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

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 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;

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.

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.

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.

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.