Money Players: How Hockey's Greatest Stars Beat the NHL at It's Own Game

The Amazing Rise and Fall of Bob Goodenow and the NHL Players Association.

In late February 2005, NHL owners and Bob Goodenow of the NHL Players Association met behind closed doors in what was purported to be a last-ditch effort to end the lockout and save the season. At issue was a salary cap-and who called the shots in the hockey business.

As the director of the union, Bob Goodenow used strikes and hardball negotiations to push up player salaries, and while players got rich, the health of the game was ignored. The NHL owners demanded a salary cap, and Goodenow refused. The result was a 103-day lockout that cost a season. The owners got their salary cap, but at what cost to the sport?

One thing was clear: the only real loser was the fan.

Money Players is a bare-knuckled brawl of a book about how the real game has been player behind closed doors between rich executives and agents. Bruce Dowbiggin's controversial, but eye-opening report takes readers from the locker rooms to the boardrooms. And it's not a pretty picture.