Customer Reviews

HOCKEY GODS: The Inside Story of the Red Wings' Hall Of Fame Team

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a really excellent book for Detroit Red Wings fans to read. I read this book a few months ago and I keep thinking about the stories I learned from it. It has a lot of backstory of how they added more players to this already amazing team, like how they signed Brett Hull, Luc Robitaille and Dominek Hasek. It demonstrates why fans love the Detroit Red Wings. It gave a lot of behind the scenes information that the average fan would not know. And there was a lot of information in the book that I don't remember reading in the newspaper when it happened. This book is essential for any Red Wings fan to own because it documents one of the best seasons the Wings ever had, going for their third cup in 6 years. I highly recommend it!

I loved this book!!! There was alot of insider info. It was interesting to hear about the behind the scenes deals and negotiations that went on to make this great team. This book did not overdo the stats and scores, etc. like most hockey books do. It was a quick, fun read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I have bought several copies for gifts for family and friends.

If you are interested in how the Red Wings put together their all-star hockey team. This is a good book. It is interesting to see how the players intereact with the coaching staff and each other off the ice.
It is a difficult read though because it is written in sort of a "random" mode. Do not really know what the book is supposed to be as it seems like a game play by play at points and them seems like a general manager/player issue play by play.
Almost like a bunch of news articles put together into a book with no clear thread to hang onto throughout. Less a story than an insider recounting of events.
But, if you like the Wings this is an interesting read.

At the start of the 2001-02 season, hockey fans everywhere wondered how in the world would the somewhat retooled Detroit Red Wings' nine future Hall of Famers manage to fit all those egos in the dressing room and come together as a team. There were those who thought the team was too old to go deep into the post season, citing the number of players over 35 on the team while jokingly referring to them as the Gray Wings. As the season progressed, we got our answers, punctuated with an exclamation point. Quite simply, they became a team to chase a common goal - a bright, shiny silver chalice affectionately known as Lord Stanley.

In "Hockey Gods," Nicholas Cotsonika, the hockey writer for the Detroit Free Press, follows the team from their embarrassing and shocking first-round ouster in the 2001 playoffs (the team's earliest exit since 1994), through training camp, the regular season and the Olympics (in which the Wings had 10 players and one prospect representing five countries), culminating in the spectacular playoff run and Stanley Cup victory.

If you are a Red Wing fan, this book should be required reading; however, I think any hockey fan would enjoy reading this book. It gives an excellent inside look at perhaps the best assemblage of talent the NHL has seen on one team in quite some time. And with Curtis Joseph in net replacing the retired Dominik Hasek, Mr. Cotsonika may just have to write a sequel to "Hockey Gods" next year!

This book could have been great - but it isn't. If you're wondering about the exact time shots occurred or goals were scored, buy this book. But if you're looking for a behind the scenes view of how this team worked together, DON'T buy this book. Cotsonika's writing style is like a book full of box scores. He mixes past, present and future events in the same paragraph - there's no flow to the story, no drama, no interesting facts. Cotsonika even throws in a couple of self-serving lockerroom moments that have no bearing on the story being told. I really looked forward to reading this book, and I forced myself to finish it, hoping it would eventually get better. My advice? Look in the Free Press archives for Mitch Albom articles about last year's run for the Cup.