The Greatest Game: The Montreal Canadiens, the Red Army, and the Night That Saved Hockey Review

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The Greatest Game: The Montreal Canadiens, the Red Army, and the Night That Saved Hockey ReviewThis book provides an interesting, scholarly, and quite readable trip down memory lane, an especially enjoyable stroll for fans of the great Canadiens teams of the 1970s. While it is ostensibly aimed at those who wish to know the background to the 1975 New Year's Eve classic, Soviet Red Army vs the Montreal Canadiens, Mr. Denault's book will appeal to anyone who has an interest in the history of Soviet hockey, or an interest in the evolution of the NHL in the 1960s and 70s, or is a fan of the les Habitants. This book covers in some detail the beginnings of Soviet "professional" hockey, from the coaches and the Soviet scheme to the heavy-handedness of the Soviet hierarchy. The author takes us behind the scenes of Canadian hockey in the 50s and 60s, the farm system, the evolution of the draft, and the impact of the WHA on salaries and the style of play. Throughout Denault contrasts the disparity in Soviet and Canadian hockey organizations and the reluctance of Canadian coaches to even consider an alternative to their rough and tough, individualistic brand of hockey, doubtless a consequence of the contrasting political and social realities in the respective systems. Some may quibble at the detail that Mr. Denault provides early on, but he does lay out the many concurrent trends in hockey and in sport in general at the time. And his approach sets the stage for vivid descriptions of the 1972 Summit Series between the NHL and the Red Army, and the 1974 series in which the new WHA vainly attempted to repeat the NHL team's success. Numerous personalities are brought to life, from Sam Pollock and Fred Shero, to Ken Dryden and Larry Robinson. On the Soviet side we are introduced to its ground-breaking coach Anatoli Tarasov, and presented compelling portraits of Vladislav Tretiak and Valeri Kharlamov and many others. The Game, the climax of the book, comes rather late in the proceedings, but to be fair, there is only so much that one can describe about a 60 minute sporting event, even a momentous one. The real story, we learn, is mostly prologue. When at last Mr. Denault brings us to the storied Forum to witness the game, he helps us re-live those exciting events through an elegant prose that is equal to the beauty and purity of the game itself. Despite the broad scope of the work and a few editing oversights, I enjoyed the book very much, and recommend it to all fans of the great game of hockey.The Greatest Game: The Montreal Canadiens, the Red Army, and the Night That Saved Hockey OverviewThis game wasn't about money, points, or trophies. Instead it was played for pride, both personal and national. It was a confrontation twenty years in the making and it marked a turning point in the history of hockey.On December 31, 1975, the Montreal Canadiens, the most successful franchise in the NHL, hosted the touring Central Red Army, the dominant team in the Soviet Union. For three hours millions of people in both Canada and the Soviet Union were glued to their television sets. What transpired that evening was a game that surpassed all the hype and was subsequently referred to as "the greatest game ever played." Held at the height of the Cold War, this remarkable contest transcended sports and took on serious cultural, sociological, and political overtones. And while the final result was a 3-3 tie, no one who saw the game was left disappointed. This exhibition of skill was hockey at its finest, and it set the bar for what was to follow as the sport began its global expansion.

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