and the hockey parts of the book.  He interviews very knowledgeable people on both topics, especially the hockey part where he talks to former Canadien greats who were both anglophones and francophones (English and French speaking).  That gave this a very balanced approach to the book, even though it is quite clear that Kelly is making a direct correlation between the status of the separatist movement and the success of the hockey team.

Something else that Kelly writes about very well is the rivalry between the Canadiens and the Quebec Nordiques before the latter left for Colorado in 1995.  That was also the year when the second independence referendum for Quebec failed to pass, dealing a blow to those who favored independence.  This contrasted with the 1980 referendum that, while not resulting in paggase or independence, there were several concessions from the nationalist government.  And, either by coincidence or not, 1980 marked the year of the end of the Canadiens dynasty in which they had won the last four Stanley Cups, losing to the Minnesota North Stars in the quarterfinals that spring.

While there is certainly no absolute connection between the two, Kelly makes this comparison very interesting, provides the reader with a great account of the rich tradition of francophone players for the Canadiens and also gives the reader an interesting look at the movement to make Quebec a separate nation.

I wish to thank Baraka Books for providing a copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.

Link: https://www.amazon.com/Habs-Nation-Montreal-Canadiens-Nonfiction/dp/1771864001/ref=sr_1_1?crid=5WWDM19R3YXE&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ajPuHFM1xhfiWjs_W_9yJA.Qr1c7jF1_ktuT4PT4Co6Ati6Vl1heYsS5GXiBTJ-juU&dib_tag=se&keywords=habs+nation&qid=1758569827&s=books&sprefix=habs+nation%2Cstripbooks%2C139&sr=1-1

Review of “The Last Hockey Game”

It isn’t often I’ll find a good hockey book in the summer, but my local library had an e-version of this one. Between the title, the fact this was the last game of hockey’s Original Six era AND the winner of this game has not won a championship since the, I had to try it.

Title/Author: “The Last Hockey Game” by Bruce McDougal

Rating: 4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review: On May 2,1967, the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Montreal Canadiens 3-1 to win the Stanley Cup 4 games to 2. It marked the last game of the “Original Six” era of the NHL as six expansion teams were set to begin play the following fall. This book by Bruce McDougal not only tells the story of that game but also gives the reader a great look at the players, coaches, owners and others who made that period of hockey very interesting . 

Every player on the two teams, from Hall of Famers (17 in total, 10 for Toronto, 7 for Montreal) to the fourth line players, everyone gets at leas a passing mention in this book. The description of the game action is so detailed that a fan who was alive at that time can close their eyes and imagine Foster Hewitt (another person who got a great portrayal in the book) calling the action.

The reader will also feel a sense of what the business of NHL hockey was like at that time. With no union or free agency and only six teams, players had accepted whatever was offered by the owners, who were mostly not viewed in a favorable light in these sections. Whether they truly were villains or just trying to maximize their wealth and power (oh,wait, maybe that DOES make them villains), a reader will learn much about the business side of the game at that time as well as what it was like on the ice when McDougal writes about the players. They are portrayed as regular men just trying to eke out a living playing a rough game.

I thought the book was dragging at first, but once I got into the game itself, it turned out to be a very good read. I’d recommend this for any reader interested in that era of hockey. Also, as of the writing of this review, it should be noted that this was the last time the Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup - the longest current drought of any hockey team.

Link:  https://www.amazon.com/Last-Hockey-Game-Bruce-McDougall-ebook/dp/B00LUSEOA8/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0 

Review of "A Guy Like Me"

As part of a reading challenge, I had to find a hockey memoir.  Not wanting to purchase a new book when I was convinced I could find one on Kindle Unlimited or in a library, I found this one.  Having remembered John Scott from the fan vote to make him an All-Star, I decided on this for that story and wasn't disappointed.  Here is my review of "A Guy Like Me."

 

Title/Author:

“A Guy Like Me: Fighting to Make the Cut” by John Scott with Brian Cazenevue

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review: John Scott’s story of his rise to become an enforcer in the NHL is not unlike those of others who have followed similar paths in order to become players in the highest professional league in North America with less than outstanding skills.  While they are similar, every story has its unique turns and Scott’s is no different.  He tells his tale in this fun and easy-to-read memoir he wrote with Brian Cazenevue.

Start with the most obvious reason that Scott’s story is different.  He went from being a relatively obscure player who bounced around for several teams to becoming not only an All-Star that was voted into the game by fans, but he also won the All-Star game MVP award in 2016.  What makes that even more remarkable was that the fan voting took place while Scott was a member of the Arizona Coyotes, but before the All-Star game, he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens, who sent him down to their minor league team in the American Hockey League.  So, you had a player going to the All-Star game who was currently playing in the minor leagues.  Which does sound like it qualifies as something different than stories of other hockey tough men.

