Peter Pocklington brought the people of Edmonton a winning franchise and the most skilled player in hockey history: The Great One, Wayne Gretzky.This book consists of seven chapters as they were originally published in Peter Pocklington's biography "I'd Trade Him Again: on Gretzky, Politics and the Pursuit of the Perfect Deal." The selected content tell the fascinating story of the flamboyant entrepreneur's tenure of the Edmonton Oilers, from its origins as a WHA team to its heights as an NHL powerhouse. "I'D TRADE HIM AGAIN: WAYNE GRETZKY & PETER POCKLINGTON" is an easy-to-read "must read" for hockey fans on both sides of the border. Get inside details from the major players in this dramatic tale. Praise for the complete biography: I'D TRADE HIM AGAIN (full version published 2009 (hardcover), 2011 (paperback)) "A lively insider's read." Garth Woolsey, Toronto Star "A hell of a life and a hell of a book... I couldn't put it down." Dan Tencer, 630 CHED Radio Edmonton "It's clear McConnell and Nye wouldn't let Pocklington spin his tale without checks and balances... They have done a professional job." Kevin Allen, USA Today "I'D TRADE HIM AGAIN is a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at a man who is neither a villain nor a hero." Denis Gorman, Goodreads.com "As great as the Great One. Five stars. I loved it." Shelley Zimmel, on Chapters.ca

From the Foreword by Wayne Gretzky:ldquo; When I flew back to Edmonton that day for the announcement of my trade, both Peter and Glen Sather told me one more time they would kill the deal to send me to L.A., if I wanted it killed. And I was this close — this close — to killing the deal. He was like a father to me.rdquo;

THE TRADE! Over 25 years later, in the annals of professional hockey, no incident has resulted in such furor, such angst among Canadians as did the decision by team owner Peter Pocklington to trade Edmonton Oiler Wayne Gretzky to the Los Angeles Kings. This book consists of seven chapters as they were originally published in Peter Pocklington's biography "I'd Trade Him Again: on Gretzky, Politics and the Pursuit of the Perfect Deal." These select chapters tell the fascinating story of the flamboyant entrepreneur's tenure of the Edmonton Oilers, from its origins as a WHA team to its heights as an NHL powerhouse.

From his standout youth, where he honed his skills on a backyard rink, to his unlikely jump to the pros at the age of 17, this biography chronicles Wayne Gretzky's ascension to the greatest hockey player of all time to his shocking trade from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings in 1998—an event that rocked hockey fans across North America. This chronicle reveals, for the first time, the true story behind the deal, as well as Gretzky's important role in making the trade happen. From the press conference where the trade was announced and where Gretzky wept, this work notes how the “Great One” could have been crying tears of joy as he realized his life was about to get a whole lot better—playing for more money in a California city that would be a perfect home for him and his glamorous new actress-wife.

For more than forty years, scholars of the history and sociology of sport and recreation have studied how, no matter the time or place, sport is always more than just a game. In Playing for Change, leading scholars in the field of sports studies consider that legacy and forge ahead into the discipline’s future. Through essays grouped around the themes of international and North American sport, including the Vancouver and Sochi Olympic Games; access to physical activity in Canadian communities; and the role of activism and the public intellectual in the delivery of sport, the contributors offer a comprehensive examination of the institutional structures of sport, physical activity, and recreation. This book provides wide-ranging examples of cutting-edge research in a vibrant and growing field.

Peter Pocklington rapidly gained his place in Canada’s national consciousness as "Peter Puck" - the maverick entrepreneur from oil-rich Alberta who made millions, employed thousands, bucked the political establishment, was the hostage in a famous kidnapping and, most prominently of all, transformed the Edmonton Oilers into the best and most successful hockey team in history. Then, in a few short years, he went from hero to villain – and when he sent Wayne Gretzky, Canada’s most revered hockey player, to California, his effigy was burned and his reputation trashed. In The Puck Talks Here, Pocklington’s remarkable life is recounted in page-turning fashion – from glorious heights to disheartening depths and, finally, to inspired renewal.

