Today's review has us looking at Road Games by Roy MacGregor.

This book is, essentially, a look at a full year or so in the life of the NHL, specifically the 1992-93 season. While it focuses on the first year of the re-born Ottawa Senators, there is so much else going on in the league that the book creates a myriad of storylines.

The ongoing drama of the Senators and their first year struggles in the league reach a boiling point when upper management makes the fateful decision to actually plan to lose games in order to finish last overall in the league standings. A league inquiry after the season was made into whether the team “tanked” for that first overall pick. At that point, the NHL still awarded the Entry Draft picks in reverse order of finish, meaning last place received the first pick.

Eric Lindros, the top pick two years ago, had been the top pick, and refused to sign with Quebec, the team that wanted him. They would eventually trade his rights to Philadelphia. In doing so, they set up a precedent in that teams could draft players, even though they didn't want to sign there, and eventually trade them for multiple players and draft picks, allowing a low-ranked team to become competitive quickly.

Mario Lemieux is highlighted, in a season that should have been a chase at some of the greatest records in league history. Instead, he was forced to deal with a lump on his neck that would sideline him for several weeks. His return was a highlight of the season.

In addition, there was the emergence of several new faces, including many European players who were experiencing breakout seasons; Pavel Bure, Teemu Selanne, Alexander Mogilny, just to name a few. All of them were experiencing seasons that would match any of the best that North American players were playing through at that point.

This is a fascinating book; behind the scenes with the league offices, the Ottawa Senators, and in-depth looks at various players around the league as well. I've read this book before, but I found that even in reviewing it this time, there was information that I found for the first time, increasing enjoyment. I truly found this to be a fascinating read. Anyone wanting a look at the insides of the league, a snapshot, if you will, should look at this book as a representative example.

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Road-Games-Year-Life-NHL/dp/0921912587/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1362349477&sr=1-2&keywords=road+games

Link to Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/road-games-macgregor/1023414650?ean=9780921912583