Powerplay

by R. Alan Eagleson

Memoir of the now disgraced ice hockey agent and "power behind the scenes" Alan Eagleson.

Genres: Hockey, Sports

328 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[John De Marchi]

This book was published in 1991. I don't think this book is still in publication. Whether you love Alan Eagleson or hate him, he was an important figure in the NHL. He was a driving force behind the formation of the NHLPA, the Canada-USSR Summit Series and the Canada Cup. He was also an agent for many hockey players including Bobby Orr. He mentions in great detail about the breakup between him and Bobby Orr but he does not give any reasons what happened between their relationship. In Bobby Orr's book My Story , he explains in detail his relationship with Alan Eagleson. Bobby had a history of knee problems throughout his career. In this book, he was explaining the he told Bobby Orr that he had to get out of Boston because Bobby Orr has to pass a medical exam otherwise he wouldn't be able to play in Boston. Alan explained that he was able to get Bill Wirtz, the owner of the Chicago Black Hawks to sign him despite the problem he had with his knees. In Bobby Orr's book (My Story), what Eagleson didn't tell him is that the Jacob brothers, owners of the Boston Bruins were willing to make Bobby Orr part owner of the the team.

Despite his fraud convictions, without him, there wouldn't be an NHLPA for the players and no international hockey competitions like the Canada Cup and World Cup of Hockey.

[Matt]

Eagleson's memoir came out late in 1991, right before he became embroiled in legal trouble and ultimately fell from the his positions. It does touch on his life and efforts, as well as presents his side of some of the major things he worked on up to that point (his political career, the formation of the NHLPA, the Summit Series, his falling out with Bobby Orr, the 1989 attempt to remove him, his involvement in international hockey), but is very much slanted in his favour (it doesn't note how close he really was with John Ziegler and Bill Wirtz, nor his corruption and how he could properly handle so many conflicting roles). If one was not familiar with what really happened, as came out during his trial and the subsequent books (Russ Conway's book "Game Misconduct: Alan Eagleson and the Corruption of Hockey" is required reading for that), then Eagleson definitely comes across as someone who is only in it to help the players and better hockey overall. As such the book is valuable to see how it is spun from his perspective. But it definitely needs to be read in that context, and taken as a work of fiction in terms of anything related to his hockey business.

[Derek]

Written while under pressure in 1990/1991, this book appears to be an attempt to demonstrate how important he was, how he did everything by the book and how it was for the benefit of everyone else. It does make for interesting reading but one now has the benefit of more information and of course hindsight to see what he was really doing. It is a glimpse through his eyes which is quite startling especially as you read his comments regarding Bobby Orr. Want a different take on that world? Read this book.