The complete story of the Edmonton Oilers--from Wayne Gretzky and the dynasty years, to Connor McDavid and the future, and everything in between. When the Edmonton Oilers joined the NHL in 1979, the team owner, Peter Pocklington, proclaimed they would win their first Stanley Cup within five years. A bold statement that turned out to be half right: they not only won the Cup in 1984, but won it four more times over the next six years, forging one of the most dominant dynasties ever. The Oilers have always been a team of determination--fast scoring, hard hitting, and creative hockey that has earned them loyal fans across North America. The team has faced adversity, both on and off the ice. As a small market team, the Oilers have struggled to compete in the NHL, but always found a way. From the biggest trade in history that saw the Great One leave for L.A., to the eleventh hour negotiations that kept the team in Edmonton with a cadre of thirty-seven passionate owners--there is no club like it. And now with super star Connor McDavid leading the roster there's never been greater promise for the future. With forty years of NHL action to celebrate, acclaimed sports writer Lorna Schultz Nicholson takes a journey back to the Oiler's phenomenal highs and challenging lows, the larger than life characters and amazing records, to tell the remarkable story of the hardest working club in the game. Fully illustrated with rare and exciting images, and published in full partnership with the Edmonton Oilers, this is the must have book for Oilers fans, and hockey fans, everywhere.

Sean McIndoe of Down Goes Brown, one of hockey's favourite and funniest writers, takes aim at the game's most memorable moments--especially if they're memorable for the wrong reasons--in this warts-and-all history of the NHL. The NHL is, indisputably, weird. One moment, you're in awe of the speed, skill and intensity that define the sport, shaking your head as a player makes an impossible play, or shatters a longstanding record, or sobs into his first Stanley Cup. The next, everyone's wearing earmuffs, Mr. Rogers has shown up, and guys in yellow raincoats are officiating playoff games while everyone tries to figure out where the league president went. That's just life in the NHL, a league that often can't seem to get out of its own way. No matter how long you've been a hockey fan, you know that sinking feeling that maybe, just maybe, some of the people in charge here don't actually know what they're doing. And at some point, you've probably wondered: Has it always been this way? The short answer is yes. As for the longer answer, well, that's this book. In this fun, irreverent and fact-filled history, Sean McIndoe relates the flip side to the National Hockey League's storied past. His obsessively detailed memory combines with his keen sense for the absurdities that make you shake your head at the league and yet fanatically love the game, allowing you to laugh even when your team is the butt of the joke (and as a life-long Leafs fan, McIndoe takes the brunt of some of his own best zingers). The "Down Goes Brown" History of the NHL is the weird and wonderful league's story told as only Sean McIndoe can.

Everybody has value and should be made to feel that way. That was one of our fundamental tenets, and we all bough into it completely. We believed that if you've built the right culture-a culture of inclusion-then an important contribution could just as likely come from a guy who says he's keeping his fingers crossed to hang on with the team as from one of the stars. Book jacket.

Two decades of lockouts, soaring ticket prices, and on-ice tinkering have convinced many hard-core fans that the NHL's long-time commissioner Gary Bettman is the devil in disguise, but this book examines his motivations, peels back his often prickly demeanor, and explains how he manages to lead, confound, and keep order. It details the unlikely ascension of a fatherless Jewish kid from Long Island—who never played hockey and can barely skate—to the sport's biggest job. The seven-fold increase in gross revenue during Bettman's 20-year tenure as NHL commissioner makes him a business success story, and on his watch, professional hockey has also expanded far beyond its regional strongholds. By taming the NHL's famously fractious owners, all but busting its players' union, and enforcing a lawyerly discipline even on trash talk, Bettman has become a figure of almost unrivaled power in the business of sports, and this biography delves into how his influence shapes rival leagues in other countries, dictates the schedule of the Olympic Winter Games, and spills onto the ice itself.