1984 Canada Cup Comes To DVD

Paul Coffey was a wonderful offensive defenseman, putting up numbers from the blue line that rivalled the great Bobby Orr. He was known for great outlet passes, his manning the point on the power play, and, above all else, his skating ability on those end to end rushes he was so good at.

But one thing he was not known for was playing defense. Which is funny because the lasting image of the 1984 Canada Cup has always been a brilliant defensive play by Coffey, which he quickly turned into an offensive rush and set up the dramatic winning goal. It is the quintessential Paul Coffey play.


Ah the wonders of the ol' Canada Cup tournaments. I bet you didn't know that released two days before Christmas 2014 was the Canada Cup 1984: 5 Disc DVD Collection, featuring all games involving Team Canada. Two days before Christmas certainly doesn't allow for capitalizing on the Christmas rush, but who am I to criticize the marketing team?

The key thing is the Canada Cup '84 is now available for us to relive. Buy the DVD box set here: Amazon.ca - Chapters - Amazon.com.

That's right - We can relieve the heroics of Wayne Gretzky, Paul Coffey, Raymond Bourque, Michel Goulet, Mike Bossy and all of Team Canada as the slowly come together through the round robin, win the classic semi-final against the Soviet Union and defeat the surprising Swedish team in the two game finale.

We also get a look at then-youngsters like Steve Yzerman, Dominik Hasek, Hakan Loob, Scott Stevens and Chris Chelios.

We also get semi-final game commentary by Team Canada assistant coach Tom Watt and Hockey Hall of Fame journalist Scott Morrison. In addition, we get many of the classic interviews and, yes, the always popular classic commercials from the original broadcast!

As a bonus, the final game of Canada Cup 1981 is also released on DVD. The Russians handed Canada their worst loss ever in that game, 8-1, likely ensuring we will never see a commercial release of that tournament. So the curious will want to see this game, too, and it is a great way to set up the drama of 1984.

Canada Cup DVDs already exist for 1976 and 1987 . Could 1991 be far away?

This also seems to be a great time to share this rare photo. It is of the jersey exchange after the tournament's final game, then tradition in such international friendlies. Here Montreal Canadiens teammates Mats Naslund and Larry Robinson exchange sweaters. Clearly Naslund's does not fit big Robinson very well.

En Route To St. Moritz Gold

Roger Godin, veteran hockey historian, is back with another paper he calls a monograph. For $3 plus shipping you can learn all about Boston's University Club's 1928 upset of the ultimate Olympic champions in En Route To St. Moritz Gold.

The Boston's University Club, not to be confused with the Boston University hockey team, actually played the Allan Cup champions University of Toronto Grads twice prior to U of T travelling to the Olympics and easily winning the gold medal. But the Bostonians gave U of T all they could handle in a 2 game, total goal series which ended tied 2-2, including a 1-0 victory for Boston in game 2.

Godin goes on to tell us that the United States did not ice an Olympic team in 1928, but wonders what would have happened had the Boston Univesity Club worn the red, white and blue.

Here's some YouTube footage of Godin presenting his paper at a Society For International Hockey Research meeting:



If you are interested in acquiring this monograph, please contact Mr. Godin directly. It costs $3 plus shipping.

Tales of a First Nothing by Terry Ryan

Tales of a First-Round Nothing: My Life As A NHL Footnote
Buy The Book: Amazon.ca - Chapters - Amazon.com

From The Publisher: Terry Ryan was poised to take the hockey world by storm when he was selected eighth overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the 1995 NHL draft, their highest draft pick in a decade.

Expected to go on to become a hockey star, Ryan played a total of eight NHL games for the Canadiens, scoring no goals and no assists: not exactly the career he, or anyone else, was expecting.

Though Terry’s NHL career wasn’t long, he experienced a lot and has no shortage of hilarious and fascinating revelations about life in pro hockey on and off the ice. In Tales of a First-Round Nothing, he recounts fighting with Tie Domi, partying with rock stars, and everything in between. Ryan tells it like it is, detailing his rocky relationship with Michel Therrien, head coach of the Canadiens, and explaining what life is like for a man who was unprepared to have his career over so soon.

Joe's Note - I wish every hockey autobiography was as open and as entertaining as Terry Ryan's. In fact it should be mandatory reading for any player who is about to write his memoirs. While Ryan's storytelling can be a little crude, a little meandering and lacking a little polish, it was a refreshingly open read that I couldn't put down. Page after page there were more great stories - stuff you couldn't possibly make up. Most jock bios just touch on all the major milestones, often without saying much at all in the entire volume. But Ryan has a fantastic hit on his hand.

Hockey Book Review: Jean Beliveau: My Life In Hockey

Magnificent. Awe-inspiring. Compelling. Special. Honest. Classy.

Normally these words are reserved for Jean Beliveau, one of the top 10 hockey legends of all time and a man who everyone, hockey fan or not, respects and admires.

But today these adjectives, and there are never enough, are reserved for his re-released autobiography Jean Beliveau: My Life in Hockey.

Buy The Book: Amazon.ca - Chapters - Amazon.com

The Beliveau story has long been a literary classic. First published in 1994 and expanded in 1995. The book was co-written with Chrys Goyens and Allan Turowetz. Now you know the always articulate Beliveau was very hands on in every incarnation of this project, but Goyens and Turowetz lend their literary prowess to make this book as strong as any book in the hockey world.

I recently review unauthorized biographies of Bobby Orr and Gordie Howe. Both were absolutely wonderful books and incredibly well written, but they both suffered from the lack of participation from the story's main character.

Now imagine a book of the same quality and of a legend of the same ilk, only this time the character is not only involved but incredibly open, personal and refreshingly frank. That has always been the magic of Beliveau's autobiography.

This magic is even more pronounced in the 2005 release, as Beliveau becomes even more reflective.

After a new foreword by Wayne Gretzky, Beliveau opens with a new chapter called "The Best Seats In The House" where it is clear he has been facing mortality for some time. He talks about his teammates who have left us, remembering lost heroes Claude Provost, Doug Harvey, Jacques Plante, J.C. Tremblay, Bob Turner, Gerry McNeil, and most importantly Rocket Richard. Just days before the Rocket's passing, Beliveau was dealt a sobering dose of mortality when hockey's ultimate gentleman was diagnosed with cancer.

Beliveau fascinates the reader just by being honest and articulate. From that point on you are captured by the book's magic.

Unlike many re-published titles, the opening chapter and new foreword are not the only new additions of the book. Most of the original chapters return in their original glory, but polished up to better connect with modern times. Beliveau enters into such topics as the 2005 lost season and the new NHL in his approach to introducing new readers to his original chapters such as "La Vielle Capitale," The Tug-of-War," "The Fantastic Fifties," "The Neglected Sixties," "The Players," "The Bobby Orr Revolution," and "The Second Floor."

Beliveau also concludes the book with two new chapters, "We Are All Fans," where he looks at his and our love of the game, and "Legacies," where he has realized his greatest legacy, after a life in hockey, may not be on the ice after all.

The original Beliveau biography is a hockey classic. But this 2005 Greystone Books re-release is so much better. I didn't know that was possible to do. It is and has been done, although its too bad one of the finest gentlemen you'll ever know had to go through so much hardship and loss to accomplish that.

Overall Book Rating: 5/5 Hall of Famer