Scott’s stories about this chapter of his career is certainly the best part of the book, both in the information he shares and the entertainment value of the book.  However, that doesn’t discount the fact that the rest of the book is a solid effort in which Scott never takes himself too seriously, shares the self-doubt that plagued him at each level of hockey and each off-season as he would usually sign one year contracts with each team that paid for his services.  He played for a total of seven NHL teams.  In addition to the Coyotes and Canadiens (he did get called back to the NHL by Montreal), he played for the Minnesota Wild, Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers, Buffalo Sabres and San Jose Sharks.

The sections about Scott’s personal life, how he met and fell in love with his wife Danielle when both were students as Michigan Tech, and also his college hockey career at Tech when they were one of the struggling teams in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association also make great reading.  Hockey fans will be the ones who will want to pick up this book if they have not already done so, as it’s one that has a lot of hockey talk inside and will make a reader a fan of John Scott if they are not already one.      

Link: https://www.amazon.com/Guy-Like-Me-Fighting-Make/dp/1501159658/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

 

Review of "Scotty"

Having renewed my subscription to Audible as my current working set-up allows access to listening to audiobooks, I added this one to my library upon renewal and it turned out to be an excellent choice. Scotty Bowman has led a charmed hockey life and this book is a perfect means to learn about it. Here is my review of "Scotty"

Title/Author: "Scotty: A Hockey Life Like No Other" written and narrated by Ken Dryden

Rating: 5 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review: Scotty Bowman is considered to be one of the all-time great coaches in all of team sports, with his teams winning nine Stanley Cups spanning a time frame of 29 years between the first (Montreal Canadiens, 1973) and the last (Detroit Red Wings, 2002).  He amassed over 1400 regular season wins during his remarkable career and his goalie for five of those championships, Ken Dryden, has written a book on Bowman's hockey life as a player, scout, coach and other duties.

"Other duties" include his current status as a special guest of the Tampa Bay Lightning to their home games.  He still attends as many games as he can, goes to his seat in the press box and still takes diligent notes on each game with the chance that he might be able to pass along information to the Lightning staff.  That is typical Bowman – always looking for anything that can help a hockey team improve. It is the impression a reader or listener will get after enjoying this book.

Dryden and Bowman will take the reader through decades of hockey history and the name dropping is impressive – Gordie Howe, Bobby Orr, Wayne Gretzky for starters as players he saw but did not coach.  As for those he coached on his championship teams in Montreal and Detroit, there are plenty of stories and observations of them, from Guy Lafluer to Mario Lemieux (even though he was the coach for Pittsburgh when they won the Cup in 1992, Bowman doesn't talk a lot about that team, only obtaining the job due to the death of Bob Johnson, so he calls them Johnson's team) to Steve Yzerman. 

The book isn't limited to Bowman's championships as he talks about his life before coaching when he was working for Sam Pollack with the Canadiens – later they would become a very successful coach-general manager tandem.  He also talks about his time coaching the St. Louis Blues as a brand new expansion team as well as the Buffalo Sabres, who were a talented team under Bowman who could never get over the hump.

One other feature of the book is a "tournament" in which Bowman selects the eight greatest teams he has seen in his lifetime and he breaks each one of them down to Dryden and then eliminates them one by one until there is one team left.  No spoilers here as one will have to read or listen to the book in order to find out which team that will be.

Dryden is an established hockey author and his work shines here.  At times, there is great detail and I believe that the audio version that I listened to will work better for those who both read physical books and listen to audio books.  But whichever version is chosen, one will enjoy this biography of a legendary hockey coach.

Links: Scotty by Ken Dryden | Audiobook | Audible.com

Review of "The 1993 Canadiens"

It's hard to fathom that Canada has not had a team win the championship in its national sport in over 25 years.  The last Canadian team that did, the 1993 Montreal Canadiens, was not the typical Montreal Cup winner and this book tells the tale of many of their lesser-known players.  Here is my review of  "The 1993 Canadiens". 

Title/Author:

“The 1993 Canadiens: Seven Magical Weeks, Unlikely Heroes and Canda's Last Stanley Cup Champions" by K.P. Wee

Tags:

Ice hockey, professional, Canadiens, championship, history

Publish date:

January 26, 2019

Length:

320 pages

Rating: to

3 ½  of 5 stars  (good)

Review:

The last time a Canadian team won the Stanley Cup, the prized trophy that is awarded to the champions in Canada's national sport, was 27 years ago when the Montreal Canadiens surprised the hockey world and took home the Cup.  Stories about that team and some of its players are told in this book by author K.P. Wee.

