During a notorious career with the Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Blackhawks, Bob Probert racked up points, penalty minutes and bar bills, establishing himself as one of the most feared enforcers in the history of the NHL. On the ice, he was a fan favourite. He backed up his teammates one hundred percent, taking on the toughest guys of his era. Off the ice, Probert played hard too. Over his pro career he went through ten stays in rehab, two NHL suspensions, a jail sentence for carrying ...

Whether he was scoring top-shelf goals or crushing an opponent into the boards, Jeremy Roenick—widely known as J.R.—was never shy about the way he played hockey. As much as he mixed it up in front of the net, J.R., an NHL veteran of twenty years with five different teams, often found himself in the middle of controversy off the ice as well. Above all else, J.R. was an entertainer, never afraid to dance on the blue line to liven up a game or to spend time with the fans. Now, as a hockey bro...

Derek Sanderson was a key player with the Big Bad Bruins in the 1970s. At one point the highest-paid athlete in the world, Sanderson played with and against the era’s legends, winning two Stanley Cups and assisting on Bobby Orr’s famous diving goal in 1970. Off the ice, “Turk” was one of a kind. He drove a burgundy Rolls-Royce, wore a fox coat and, when asked what winning the Stanley Cup meant to him said, “The difference in the money is whether I take a college chick to Cape Cod or a Play...

From hockey’s most prolific fighter comes a sports memoir unlike any other—passionate, funny, and candid, Shift Work chronicles Domi’s sixteen tumultuous seasons in the NHL.Making it through a single fight as an enforcer in the NHL is a sign of toughness. Making it through 333 of them is a mark of greatness. Whether it was on the ice or off it, Tie Domi was driven to be the best at his job and was gifted with an extraordinary ability to withstand pain. He ...

One of the greatest sports figures of all time at last breaks his silence in a memoir as unique as the man himself.Number 4. It is just about the most common number in hockey, but invoke that number and you can only be talking about one player -- the man often referred to as the greatest ever to play the game: Bobby Orr.From 1966 through the mid-70s he could change a game just by stepping on the ice. Orr could do things that others simply couldn’t, and while teammates and o...

After almost two thousand games and thirty years of wearing the Stripes, legendary NHL official Fraser dropped his final puck at the end of the 2009/2010 season and relives his colourful career officiating hockey in his candid book.After thirty years in the NHL, legendary referee Kerry Fraser has decided to hang up his skates and enjoy the game from the other side of the boards. Never shy about offering his opinion, nor afraid to step in and separate an on-ice figh...

A Saturday night spent with Ron MacLean has been a tradition for twenty-five years. Known for his quick wit, arched eyebrows and encyclopedic hockey knowledge, MacLean is the skilled ringmaster of Canada’s most watched weekly program. He has interviewed the greatest players, coaches and personalities of an era and is a master at coaxing the best in substance and entertainment from his guests, as well as from his opinionated and often irascible co-host, Don Cherry, on Coach’s Corner

Pat Burns was one of the great NHL coaches. He worked with the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils, and seemed always to enjoy instant success. He capped his extraordinary career by coaching the New Jersey Devils to a Stanley Cup victory in 2003. Cancer--his third bout--finally claimed him in 2010, aged 58.Rosie DiManno, who knew Burns well, has written a revealing, exhilarating and heartfelt account of his life: his childhood as a fatherles...

Every young hockey player dreams of one day playing in the NHL, of skating on a line with his hero and drinking champagne in the dressing room after winning the Stanley Cup. But kids should watch what they wish for. They may make it to the pros, like Sean Pronger, only to end up playing for sixteen teams over eleven seasons. They may end up on a team with a guy like the Great One, but skate on his line only in practice when the bona fide first-line centre has the flu. And they may end up d...

“It’s hard to believe Fleury survived his own life.”— The Globe and MailTheo Fleury, who had walked away from hockey in 2003, leaving millions of dollars on the table and thousands of fans asking why, was determined to redeem himself. But how? With a comeback. Six years after his last NHL game, at age 41, weighing 215 pounds and with 25 per cent body fat, he had only seven months to get ready for the Calgary Flames training camp. His chance for redemption came in a ...

In 1996, Sheldon Kennedy rocked the insular world of Canadian hockey by announcing that his former minor-league coach, Graham Jamesthe Hockey News 1989 Man of the Yearhad sexually abused him more than 300 times. The media portrayed Kennedy as a hero for breaking the code of silence in professional hockey and bringing James to justice. The heroic myth intensified in 1998 when Kennedy announced that he was going to in-line skate from Newfoundland to British Columbia to raise awareness of sex...

Feared on the ice for his toughness and his skill with the puck, Chris Chelios was one of the finest defencemen of his era. A stalwart blueliner with the Canadiens, Red Wings and Thrashers, Chelios roamed the ice with a rare confidence that earned him the respect of his teammates and opponents alike. Off the ice, Chelios was well known for his antics too. He carried his high level of competitiveness out of the dressing room and wore it like a badge of honour.Overtime by Ch...