In an NHL crowded with expansion teams and hundreds of new players, fans have begun to demand more thorough and reliable statistics – and the league has accommodated them. But how do hockey
fans make sense of this wealth of raw tabulation, and how do they compare today’s achievements with the legendary performances of the past?
In this ground-breaking book, Jeff Z. Klein and Karl-Eric Reif introduce fans to dozens of new statistical categories,
providing readers with fascinating context and commentary, and intelligent, irreverent analysis. From the dawn of the pro game to the present, The Hockey Compendium deconstructs the
sport’s numbers, puts them on an even scale, and re-assembles them to help answer hundreds of debates:
• Was Gretzky really the greatest?
• How do the Red Wings of the 1990s compare to
the Canadiens of the 1950s?
• Which players and teams has history overrated, and which have not been given their due?
Nothing available anywhere today analyzes performances in as many categories, nor discusses them with as much wit and accessiblity. Based on the cult classic The Klein and Reif Hockey
Compendium (M&S, 1986), but completely revised and rewritten, The Hockey Compendium accomplishes the rare feat of being a stats book that is also a highly entertaining read.