What sets this book apart from other books focused on one season for a team is that this one talks more about some of the unsung players on that Canadiens team instead of the stars like goaltender Patrick Roy and captain Guy Charboneau.  Instead the book shares some excellent stories about lesser-known players on that team such as Gary Leeman, Gilbert Dionne and Stephan Lebeau.  Each of them had a key play, goal or other performance that helped Montreal continue on its unexpected path to the championship that year.  

Each one of them has a different story in which they had some difficulty in their NHL careers but were able to overcome the adversity to come up big for the team. The most interesting story to me was about Dionne.  Playing in the shadow of his older brother Marcel, who had a Hall of Fame career playing mostly with the Los Angeles Kings, Gilbert scored a winning goal in the second round in overtime against the Buffalo Sabres and also a goal in the third game in the Finals against the Kings.  Leeman had both of these players as linemates and scored a key goal in the opening round against the Quebec Nordiques. It was a great moment for the player who once scored 50 goals in a season for the Toronto Maple Leafs. 

Information like this on these players makes the book very informative. The writing in the book, however, is very repetitive as the same stories about these three players as well as others are repeated throughout the book.  Also, there are some other points that are repeated later in chapters or after the event happened that didn't need to be said again.  As an example, in the conference finals series against the New York Islanders, two Islander players had chances to win the game on a breakaway in overtime in games two and three.  That the Islanders failed to capitalize on those opportunities and Montreal later did were important moments in the Canadiens' march to the Cup.  

However, in the chapter about the conference finals, it was asked multiple time how would the series (a sweep by Montreal) would have been different had the Islanders scored on those plays?  That is a rhetorical question that really didn't need to be asked multiple times.  Other events during the playoff run, such as the famous illegal stick penalty called on the Kings' Marty McSorely during game 2 of the finals, are also repeated often, something that hampers the flow of reading the book.  Which is a shame, because otherwise, this was fun to read about that Canadiens team which may not have been the most talented Montreal squad to win the Cup, but certainly knew how to get the most from every player. Overall, a decent book on Canada's last Cup winner. Three and a half star rating, rounded to four for NetGalley, Goodreads and Amazon.

I wish to thank Riverdale Avenue Books for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

                                    

Book Format Read:

E-book (Kindle)

Buying Links:

https://www.amazon.com/1993-Canadiens-Magical-Unlikely-Champions-ebook/dp/B0847TBK7D/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=1993+canadiens&qid=1580602173&sr=8-1

Review of "Toe Blake: WInning Is Everything"

Here's to wishing everyone reading this a very happy holiday season, no matter how you are celebrating.  While the biggest day for Christians was yesterday, it should be noted that today is not only Kwanza, but also Boxing Day, a holiday celebrated in Canada.  One of Canada's most storied teams is the Montreal Canadiens and one of their legendary figures, Toe Blake, is the topic of this excellent biography.  Here is my review of this book:

Title/Author:

“Toe Blake: Winning is Everything” by Paul Logothetis

Tags:

Ice Hockey, biography, Canadiens, Maroons, coaching

Publish date:

March 24, 2020

Length:

300 pages

Rating: to

5 of 5 stars (outstanding)

Review:

Joseph Hector "Toe" Blake is best known as one of the most successful coaches in NHL history, winning eight Stanley Cup championships while pacing behind the bench for the Montreal Canadiens from 1955 to 1968.  However, there is much more to the story of his life and it is told in this excellent hockey biography by Paul Logothetis.

While Blake is best remember for his coaching days with Montreal, including five consecutive Stanley Cups in his first five full seasons guiding the Canadiens, he also had a very successful playing career and that is told in great detail as well as his coaching. Blake won three Cups in his playing days, and adding on his eight while as a coach, he is one of two people to have his name engraved on the Cup 11 times.  Fittingly, one of his players from his winning Canadiens teams, Henri Richard, is the other person to have won a total of 11 times.

Blake's playing days, from the time he played junior hockey in Sudbury (also winning the Memorial Cup in 1932) to his days with the Canadiens are captured in great detail by Logothetis. It did include the one Cup he did not with the Canadiens as Blake played his first eight NHL games in 1935 with the Montreal Maroons, who won the Cup that year and had Blake's name engraved.

Speaking of his name, Logothetis provides some information on where Blake got the nickname "Toe." It was widely believed that it was because his sister could not pronounce "Hector" correctly, and instead said "Hec-toe."  There is doubt on that story in the book as it notes that Blake himself that was because one of his brothers couldn't pronounce the name.  No matter which story is the truth, this passage is a good example of the depth and detail Logothetis writes about Blake, whether about his playing days, his coaching days or his personal life.

It should be noted that Logothetis provides a lot of material on not only Blake, but on many of the great Montreal players and teams during Blake's coaching career.  This helps to portray Blake as a man of great passion to win, including displaying his legendary temper when needed.  Even going down to the detail of how hard Blake would be chewing his gum during a critical playoff game, Logothetis provides a great portrait of Blake on the ice and behind the bench.

