Edmonton Oilers Penalty Box Book Club: Book #4.

Hello everyone. Today I wish to discuss another book. Last book review I talked about Bob McKenzie’s Hockey Confidential, which I rated a 4/5 Stars.

Today I focus on one of my favorite players of all time, arguably the best there ever was: Wayne Gretzky in Al Strachan’s book: 99 Gretzky: His Game, His Story.

About 99 Gretzky: His Game, His Story.

There has been plenty of Gretzky related books out there, but for an official Gretzky biography you’d have to go back to 1990’s Gretzky: An Autobiography. As you can probably tell, that’s really an outdated account. There’s no talk about the 92-93 Stanley Cup run. No talk about his time in St Louis. No mention of his retirement in New York or his coaching escapades in Arizona.

Strachan’s book is a definitely an updated biography, even if it’s not written/ghost written by Gretzky himself. Strachan proclaims that he has a good relationship with Gretzky and it does show with the quotes that are used from Gretzky.

It’s a biography so there is definitely a linear progression, although the first two chapters starts with Gretzky’s retirement. The author goes on about how Gretzky, even as great as he is, was slowing down, due to injuries. Neck and back injuries would actually plague Gretzky in New York, to the point where Gretzky could not even hold his stick correctly. As a Gretzky fan, I was not aware of the extent of his injuries in New York. This gives you a taste of what Strachan has in store when it comes to Gretzky behind the scenes in Hockey.

Of course, the book goes in the traditional progression with the start of Gretzky’s career as a child where it was controversial as he left his hometown early due to the verbal abuse he was receiving as a child/teenager. It also goes on to talk about the Oilers Dynasty of the 80s, the Trade in 1988 and Gretzky’s arrivial in Los Angeles which was not a smooth start where he would butt heads with head coach Robbie Ftorek. There was actually some good information about the brief time in St. Louis with Mike Keenan giving some lofty praise and wanting to re-sign Gretzky. The book also goes into detail about his time in New York and of course his coaching stint in Phoenix. There is also good highlights of his involvement with Hockey Canada as a player and as an executive.

There is plenty of information in this book for any Gretzky or hockey fan in general. However, the book does have some warts and it comes down to the author.

While I enjoyed the book, there were times where Strachan’s bias of Gretzky was overbearingly strong. There was an actual chapter defending Gretzky’s accomplishments but it is done so in what I felt in a bit of a condescending tone. When it came to the Ftorek issue, it was not so much Gretzky thought about the situation but Strachan’s point of view. He would give these little pot shots to other people who would dare oppose Gretzky and it did not sit right with me. Gretzky would refuse to criticize his former coach, but Strachan was alright with doing so and people could definitely misinterpret that.

For example take this part about Stan Fischler, a long time hockey writer:

"The Story to which Gretzky referred had surfaced in a newsletter distributed by Stan Fischler, the New Yorker the NHL had intended to hire as a PR man a couple years earlier until a strom of prtoest from team public-relations executives forced a sudden reversal. Fischler was a strong backer of Bettman and his regime, to put it mildly, even to the point of writing the United States contributions to hockey over the years had been just as significant as Canada’s."

What does this have to do with Gretzky? I’m not sure. What I do recall was Fischler was not initially on the Gretzky bandwagon and Strachan, to put it mildly, strongly dislikes Bettman so he needed to make something known. It’s little snippets like the above that are throughout the book.

Stars

1 Star is a bad hockey book and you should avoid. 3 is a good book, not spectacular but solid. 5 is the gold standard, a must have for hockey lovers.

This book gets a 3.5/5. I’ve read the book at least once and was on a second reading. It could of easily gotten a four if not for the barbs the author gives. It takes the focus off the subject of Wayne Gretzky and it’s distracting enough to effect the rating. That said, if you do not mind that, it’s a strong book. It does cover the history of Gretzky and does not paint Gretzky in a bad way. If you focus on the Gretzky stuff alone, it’s a great book.

I’d recommend the book, but it does have some downside to it.

Oil Rating

It’s easy to say this has a higher Oil Rating because it’s Wayne Gretzky. A good chunk of the book is about Gretzky’s time in Edmonton and also a good chunk of time away from Edmonton. Considering Gretzky’s impact on the Edmonton Oilers, yeah it definitely gets a high Oil Rating.

Next: How the Oilers Should Say Goodbye to Rexall Place

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