Hockey lovers will be fascinated by the truth about how the National Hockey League was founded and how, through less than savory means, it captured permanent possession of the Stanley Cup.

Deceptions and Doublecross begins with the 1917 conspiracy among a Montreal contingent of the National Hockey Association to oust Toronto owner Edward James Livingstone from the league. The result was the transformation of the NHA into the NHL, with Frank Calder as president, leaving Livingstone out in the cold.

Under Calder’s iron-fisted direction, the NHL became the only major hockey league in North America, and gained exclusive claim to the Stanley Cup.

Morey Holzman, a member of the Hockey Research Association, has contributed to Total Hockey: Second Edition, The Official WHA Encyclopedia, and The Canada Cup. He is respected for his pioneering efforts with his Web site, epenaltybox.com. He is a corporate controller in California.

Morey Holzman's profile page

Joseph Nieforth, a member of the Society of International Hockey Research, has contributed research to many web sites, STATS Inc., and Total Hockey: Seond Edition. He is involved with television productions and operartions in Toronto.

Joseph Nieforth's profile page

It fills a void in the early history of pro hockey in Canada.

Globe and Mail

"This refreshing history reminds us that the NHL resulted frtom a bitter power struggle that included courtroom battles, backroom dealing and personal grudges as brutal as anything seen today on the ice."

New Brunswick Reader

"a well researched historical challenge to the standard view of the NHL's birth"

Hockey News