Scott Morrison - 100 Years, 100 Moments

A century of the National Hockey League is a lot of hockey.

A lot of great moments and memories, innovation and evolution. For all the ways players and coaches have reimagined taking the puck on a stick, skating it down a sheet of ice, and shooting it into a net, some things about the game never change.

The elegance, the ferocity, the speed: NHL hockey has left indelible memories with generations of hockey fans in North America and, increasingly, around the world. Over the past 100 years, the NHL has had so many of those where were you? moments and performances, some that are deeply enshrined in the fans collective consciousness.

While other moments were quieter, their impact perhaps less notable at the time, they nonetheless played a significant role in the shaping of the game.

The NHL has grown from four teams in its beginning in 1917, to 31 as it closes its centenary and enters its 101st year, each club in determined pursuit of one of the oldest and toughest trophies to win in all of professional sportsthe Stanley Cup.

No single volume could capture every significant memory from a century of hockey, but we have collected here 100 of the best, focusing on the top moments, developments, players, executives, coaches, teams, arenas, tradesyou name itthat impacted the leagues history.

We have tried to explain the changes that occurred in the game as it developed and grew over the years, from the early years through to the Original Six, several expansions, dynasties, and the onset of parity.

Youll read about some of the greatest players who ever played the game and their marvellous featsthe likes of Gordie Howe and Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr and Mario Lemieux, King Clancy and Maurice (Rocket) Richard, Sidney Crosby and the young players now trying to live up to the standards set by him and all of these great athletes before him.

Hockey means different things to different people. In the United States, especially in northern cities like Boston and Detroit, love for the game runs deep, and fans passion for their team has become a part of those peoples identities. Youll read about the spread of that passion, from cities like New York and Chicago, across the northern states and deep into the South, where hockey has taken root in the most southern locales, inspiring kids to learn how to chase a puck and dream of one day playing in the NHL (maybe even scoring a record number of goals in their big-league debut).

In Canada, fans take that passion one step further. From Vancouver to Winnipeg, Montreal to Toronto, hockey seems inseparable from the identity of an entire nation. But no matter where you are, in North America or the many nations in Europe and abroad where the NHLs heroes grew up and learned to play, passion for the game has endured over a century and still runs strong.

Youll understand exactly where that passion comes fromif you dont alreadyonce youve read about the extraordinary moments that define these one hundred remarkable years of the NHL.

A project like this book is a major undertaking, of course. As such, there are major thank-yous due to so many people, starting with my all-star teamLance Hornby, Tim Wharnsby, and John Whaley. All three have been colleagues at various stages of our careers. Hornby and Wharnsby are two of the top hockey journalists anywhere. Whaley is gifted producer and writer. All three played a major role in assembling this book.