Readers have the chance to meet the Pittsburgh Penguins, one of the wildest, wackiest, most wonderful sports franchises that ever waddled its way across North America. If Penguins fans are not shedding tears of sadness, they are crying for joy or simply laughing so hard they cannot stop. No franchise has survived more near-death experiences than this one, which twice went bankrupt and many times escaped the threat of relocation. In 1975, things were so tough that players had their postgame oranges taken away. Nevertheless, they have persevered. Known across the league as lovable losers for its first 24 years, the team began the climb to the top in the 1990s, winning the Stanley Cup twice in that decade and again in 2009 and 2016. In Tales from the Pittsburgh Penguins Locker Room, sportswriter Joe Starkey takes fans inside the locker rooms, onto the team buses (including the one defenseman Bryan “Bugsy” Watson hijacked), and behind the personalities that have shaped Penguins hockey since 1967.

THE PITTSBURGH PENGUINS HAVE BECOME ONE OF THE MOST STORIED FRANCHISES IN NHL HISTORY. Winners of five Stanley Cup championships, the Penguins have hosted generations of stars from Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr to Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, all of whom have left an indelible mark on team history. Phil Bourque, who helped earn two of those Stanley Cup victories and who now serves as color commentator alongside Mike Lange for Penguins radio broadcasts, has gotten to witness more than his fair share of that history up close and personal. In If These Walls Could Talk: Pittsburgh Penguins, you'll relive some of that history, from Bourque's memories of training camp with Lemieux to his stories of celebrating with (and having to repair) the Cup. Through singular anecdotes only Bourque can tell about current and past players, coaches, and opponents, this book provides fans with a one-of-a-kind, insider's look into the Penguins' greatest moments, disappointments, and everything in between.

Readers have the chance to meet the Pittsburgh Penguins, one of the wildest, wackiest, most wonderful sports franchises that ever waddled its way across North America. If Penguins fans are not shedding tears of sadness, they are crying for joy or simply laughing so hard they cannot stop. The team's games once played on a station called WEEP, and its first mascot, a penguin named Pete, died of pneumonia. In Tales from the Pittsburgh Penguins, sportswriter Joe Starkey takes fans inside the locker rooms, onto the team buses (including the one defenseman Bryan "Buggsy" Watson hi-jacked) and behind the personalities that have shaped Penguins hockey since 1967. No franchise has survived more near-death experiences than this one, which twice went bankrupt and many times escaped the threat of relocation. In 1975 things were so tough that players had their postgame oranges taken away.The bitter, often comical lows only made the ride to the top that much sweeter, and the Penguins have spent quality time at the summit. Mario Lemieux led the team to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships and later bought it out of bankruptcy court. Rarely has this franchise ever taken the middle ground. When it was bad, it was very, very bad. When it was good, it was sublime, graced with some of the greatest hockey personalities of the 20th Century. Hall of Fame coaches Herb Brooks, Bob Johnson, and Scotty Bowman plied their trade in Pittsburgh, as did Hall of Fame talents such as Lemieux, Paul Coffey, Jaromir Jagr and Ron Francis. The characters, too, were the cream of the crop. Wild men such as Eddie Shack, Brian "Spinner" Spencer, and Darius Kasparaitis provided entertainment in the best and worst of times, likethe night Kasparaitis was tossed into a Calgary police car for jaywalking or the time Shack drove his dune buggy onto the ice at the Civic Arena. To borrow a phrase from legendary Penguins announcer Mike Lange, you'd have to be h

Led by stars like Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, and Brent Seabrook, the Chicago Blackhawks are a modern NHL powerhouse, as much a part of Chicago as the Willis Tower or The Bean at Millennium Park. In If These Walls Could Talk: Chicago Blackhawks, Mark Lazerus chronicles the team's rise from the dark ages of the 2000s to the golden age of the 2010s through never-before-told stories from inside the dressing room, aboard the team plane, at the players' homes, and — especially in the case of the rowdy 2009-2010 team that started it all — in countless Chicago bars. If These Walls Could Talk: Chicago Blackhawks will bring readers closer to their favorite players than ever before. It's a book Hawks fans won't want to be without.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have captured the Stanley Cup five times since 1991--more than any NHL team during the same period. Joining the NHL in 1967 as an expansion team, they waddled their way through years of heavy losses both on and off the ice--bad trades, horrible draft picks, a revolving door of owners, general managers and coaches, and even a bankruptcy. Somehow, they hung on long enough to draft superstar Mario Lemieux in 1984 and eventually claim their first championship, attracting a large fanbase along the way. Packed with colorful recollections from former players, reporters and team officials, this book tells the complete story of the Penguins' first 25 years, chronicling their often hilarious, sometimes tragic transformation from bumbling upstarts to one of hockey's most accomplished franchises.

The second in a series of books written by hockey's most authoritative author, Stan Fischler, examines the storied history of the Boston Bruins. Formatted like his first book for SPI, The Greatest Players and Moments of the Philadelphia Flyers, Fischler's Bruins book contains all of Boston hockey's most famous names -- Phil Esposito, Bobby Orr, Eddie Shore, Milt, Schmidt, John Bucyk, and many others. Of the Original Six NHL clubs, only the Montreal Canadiens have a better all-time winning percentage than the Boston Bruins. Stories and trivia about all five of the Bruins' Stanley Cup championship teams are also included.

Do you consider yourself a Pittsburgh Penguins fan? It's easy to see why! From Mario Lemieux to Jaromir Jagr, Sidney Crosby to Evgeni Malkin, and all the excellent players in between, the Penguins are a star-studded, top-flight NHL franchise. But, do you know which of those players scored the most goals for the team? How about which was drafted the highest? If you think you've got what it takes to show off your expertise in all sorts of Penguins knowledge, you can put that confidence to the test with The Ultimate Pittsburgh Penguins Trivia Book! This book will set the record straight on such team history as: What celebration made history after the Pens won their first Stanley Cup Which Penguins player had his jersey retired after just 86 games Which jealous NHL team filed a protest after seeing Pittsburgh's new uniforms Which father and son shared the same nickname while playing for the Pens How a Penguins player became the team's owner while still starring on the ice Impress your friends by showing off the depth of your fandom through a series of challenging trivia questions. Select the correct option from the multiple-choice answers provided. Place your bets on whether some of the unbelievable team facts are true or false. And pick up some great anecdotes to share about all the colorful characters who make up Penguins history! Whether you've believed in the team for decades and want to show that you know your stuff, or you're new to Pittsburgh Penguins hockey and can't get soak up knowledge fast enough, this book is sure to please anyone with the good taste to call themselves a Penguins fan!