Tales From The Locker Room: Montreal Canadiens by Robert Lefebvre

The Tales From The Locker Room series has spanned many franchises in North American pro sports, including several NHL hockey teams. Over the years the series has tired, thanks largely to hit and miss products based largely to the choice of author.

Well Skyhorse Publishing - who recently purchased the series from Sports Publishing - certainly picked the right guy when they asked Robert Lefebvre to write Tales from the Montreal Canadiens Locker Room: A Collection of the Greatest Canadiens Stories Ever Told.

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Lefebvre's status as a Habs historian can not be questioned. He established one of the top blogs in all of hockey - Habs Eyes On The Prize - based largely on his fascination with hockey history. He left the blog a couple of years back to pursue another Habs history related book (which I can not comment on, but I eagerly await it's release!). In his study of that subject his knowledge of the history of the Montreal Canadiens has grown even larger, and it shows in his first book release, Tales.

Lefebvre's knowledge is not his biggest contribution to this book. Nor is it a nicely refined writing style that I have watch grow over the years. Lefebvre's biggest contribution to this book was his insistence of changing the tired formate of the Tales series to better match the Habs long and lengthy history. In doing so he breathed new life into the series. Every subsequent book in Skyhorse's future line up should follow Lefebvre's blue print.

There have been a lot of books related to the Montreal Canadiens over the years. Lefebvre didn't want to write a book that has already been written. He did not want to re-tell the typical Habs history that he openly admits has been clouded by myth and embellished by legend.

So Lefebvre presents the true history of the Montreal Canadiens through a great collection of stories that Lefebvre fought for. Stories like the origins of the founding of the franchise, how Rocket Richard defied the odds to become hockey's greatest icon, how the Habs acquired stars like Toe Blake, Ken Dryden, Guy Lafleur and Patrick Roy, and how Sam Pollock built the legendary dynasty of the 1970s.

The book is a fantastic final product, and that is thanks first and foremost to Lefebvre. He actually came to the project late, as the publisher had someone else lined up to pen the book. Lefebvre came in quite late in the process, and under a very tight deadline he brought his trademark thoroughness to the project. In fact he supplied nearly 20,000 more words than he was asked to. He then fought to have much of it retained!

There are a lot of books out there on the Montreal Canadiens. Robert Lefebvre's Tales From The Montreal Canadiens Locker Room is a worthy addition.

The Road To The NHL: The Incredible Stories of 25 Maritimers Who Made It To The Show

From Sidney Crosby and Brad Marchand to Paul MacLean, Al MacInnis, and Brad Richards, these are the stories of 25 Maritimers and their journey to the National Hockey League. Road to the NHL: The Incredible Stories of 25 Maritimers Making It to the Show chronicles each player’s days from when they first laced up skates in cities and small towns throughout Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island, to that very special moment of putting on a NHL uniform and knowing they were there to stay. Penned by one of Nova Scotia’s most preeminent sports journalists, The Road to the NHL is filled with tales of sacrifice, fortitude, and inner personal strength and is a must-have resource for any fan of ice hockey.

About the Author

Philip Croucher is an award-winning journalist and is the managing editor of the Metro Halifax newspaper. He has written about sports in the Maritimes for more than a decade and is the former sports editor of the Halifax Daily News. He lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Doug MacLean is a Sportsnet analyst, a cohost of Hockey Central at Noon, and a former professional hockey coach and general manager in the National Hockey League.

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Keith Magnuson: The Life and Times of a Beloved Blackhawk

Keith Magnuson: The Inspiring Life and Times of a Beloved Blackhawk was written with the full support of Keith Magnuson’s wife and children. It is a thrilling and insightful biography pays tribute to a Chicago icon and true hockey legend.

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One of the most popular Chicago Blackhawks of all time, defenseman Keith Magnuson was raised on the raw, rough traditions of hockey in western Canada.

He captained the University of Denver to its second straight NCAA championship in the spring of 1969 and by autumn joined Blackhawks stars Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita, and Tony Esposito, becoming the much-needed “policeman” for the team. Over the course of the next several seasons, Magnuson and the Blackhawks would fall painfully short of their Stanley Cup aspirations; nonetheless, Magnuson’s leadership qualities led to his being named captain of the team.

On December 15, 2003, Magnuson was in Toronto riding in a car driven by former player, Rob Ramage: he was killed when the car veered over the center line and struck an oncoming vehicle. As veteran sportswriter Bob Verdi described Magnuson upon his retirement from the Blackhawks, “there have been many finer athletes in Chicago, but not one finer person,” and this biography shares the story of his remarkable life.

Doug Feldmann is a professor in the College of Education at Northern Kentucky University and a former scout for the Cincinnati Reds, Seattle Mariners, and San Diego Padres. He is the author of numerous books, including El Birdos, Fleeter Than Birds, Miracle Collapse, September Streak, and St. Louis Cardinals Past and Present. He lives in Cincinnati, Ohio. Cliff Koroll and Keith Magnuson were teammates growing up in Saskatchewan, at the University of Denver, as well as on the Chicago Blackhawks. He delivered the eulogy at Magnuson’s funeral and is the current president of the Blackhawks Alumni Association. He lives in Chicago.

