Dennis Maruk - Dennis Maruk: The Unforgettable Story of Hockeys Forgotten 60-Goal Man

Gratoony the Loony One of hockeys most colourful characters, from hockeys most colourful era, tells all

Gilles Gratton was not a typical pro hockey player. He refused to don his equipment and man his net if the planets were not properly aligned. He skated naked at practice. He created one of hockeys most famous goalie masks based on his astrological sign. He fought with coaches and management, speaking his mind to his detriment. Sex, drugs, and rock n roll ruled his life, not stopping pucks. Truthfully? He never really wanted to be an NHL goaltender; he wanted to be Tibetan monk. And so, he quit hockey to seek enlightenment.

Now, in his autobiography, Gratton teams up with author Greg Oliver to tell his wild and at times, yes, loony story: from his early days in Montreal, where his brother Norm Gratton became an NHL player, too; through his stints with the OHAs Oshawa Generals, the Ottawa Nationals and Toronto Toros of the rogue WHA, and the St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers in the NHL.

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Copyright Dennis Maruk and Ken Reid, 2017

Published by ECW Press
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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any process electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior written permission of the copyright owners and ECW Press. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the authors rights is appreciated.

To the best of his abilities, the author has related experiences, places, people, and organizations from his memories of them. In order to protect the privacy of others, he has, in some instances, changed the names of certain people and details of events and places.

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Maruk, Dennis, 1955, author

Dennis Maruk : the unforgettable story of hockeys forgotten 60-goal man / Dennis Maruk with Ken Reid; foreword by Marcel Dionne.

Issued in print and electronic formats.

ISBN 978-1-77041-331-3 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-77305-061-4 (PDF)
ISBN 978-1-77305-062-1 (EPUB)

1. Maruk, Dennis, 1955. 2. Hockey playersCanadaBiography. I. Reid, Ken, 1974, author II. Trottier, Bryan, writer of foreword III. Title.

GV848.5.M37A3 2017 796.962092 C2017-902403-5 C2017-902982-7

Editor for the press: Michael Holmes
Cover design: Michel Vrana
Cover images: courtesy Washington Capitals Photography
Interior images: from the authors personal collection, unless otherwise indicated.

The publication of Dennis Maruk has been generously supported by the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund. Ce livre est financ en partie par le gouvernement du Canada. We also acknowledge the contribution of the Government of Ontario through the Ontario Book Publishing Tax Credit and the Ontario Media Development Corporation.

My first rep team. I made the jump from house league after my first year of organized hockey. Future pro Gary Carr is our goalie. Im sitting far left in the first row.

Me as a Knights rookie on the shoulders of future NHLer Dennis Ververgaert, our goalie Peter Crosbie, and captain Reggie Thomas, who played in the NHL and WHA. I was the 197273 OHA Rookie of the Year. I had 113 points in 59 games.

I was reluctant to go to London but was all smiles at the end of the year. Here I am with a couple of pieces of hardware, the OHA and London Knights top rookie awards, after year number one.

1975 My first year in the NHL, playing for the California Golden Seals.

A great-looking group at the 1979 World Championships. Im surrounded by a fun and talented bunch. Left to right in the front row, thats Trevor Johansen, Brad Maxwell, me, and a smiling, tongue waggling Wilf Paiement. Back row left to right is Al MacAdam, David Shand, Robert Picard, and Dale McCourt.

The 3M Line in action against the Buffalo Sabres. Left to right, thats Al MacAdam, me at centre, and Bobby Murdoch. As a trio, we combined for 174 points in 197576.

Fighting for the puck against future Hall of Famer Marcel Dionne. Playing against Marcel pushed me to be a better hockey player. He, like me, was overlooked throughout his hockey career.

At the Forum against Guy Lafleur. It was an honour to play against one
of the greatest Habs and NHL players of all time.

Notice the short stick? It made for better puck control. It wasnt the longest twig, but it did some damage. Credit: Bob Shaver/Hockey Hall of Fame

When I lined up with Team Canada, I was honoured to call guys like Guy Lafleur, Lanny McDonald, and Larry Robinson my teammates. I scored 16 goals for Canada at four tournaments.

Team Canada 1981. Our head coach, the great Don Cherry, is in the middle.