The Road to Hockeytown Jimmy Devellano's Forty Years in the NHL

by Devellano, Jim; Lajoie, Roger; Ilitch, Mike; Ilitch, Marian

• ISBN13: 9780470155523
• ISBN10: 0470155523
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-09-15
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

"This candid, personal account of Jim Devellano's life and his more than 40 incredible years in the game of hockey gives an insider's insight into the business and personalities of the game and a behind-the-scenes look at what the players and coaches are really like; how they are assessed, hired, and fired; how decisions are made on draft day; and how deals and trades really get done."--BOOK JACKET.

Author Biography

Jim Devellano is Senior Vice President and Alternate Governor of the Detroit Red Wings. The first person hired by Mike and Marian Ilitch after they purchased the struggling Red Wings in 1982, Devellano built the team into a four-time Stanley Cup winning franchise as General Manager and then Senior Vice President in charge of hockey operations. After over 25 seasons with the Red Wings and more than 40 years in the National Hockey League, Jimmy D. is one of the most accomplished and respected executives in the NHL. He is the proud owner of 14 championship rings: seven Stanley Cup rings (three with the New York Islanders and four with Detroit), three Calder Cup rings (AHL), two Adams Cup rings (CHL), one Riley Cup ring (ECHL), and one American League championship ring with the Detroit Tigers of major league baseball for whom he also serves as Senior Vice-President. Devellano continues to be a driving force behind the Red Wings’ success as well as a strong influence in the evolution and improvement of the league itself, campaigning for opening up the NHL draft to the public in NHL arenas, and for instituting the four-on-four overtime format. Before joining the Red Wings, Devellano helped build the three-time Stanley Cup champion New York Islanders team as a scout and Assistant General Manager. He also served as a scout with the St. Louis Blues and as General Manager of the Islanders’ Indianapolis farm club (CHL), where he was named Minor League Executive of the Year by The Hockey News. Devellano has set up two private foundations supporting mainly children’s charities in the United States and Canada. He resides in Detroit, Michigan, Toronto, Ontario, and Sarasota, Florida.

Roger Lajoie is one of the busiest guys in sports media, operating Triumph Sports Communications (www.rogerlajoie.com). He is best known to Toronto sports fans as a sports talk show host on The FAN 590. As a North American sports correspondent for the Reuters News Agency, Roger has covered events such as the Stanley Cup final, the World Series, the NBA finals, the NCAA Final Four, and MLB’s All-Star Game. Roger is seen during junior hockey season on Rogers TV’s coverage of the Oshawa Generals and Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors and has done junior broadcast work on Rogers Sportsnet. He covers the OHL for the Toronto Sun and teaches at the College of Sports Media in downtown Toronto. Roger lives with his wife Rita and family in Courtice, Ontario.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. ix
Preface	p. xiii
Acknowledgements	p. xvii
Nurturing a Passion	p. 1
Landing-and Losing-Hockey Work	p. 9
The Birth of the Islanders	p. 21
Our Time Finally Comes	p. 41
Learning in the Minors (The CHL Years)	p. 55
Becoming a Thorn in the Side of Maple Leaf Gardens	p. 65
Dabbling in Baseball	p. 81
Flying to the Red Wings	p. 89
Dealing with Adversity in Detroit	p. 111
Rising from Worst to First	p. 131
Finding the Perfect Coach and Manager	p. 165
A Coaching Legend Hits Motown	p. 185
Triumph Turns to Tragedy	p. 209
Our Hall of Fame Team	p. 231
From Where I Stand	p. 251
Afterword	p. 275
Comparative Red Wings Payrolls	p. 279
Devellano's All-Star Draft Selection Team	p. 283
Devellano's Rings	p. 285
Index	p. 287
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