Off the ice, however, Blake is portrayed in an entirely different manner as he not only would be kind and generous to others, his devotion to family is evident in how he cared for his wife Betty when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.  It should also be noted that included in the portrayal of Blake's life after hockey is how much time he dedicated to running a tavern he opened before he started coaching, Toe Blake's Tavern, and was a fixture there until it closed in 1983.  Of course, the final years of Blake's life are mentioned when he was battling Alzheimer's disease before passing in 1995.

One of the most complete hockey biographies I have read, this book is a wonderful look at Blake's career and life and any hockey fan would enjoy reading this. Canadiens fans who may not be familiar with Blake would especially benefit from picking this up and learning about one of the legendary figures in the team's storied history.  

I wish to thank ECW Press for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

                                                    

Book Format Read:

E-book (Kindle)

Buying Links:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1770414908/ref=x_gr_w_bb_sin?ie=UTF8&tag=x_gr_w_bb_sin-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1770414908&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2

Review of "The Greatest Game"

One resolution I made that should be easy to keep is to reduce the number of unread books on my reading devices, especially those that I bought awhile ago and never got around to reading. This book was one of those so I opened it up again and once I did, I never wanted to put this one down.  As a fan of hockey in the 1970's, this one brought back a flood of memories, including New Year's Eve when I watched this historic game.  Here is my review of "The Greatest Game." 

Title/Author:

“The Greatest Game: The Montreal Canadiens, the Red Army and the Night That Saved Hockey” by Todd Denault

Tags:

Ice hockey, history, Canadiens, Soviet Union

Publish date:

October 26, 2010

Length:

346 pages

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (outstanding)

Review:

On December 31, 1975, an international hockey game took place between the Montreal Canadiens and the Soviet Red Army team. These two teams were considered to be among the best in their respective leagues and continents and the game was highly anticipated by hockey fans all over the world.  Not only because of the quality of the teams, but because of many other factors. The Cold War was in full force.  The entire nation of Canada was nervous because the Soviet Union was now considered either equal to or superior in Canada’s national game.  The style of play in the National Hockey League was becoming more physical and violent thanks to the Philadelphia Flyers and their two consecutive Stanley Cup titles. This last point was of great concern to many who believed the game was getting too violent, with less emphasis on skill and more on fighting.   

All of these aspects and more are the setting for this terrific book by Todd Denault.  Not only does Denault write about the game itself, almost shift for shift, but the game’s chapters are preceded by well-researched and well-written chapters about the history of hockey in the Soviet Union up to that game as well as how the Canadiens built their team that would play in the game and the general state of the sport in the 1970’s.

Like many other books that are written about a specific game or series, this one has a lot of information that is not directly related to the main topic.  However, instead of these chapters being merely filler, these passages have a connection to the historic game on New Year’s Eve 1975 as this information gives the reader the feeling of why this game took on such importance.   For example, there is a good section about Bobby Clarke, the star center of the Flyers teams that became known as the “Broad Street Bullies” and won the Stanley Cup in 1974 and 1975 as much by intimidation and violence as well as skill.  Those who felt hockey was becoming too violent anticipated this game as being a showcase to prove that this type of play is not needed to produce good hockey.

The best written sections of the book, however, are those about the Soviet teams, including the Red Army team.  By the time this game took place, goalie Vladislav Tretiak and forward Valeri Kharlamov were well-known in Canada and the United States as well as Russia and Denault treats them in the book as the stars that they were. The reader learns much information about them and their teams as well.  The book also recalls how they were well-received by the citizens of Canada.  Tretiak was so good in the game (no spoilers on the result if you do not know) that he received a standing ovation from the Montreal fans.  I was watching that game as a 14 year old fan in Minnesota and I too was applauding his performance by standing in front of the television set. 

This book is an excellent read for any hockey fan, but especially those who want to learn more about the two best teams in their respective continents in the 1970s. The reader won’t feel the “us vs. them” mentality while reading this as if seems the Cold War was temporarily suspended for three hours.  “The Greatest Game” lives up the game itself and is a worthy book on the game and the sport of hockey at that time.

Pace of the book: 

It wasn’t a fast read as I carefully read the chapters on the history of Russian hockey and some of the earlier games by this team as I was not familiar with that history and wanted to learn more.

Do I recommend? 

Hockey fans, especially fans of the sport in the 1970’s, will love this book as it covers so many important players, teams and the history of international hockey played by Canadian and Russian teams during that time frame.

Book Format Read:

E-book (Nook)

Buying links:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/greatest-game-todd-denault/1100305841?ean=9780771026355

http://www.amazon.com/Greatest-Game-Montreal-Canadiens-Hockey-ebook/dp/B0046A9RFE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421000054&sr=8-1&keywords=greatest+game+canadiens