Long Shots: The Curious Story of the Four Maritime Teams that Played for the Stanley Cup
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by Trevor J. Adams
Nimbus, Halifax, 2012 160 pp., illus., $16.95 paperback
Living in the Maritimes is tough if you are a fan of pro hockey. The games start late at night, and, with no local squads to cheer on, allegiances to NHL teams are often random and tenuous.
When I was a kid growing up in Nova Scotia in the seventies, most people I knew pulled for either the Montreal Canadiens or the Toronto Maple Leafs. As a Guy Lafleur fan, I enjoyed the Canadiens’ many Stanley Cup runs. But, at the same time, I envied fans in Montreal, Toronto, Boston, and the other NHL cities — why, I wondered, can’t my region have a pro team of its own?
So it was a pleasant surprise for me to learn recently that there were actually four squads from the Maritimes that, in the past, vied for the Stanley Cup. In Long Shots, Trevor J. Adams recounts the largely fruitless attempts by the Halifax Crescents, New Glasgow Cubs, Moncton Victorias, and Sydney Millionaires to capture the cup.
Adams’ book proves that there still plenty of great stories to be mined from the rich veins of hockey history. While all four teams eventually folded, in their heyday they provided local hockey fans with plenty of reasons to cheer.
— Mark Collin Reid (Read bio)
Mark Collin Reid is the Editor-in-Chief of Canada's History.