Cracked Ice: An Insider's Look at the NHL

by Stan Fischer

No major professional sports organization has undergone more turmoil--and embarrassment--in the past decade that the National Hockey Leauge. The NHL has faced management shake-ups, skyrocketing player salaries, franchise movement, expansion, and players' strikes while attempting to compete for the attention of sports fans against the "big three"--baseball, football, and basketball. In this penetrating analysis, Stan Fischler examines the rise, fall, and attempted comeback of big league hockey. Fischler, a highly respected hockey reporter and author, gives an insider's look at the league's struggles on and off the ice while taking a look toward the sport's future. Fischler spares no one in Cracked Ice , not even icons such as Wayne Gretzky and Chris Chelios, while also taking shots at the sports media establishment and NHL officials. Cracked Ice is a revealing look behind the scenes at a league living on the edge.

Genres: Hockey, Sports, Nonfiction

352 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fischler's book focuses on the business side of the NHL in the early and mid-1990s. A few of the topics include, among others: the fall of both John Ziegler and Gill Stein as NHL president, the hiring of Gary Bettman, the 1994-95 lockout, the potential relocation of the New Jersey Devils to Nashville, and the attempt by John Spano to buy the New York Islanders.

Anyone familiar with Fischler will not be surprised that he does not hide his bias, and quite clearly did not support the rising salaries of the players or the efforts of the NHLPA during this era, arguing that the players made more than enough money. However as long as one is aware of this going in, the book is a solid resource for this era of the NHL. In particular He provides a first-hand account of the Devils to Nashville saga that clouded their 1995 Stanley Cup championship, and gives in-depth details of Spano's efforts to buy the Islanders. For things like that it is a real invaluable resource, and worth going through.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Growing up I was never a fan of Fischler. He was the New York hockey reporter. An American who was a jerk. At least to my friends and I who thought as teenagers we knew it all about “our game.” The book is now about 25 years old. However reading it now and being a lot older, my perspective has changed. While I don’t agree with everything he discusses with respect to NHL player salaries it was an excellent book. Always fun to look back and see what was written then and if any of it came to fruition. In addition, how certain people have remained in the game moving from players to coaches. This was a great find in the local thrift store from which all funds raised support a local hospice society.