Of course, long time Keith Magnuson fans will remember his early autobiography None Against way back in 1973:

Tales From The St. Louis Blues Locker Room by Bob Plager and Tom Wheatley

Nobody bleeds Blue like Bob Plager, considered one of the funniest men in hockey. This rollicking book details Plager’s romance with the Bluenotes from day one in 1967 to the present day. He was an original Blues player, a rugged defenseman whose specialty was the hip check. He remains an original personality and a good-humored man whose specialty is now the quick quip. As a master storyteller, Plager packs Tales from the St. Louis Blues Locker Room with insights from every level of the hockey rink.

He chronicles the puzzling mind games of a young Scotty Bowman, the quirky coach whose legend began with the original Blues. In those old-school days, Plager learned memorable lessons from veterans like Al Arbour, Doug Harvey, Glenn Hall, Dickie Moore, and Jacques Plante, all future Hall of Famers. The early years also brought the three Plager brothers—Bob, Barclay, and Billy—together in St. Louis. Bob played long enough to help break in two Western Canadian kids, future captain Brian Sutter and future Hall of Famer Bernie Federko. Plager later coached a new generation of stars in St. Louis, players like Brett Hull, Brendan Shanahan, and Curtis Joseph.

The tears and the cheers, the fun and the frustration—it is all found in Tales from the St. Louis Blues Locker Room: A Collection of the Greatest Blues Stories Ever Told

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Gordie Howe's Son: A Hall of Fame Life In The Shadow Of Mr. Hockey by Mark Howe and Jay Greenberg

Growing up in the shadows of a famous father can't be easy. But when you are an aspiring hockey player and your father is the greatest player the game has ever known, it must be a dark, dark shadow.

Mark Howe, with the help of Jay Greenberg, tells us all about that shadow, his dad Gordie Howe, and his own Hall of Fame life in hockey in his autobiography: Gordie Howe's Son: A Hall of Fame Life In The Shadow of Mr. Hockey.

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Perhaps best known as the son of “Mr. Hockey,” Mark Howe managed to emerge from the shadow cast by his father to achieve greatness in his own right and in this book he vividly describes his unparalleled life in hockey.

A U.S. Olympian at age 16 and a four-time NHL All-Star, Howe was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2011. A year later, Mark Howe’s number was retired by the Philadelphia Flyers, where he starred for 10 seasons in the 1980s.

After earning his 1972 silver medal for the U.S. Olympic team, Mark joined his father—who had just come out of retirement—and brother Marty with the Houston Aeros of the upstart World Hockey Association; Mark shares memories of playing alongside his father and brother for seven seasons.

Gordie Howe’s Son follows the rest of Mark’s career, through the injuries, trades to the Philadelphia Flyers and Detroit Red Wings, and experiences at the Stanley Cup Finals. A one-of-a-kind story, this autobiography shares never-before-told stories about hockey’s most beloved family.

Mark Howe may be one of the most underrated and most under-appreciated hockey talents of our time, thanks largely to Gordie's shadow. I was really excited to see Mark come out with his own book, hoping that he would get some more deserved recognition. But Howe spends a lot of time in the book in his father's shadow. Obviously Gordie is a significant part of Mark's life, and Mark had perhaps the most unique vantage point of arguably hockey's most famous man. It is great to see those stories, but I was really hoping Mark would come out with his own voice a lot more. It is almost as if, after all these years, Mark is comfortable in the shadow.

Personally I really enjoyed parts of the book that did not include Gordie so much. That means much of the first half of the book is about Gordie as much as anyone - Mark's youth, his rise in hockey and his time in the WHA and introduction to the NHL, all with Gordie by his side.

The first taste of Mark sharing a hockey experience without Gordie comes in the 1972 Olympics. Later in the book Mark talks more about his own life, especially the scary impaling injury and his time with the Philadelphia Flyers, as Gordie was no longer on the ice. Mark of course joined the Detroit Red Wings of all teams late in his career, reintroducing Gordie as a main character again.

Gordie Howe's Son: A Hall of Fame Life In The Shadow of Mr. Hockey is a solid read, though it is a fairly pedestrian jock bio. I spent a lot of the book wishing Mark would find more of his own voice rather than sticking to the family's tightly protected image of Gordie. There is certainly no controversies to be found in this text, not that I'm looking for any. But I had to hoped Mark would be a little more introspective about his reality.

We all know Mark Howe (and the rest of his family, for that matter) have long had to deal with the shadows of his famous father. It is a shadow that Mark can't even escape in his own autobiography.

We Are The Goal Scorers: The Top Point Leaders Of The NHL

The NHLPA and Christopher Jordan bring us the new book We Are the Goal Scorers: The Top Point Leaders of the NHL.

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In We Are the Goal Scorers, the NHL's top point leaders are celebrated for their contribution to the game. Along with photos, player history, and personal information, young and eager fans will enjoy learning about each of their hockey heroes.

