These Hockey legends faced their toughest trials off the ice. In When the Final Buzzer Sounds, a collection of poignant stories detailing the lives of hockey"s greatest players, after the last goal has been tended and the final buzzer sounds. For most players in the NHL, hockey is the defining focus of their lives. Their days are determined by practices and games, teammates and coaches, fans and endless public appearances. Imagine how difficult it would be if all this were to stop with the sounding of the final buzzer. For the players in this book, it was-and the paths they took after hockey often led them far away from the roar of applause. Out of the public eye and facing life off the ice, these champions of hockey share the sometimes bittersweet, sometimes unexpected, always insightful accounts of their journey out of the sports arena and into the larger world. After the Final Buzzer chronicles the lives of some of the NHL"s most famous players after retirement and the turns their lives have taken, often just as wild and crazy as their time on the ice. Through in-depth one-on-one interviews this book profiles such heroes as: * PHIL ESPOSITO, who is giving back to the game that gave him so much * BOBBY HULL, a globe-trotting cattleman * GORDIE HOWE, still a legendary fan favorite, who signs as many as a thousand autographs a day * ERIC NESTERENKO, a self-confessed ski bum with the soul of a poet After the Final Buzzer offers the vivid and captivating portraits of nine of hockey"s greatest players, chronicling the struggles and triumphs that came after a life on the ice.