But, some of the names so often heard in those days have faded. Gretzky, Lemieux, Bossy, Lafleur, Dionne, Stastny – these were the superstars, without doubt. Of course, nowadays it may be easy to recall some of the biggest names from that decade. Presented in a year-by-year format, Mike Leonetti guides us through the exploits of some of the best-known, and maybe no longer so well-known players who starred during the 1980s, and some of the teams we may have forgotten along the way. From Firewagon Hockey by Mike Leonetti (Mark Ascione) It seems unlikely we’ll ever see the kind of freewheeling, twine-bulging play that existed in those days, but they live again in the pages of Firewagon Hockey. By contrast, the league saw 5 players score 50 in a season only once since 1996-97.

In fact, a low-water-mark, 1986-87, still saw 5 players score 50 or more. This is the era of 400-goal Edmonton squads, when 40-goal scorers were commonplace, and 50 in a season not uncommon. Mike Leonetti’s Firewagon Hockey: The Game in the Eighties is an excellent review of an era unmatched in terms of scoring at hockey’s highest level. At no time was NHL offense more evident than during the highest-scoring decade in history. The term ‘fire-wagon hockey’ was coined in the 1950s, but it has come to signify the high-flying NHL of the 1980s. ISBN 978-1-5529-7911-2) Wayne Gretzky and Denis Potvin, representatives of two of the most successful franchises of the 1980s. Firewagon Hockey: The Game in the Eighties.

Hockey Now! by Mike Leonetti