Catch 22

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

Rick Vaive sets the record straight as he tells his story of turmoil in Toronto's Ballard years (and with Don Cherry's Mississauga Ice Dogs), growing up in an environment filled with alcohol and alcoholism, and his own struggles and battles.

In the storied history of the Toronto Maple Leafs, no player scored fifty goals in a season until Rick Vaive in 1981-82--and he did it three years in a row. So why isn't his number 22 hanging from the rafters of the Leafs' rink and his name as revered in Leafs lore as more recent stars like Gilmour, Sundin and Clark?
 
You could blame it on a team that lost far more than it won. You could blame Harold Ballard and his erratic ownership. You could blame the fans, the media... but Rick Vaive doesn't blame anybody. Sometimes, life just doesn't go your way. Growing up in a household plagued by alcoholism, the gifted young hockey player took shelter in the company of his grandmother and a blind and severely disabled uncle. Rick learned quickly that there are more valuable things in life than hockey. Even after his promising coaching career stopped dead when it ran into Don Cherry in Mississauga--one of the worst seasons in Ontario junior hockey history--he still doesn't point fingers. Life is too sweet for regrets, but learning that lesson can be one hell of a ride.

RICK VAIVE is a retired professional hockey player. Born in Ottawa and raised in Charlottetown, he played in the NHL from 1979-92, for the Vancouver Canucks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Chicago Blackhawks and Buffalo Sabres. As captain of the Maple Leafs from 1982-86, he scored more than fifty goals in three consecutive seasons, making him the first player in team history to achieve that mark and the only one to do it more than once. He coached seven seasons in the minor professional leagues and one in the Ontario Hockey League, winning a championship with the expansion South Carolina Stingrays in 1997. He continues today as an ambassador for the Toronto Maple Leafs and NHL.

SCOTT MORRISON has provided cogent and colourful hockey analysis since his start in 1979, covering the Maple Leafs and NHL for the Toronto Sun. Having reported and provided analysis for Sportsnet and CBC Television and Radio, while making regular appearances across the sports-radio dial. He has twice served as president of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association. He has written numerous books, including 100 Years, 100 Moments. In 2006, he received the Hockey Hall of Fame's Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award. He lives in Toronto.