Today's hockey book is titled Blue Lines, Goal Lines & Bottom Lines: Hockey Contracts and Historical Documents from the Collection of Allan Stitt...

and it's by Greg Oliver.

This is definitely one of the most unique hockey books I've ever seen. It's not a book in the sense that it's going to tell a story in the traditional manner. Instead, it's a series of historical documents.

The book is taken from the collection of Mr. Allan Stitt, and highlights some of the most interesting legal papers from the world of hockey. We're talking the original contract signed by Wayne Gretzky, correspondence between teams and luminaries such as Frank Calder, Conn Smythe and other major builders in NHL history.

I'll admit, I wasn't sure what to expect when I started reading this book. But I found myself looking over the papers and enjoying the legalese, the technicalities of the contracts. It's not something that the casual hockey fan normally gets a look at, and I am grateful for the opportunity to take a look at something so unique as a scouting report that the New York Rangers created in regards to the play of Mario Lemieux.

These are the sorts of things that are included in this book, and these are the things that could easily be considered lost history in a sense. Why? A simple reason would be because these papers most often never see the light of day except for a few people involved in a new contract.

All in all, for a side of pro hockey that you're not likely to get a good look at, this book takes the cake. Have fun with it and seriously, be sure to read these contracts, these letters... you'll probably never get a chance to see anything like them again.

I want to give a special shoutout to Sarah at ECW Press for making this book available to me for reviewing purposes. Thanks!

 Link to ECW Press:  https://ecwpress.com/search?q=blue+lines%2C+goal+lines

Link to Powell's City of Books:  http://www.powells.com/book/blue-lines-goal-lines-bottom-lines-9781770412514/62-0

Link to Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Lines-Goal-Bottom-Historical/dp/1770412514/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1495827340&sr=8-3&keywords=blue+lines%2C+goal+lines

Link to Barnes & Noble:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/blue-lines-goal-lines-bottom-lines-greg-oliver/1123757138?ean=9781770412514