There's much more to NHL history than Stanley Cups and big goals. Pro hockey is a mean business and a unique working world. These books provide a look at how the business and culture of the game shaped hockey history.
1. Net Worth: Exploding the Myths of Pro Hockey
If you want to know why NHL players don't trust their employers, this is a good place to start. Authors David Cruise and Alison Griffiths explain how NHL owners shafted the players for most of the 20th century. Appears to be out of print, but was being carried by a couple of merchants at the time this list was made.
2. Game Misconduct: Alan Eagleson and the Corruption of Hockey
A perfect companion volume to "Net Worth." Russ Conway looks at the corruption and abuse of power that characterized Eagleson's reign as head of the NHL Players' Association. His handling of NHLPA pension monies eventually landed him in prison.
3. Men at Play: A Working Understanding of Professional Hockey
Michael A. Robidoux spends some time with a minor pro team, studying the culture and power relationships. He reveals pro hockey as an insecure and high-pressure occupation which, for most players, offers little financial reward and no long-term opportunity.
4. The Code: The Unwritten Rules of Fighting and Retaliation in the NHL
Why do they fight so much? You'll often hear mention of a "code" of frontier justice that exists on the ice. Ross Bernstein's book dates back to 2006, so some details will be out of date. But "the Code" continues to rule the pro game, and likely will for years to come.
5. Deception and Doublecross: How the NHL Conquered Hockey
Morey Holzman and Joseph Nieforth go back nearly a century to show how the National Hockey League emerged as a result of rivalries and in-fighting in the old National Hockey Association. Apparently, everyone else in Canada hated Toronto back then, just as they do now.6. The Game: A Thoughtful and Provocative Look at a Life in Hockey
First published in 1983, Ken Dryden's chronicle of a career with the Montreal Canadiens set a new standard for sports memoirs. It has weak stretches, particularly when Dryden turns philosophical. But his journey inside the pro hockey world is honest and unflinching, and most of his insights are timeless. Often called the best hockey book ever, and deservedly so.
7. The Red Machine: The Soviet Quest to Dominate Canada's Game
Published in 1990, it remains an excellent history of how the Soviets got so good, so fast. The various triumphs and defeats of the dynasty were directly linked to how the country developed players and assembled teams. Out of print, but worth tracking down.