Stan Fischler is touted as "the dean of American hockey journalists", but as Fischler himself says in his comparison of Wayne Gretzky and Gordie Howe, don't confuse *most prolific* with *greatest*. What seems like a promising book about one of the NHL's most storied franchises is fettered by typical Fischler weak writing and superficial analysis chock full of meaningless superlatives and platitudes.The nadir of this mess is Fischler's explanation of why Gordie Howe was a greater hockey player than Wayne Gretzky. While I happen to think Gretzky was greater I understand there is an argument to be made for Howe; Fischler just does a very poor job of making it. Any arguement that Howe was better has to be based on Howe's undeniably superior longevity and all around game. However, aside from some token comments about Howe's versatility, Fischler is content to rely on unmitigated nostalgia for "old time hockey" and Howe's fighting ability - spending nearly a quarter of the piece on pugilistics.
He also implies that Mark Messier carried Gretz because Messier won two Cups without Gretzky, apparently not realizing that the same could be said of Howe and Red Kelly, who won four Cups without Mr. Hockey. He also points out that Gretzky and the Rangers never made the playoffs after Messier bolted for Vancouver, omitting that Messier's Canucks also missed the postseason and were actually one of the worst teams in the league during most of the Moose's three years in BC. Fischler also neglects to note that while each won four Cups, the first of Howe's was won primarily without Gordie as he was recovering from a near fatal head injury, playing only one game (in which the Wings were skunked 5-0).
The main draw of the book - the top 50 greatest Detroit players - is littered with questionable selections and a lack of explanation of why the players were ranked where they were. The most dubious choice was John Bucyk. The Chief is a Hall of Famer and certainly belonged on Boston's top 50 list, but he played only 104 games for the Wings and scored a whopping 11 goals and 30 points. Were Bucyk's meager contributions in that year and half really better than a decade of Marty Pavelich, described elsewhere in the book as arguably the NHL's all time best defensive forward but somehow not deemed worthy of the top 50? Other kooky picks include Luc Robitaille and the omission of Kris Draper.
That's not to say the book is without positives. It does offer plenty of anecdotes about a wide array of players and moments from a decorated organization, including several eye witness accounts of the Howe/Kennedy incident that nearly ended Howe's career and life. It also provides some short interviews/bios on Detroit suits like Jack Adams, Scotty Bowman, and Jimmy Devellano plus some old timers that are worth reading.
I enjoyed Fischler's similar Boston Bruins book, but as a hardcore Detroit fan it's possible that I was more apt to notice the errors in this tome. I wouldn't recommend it unless one is a Wings completist.
