Jul 25, 2022
Pro hockey history
enthusiast/author Steve Currier (Episode
37; "The California
Golden Seals: A Tale of White Skates, Red Ink, and One of the NHL's
Most Outlandish Teams") returns to the show after a
five-year absence - this time to accompany us deep down the rabbit
hole of one of the National Hockey League's most overlooked
adventures of the 1970s.
In his new book "When
the NHL Invaded Japan: The Washington Capitals, the Kansas City
Scouts and the Coca-Cola Bottlers' Cup", Currier recounts
the story behind the NHL's long-forgotten, but historically
relevant 1976 promotional exhibition series (colloquially known as
the "NHL Japan Series") between the league's two most lamentable
teams that year - the sophomore-twin Washington Capitals
(11W-59L-10T) and Kansas City Scouts (12-56-12) - and their curious
mission to introduce professional hockey to the Land of the Rising
Sun.