The Original Six: How the Canadiens, Bruins, Rangers, Blackhawks, Maple Leafs, and Red Wings Laid the Groundwork for Today?s National Hockey League

October 10, 2016
Journalist Freedman (Knuckleball) celebrates the wonderful history of the six teams—four in the U.S., two in Canada—that together made up the National Hockey League from 1942 to 1967. Freedman focuses on these teams because “a somewhat indefinable hold on the spirit of the game is retained by the Original Six, especially among older fans.” Die-hard fans of the teams—and hockey fans in general—will love Freedman’s look at the wealth of history, including the teams’ greatest players and the founders of each dynasty. Chicago Blackhawk fans, for example, will delight at Freedman’s views on legends such as Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita, as well his look at why the 1937–38 Blackhawks “may be the worst team to win a Stanley Cup.” Likewise, Boston Bruin fans will enjoy reading about Bobby Orr’s glory days as well as the groundbreaking career of Willie O’Ree, the first African-American player in NHL history, who initially struggled but has since become known as “the Jackie Robinson of hockey.” Freedman knows each team in and out, including off-the-ice legends such as Toronto Maple Leafs announcer Foster Hewitt, who revolutionized hockey broadcasting as well as introducing the phrase “He shoots! He scores!” into sports history.