We Are The Goalies: The Top Netminders In The NHL

The NHLPA and author Christopher Jordan bring us We Are the Goalies: The Top Netminders of the NHL .

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With thirty teams in the NHL, We Are the Goalies showcases the starting netminder of each club and provides young fans with exciting photos, a detailed history, and an introduction to each of these star players. Along with full color photos, young and eager fans will enjoy reading about their goalie heroes.

50 Greatest Red Wings by Bob Duff

Who is the greatest player in the long history of the Detroit Red Wings? That's what Bob Duff answers in his newest book 50 Greatest Red Wings

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Howe, Yzerman, Fedorov, Lidstrom, Lindsay and Shanahan: Bob Duff’s '50 Greatest Red Wings' is the definitive list of Hockeytown’s heroes. Including members of the famous Production Line and the Red Army, this attractive hardcover features images, full statistics and in-depth player analysis. With rarely seen photos and astonishing anecdotes, this book is essential to all real Red Wings fans.

From Bob Duff, the author of 'Original Six Dynasties' and 'Marcel Pronovost: A Life in Hockey.'

Tales From The Pittsburgh Penguins Locker Room by Joe Starkey

The Pittsburgh Penguins are among the latest franchises to be featured in the Tales From The Locker Room series. The book is written by Joe Starkey with a foreword from Mike Lange.

Tales from the Pittsburgh Penguins Locker Room: A Collection of the Greatest Penguins Stories Ever Told

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Readers have the chance to meet the Pittsburgh Penguins, one of the wildest, wackiest, most wonderful sports franchises that ever waddled its way across North America. If Penguins fans are not shedding tears of sadness, they are crying for joy or simply laughing so hard they cannot stop. No franchise has survived more near-death experiences than this one, which twice went bankrupt and many times escaped the threat of relocation. In 1975, things were so tough that players had their postgame oranges taken away.

Nevertheless, they have persevered. Known across the league as lovable losers for its first 24 years, the team began the climb to the top in the 1990s, winning the Stanley Cup twice in that decade and once more in 2009. In Tales from the Pittsburgh Penguins Locker Room, sportswriter Joe Starkey takes fans inside the locker rooms, onto the team buses (including the one defenseman Bryan “Bugsy” Watson hijacked), and behind the personalities that have shaped Penguins hockey since 1967.

Joe Starkey is an award-winning reporter and freelance columnist for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He has covered the Penguins since 1997 for the Tribune-Review and the Hockey News, following stories ranging from Mario Lemieux’s greatest comeback to the team’s second plunge into bankruptcy. In 2003, Starkey won a Golden Quill Award, presented by the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania, for his story on chewing tobacco abuse in baseball. He resides in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Mike Lange is in his 37th season calling play-by-play on the radio for the Penguins.

Behind The Net: 101 Incredible Hockey Stories by Stan Fischler

Hockey's most prolific author is back with another title for 2013: Behind the Net: 101 Incredible Hockey Stories

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In Stan Fischler’s latest hockey classic, Behind the Net, Fischler includes a collection of short, zany (but true!) tales that have taken place over more than a half century of hockey-watching. An easy read for fans of all ages with photos to accompany the anecdotes, this book offers a unique perspective into the NHL from one of today’s most prolific hockey writers. Different from the typical NHL “game” stories, this book details everything, from the hilarious to the absurd. Fischler details the time that:

• Bill Mosienko scored three goals in 21 seconds
• Rene Fernand Gauthier accepted a challenge to shoot the puck in the ocean
• Sam LoPresti faced 83 shots on goal in one game
• And 98 more unique stories!

So lace up your skates and hit the ice with Behind the Net, a comprehensive collection sure to entertain any hockey fan, regardless of team allegiances.

2013 Hockey Books Sneak Peek: Darren McCarty: My Last Fight

Looking back on a memorable career, Darren McCarty recounts his time as one of the most visible and beloved members of the Detroit Red Wings as well as his personal struggles with addiction, finances, and women and his daily battles to overcome.

Darren McCarty's autobiography My Last Fight: The True Story of a Hockey Rock Star is due out in the fall of 2013. It is written with Kevin Allen.

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As a member of four Red Wings’ Stanley Cup–winning teams, McCarty played the role of enforcer from 1993 to 2004 and returning again in 2008 and 2009. His “Grind Line” with teammates Kris Draper and Kirk Maltby physically overmatched some of the best offensive lines in the NHL, but he was more than just a brawler: his 127 career goals included several of the highlight variety, including an inside-out move against Philadelphia in the clinching game of the 1997 Stanley Cup Finals.

As colorful a character as any NHL player, his arms are adorned with tattoos, and he was the lead singer in the hard rock band Grinder during the offseason.

Yet this autobiography details what may have endeared him most to his fans: the honest, open way he has dealt with his struggles in life off the ice. Whether dealing with substance abuse, bankruptcy, divorce, or the death of his father, Darren McCarty has always seemed to persevere.