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We may never see a playoff series like it again.
Before Gary Bettman, and the lockouts. Before all the NHL's old barns were torn down to make way for bigger, glitzier rinks. Before expansion and parity across the league, just about anything could happen on the ice. And it often did. It was an era when huge personalities dominated the sport; and willpower was often enough to win games. And in the spring of 1993, some of the biggest talents and biggest personalities were on a collision course.
The Cinderella Maple Leafs had somehow beaten the mighty Red Wings and then, just as improbably, the St. Louis Blues. Wayne Gretzky's Kings had just torn through the Flames and the Canucks. When they faced each other in the conference final, the result would be a series that fans still talk about passionately 25 years later.
Taking us back to that feverish spring, The Last Good Year gives an intimate account not just of an era-defining seven games, but of what the series meant to the men who were changed by it: Marty McSorley, the tough guy who took his whole team on his shoulders; Doug Gilmour, the emerging superstar; celebrity owner Bruce McNall; Bill Berg, who went from unknown to famous when the Leafs claimed him on waivers; Kelly Hrudey, the Kings' goalie who would go on to become a Hockey Night in Canada broadcaster; Kerry Fraser, who would become the game's most infamous referee; and two very different captains, Toronto's bull in a china shop, Wendel Clark, and the immortal Wayne Gretzky.
Fast-paced, authoritative, and galvanized by the same love of the game that made the series so unforgettable, The Last Good Year is a glorious testament to a moment hockey fans will never forget.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
October 23, 2018 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780735238169
- File size: 248806 KB
- Duration: 08:38:20
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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October 15, 2018
Toronto Star sportswriter Cox has covered the Toronto Maple Leafs for 30 years, including arguably one of the most memorable playoff series in hockey's history, the 1993 Western Conference finals between the Maple Leafs and the Los Angeles Kings. Here, the author details the drama and personalities of the seven-game series. Chapters cover a single game through the lens of one of the athletes, owners, or referees--Wayne Gretzky, Marty McSorley, Doug Gilmour, Bruce McNall, Bill Berg, Kelly Hrudy, and Kerry Fraser--who played a pivotal role in the outcome of the series, including what happened to them afterward. But more than an account of the games, Cox uses the series as a foil to consider how professional hockey has changed, and how the 1993 season and this playoff series in particular, marked a turning point for the National Hockey League, transitioning from being defined by its personalities to being shaped by the business. VERDICT Hockey fans will enjoy this look back at hockey history, especially the personal stories.--Michael C. Miller, Austin P.L. & Austin History Ctr., TX
Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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