From the authors of the national bestseller Leafs AbomiNation, the story behind the success of one of Canada's greatest athletes, NBA all-star Steve Nash.A small man in a big man's game, a white man in a game dominated by black men, a rare Canadian in a US-based industry, the unlikely rise of Steve Nash, from Victoria high school to Hollywood hardwood, is compelling proof that great things await those who refuse to accept less of themselves. Nearly 2 decades into a Hall of...

Love them or hate them, they’re the most successful team in professional hockey … just not on the scoresheet.The Toronto Maple Leafs are an exception to every law of the sporting jungle. They miss the playoffs and the sellouts keep coming. They haven’t won a Stanley Cup since 1967, but the earning power of that blue-and-white maple leaf, no matter the chronic woes of the blue-and-white’s power play, never ceases to increase. In this description of failure and prescription for hope,...

Every year since 1968, Leaf fans hope that the new season will be the one that breaks the Stanley Cup drought. Sadly, those hopes are usually dashed mid-season. In the biggest hockey market in North America, with such a huge and loyal fan base, how has the team missed it for so long?It’s the question that every Leafs fan asks (and has been afraid to have answered). Now updated to include both the disastrous 2009–10 season and the 2010–11 season, Al Strachan covers what’s gone wrong...

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

A great collection of hockey stories from one of Canada's best writers.Al Strachan (Bestselling author and Toronto Sun sportswriter) is a fixture in the hockey world. His insights are read and enjoyed by fans across North America. Well liked and respected by players and coaches, Al is often given special privileges due to a personal relationship he shares with a hockey insiders that allows him the scoop on a breaking story.Strachan knows hockey and has been writing about it for alm...

The glory years for the Toronto Maple Leafs—four Stanley Cups in the 1960s—may be distant memories, but what the team lacks in recent accomplishments is made up for by their history, which is rich in drama, pathos, and, most of all, humor. Figures connected to the Maple Leafs from the 1950s to the present offer their best stories, including some new takes on the team’s legends. Players, coaches, broadcasters, and team executives come together to share a long list of funny anecdotes about t...

Bestselling author and Toronto Sun sportswriter Al Strachan shares more insider stories from his more-than-forty-year career covering pro hockey.Bestselling author and Toronto Sun sportswriter Al Strachan is a permanent fixture in the illustrious world of professional ice hockey. His opinion, backed by an extensive knowledge of the game and his sharp sense of humour, is read and enjoyed by millions of fans internationally. He has established uniqu...

Over 500,000 hockey fans follow Bob McKenzie on Twitter and millions more on TSN—no one has the access or breadth and depth of experience when it comes to the hockey.Now in his very first book on the NHL, Bob goes behind the scenes, covering the inside stories, the lesser-known personalities and the events that shape Canada’s game. He talks to Bobby Orr about Connor McDavid (touted as “the next Crosby”), reveals the actual stats that NHL coaches and scouts use, and explores what it...

A back-up goalie's hilarious behind-the-mask look at life in the NHLJamie McLennan spent twenty years playing professional hockey. Sort of. As the backup for such legendary goalies as Grant Fuhr, Ron Hextall, Roberto Luongo, and Miikka Kiprusoff, he saw everything--except much playing time. In The Best Seat in the House, McLennan looks back on his unique career, from breaking into the NHL, to working with the legends, to life on the road and in the league, offering readers...

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...

Hockey legend Gordie Howe once said there were two superstars in the Hull family: Bobby, the Golden Jet and one of the greatest players ever to tie up a pair of skates, and his brother Dennis, who had a solid career with the Chicago Blackhawks, and is now one of the most sought-after public speakers in North America. In The Third Best Hull. Dennis Hull outlines his life in hockey with humorous anecdotes, insights, and stories. Not just another sports autobiography, this book provides insig...

Terry Ryan was poised to take the hockey world by storm when he was selected eighth overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the 1995 NHL draft, their highest draft pick in a decade. Expected to go on to become a hockey star, Ryan played a total of eight NHL games for the Canadiens, scoring no goals and no assists: not exactly the career he, or anyone else, was expecting.Though Terry’s NHL career wasn’t long, he experienced a lot and has no shortage of hilarious and fascinating revelat...