Offside: The Harold Ballard Story

At the outset I'll say that I have high regard for Jason Priestley, the creator of the brilliant Canadian series Call Me Fitz. This documentary, however, was just middling.

I have read several books on Harold Ballard and this biopic was much of the same. We know he was cantankerous, racist and misogynistic and indeed there are more examples of that here. There are also examples of him being cheap and treating his employees poorly and consequently making it next to impossible for the Leafs to succeed. All of that has been said or done before.

This documentary was billed as bringing something new to the table. It didn't, although many of the clips were interesting and brought back memories. Unfortunately Priestley did not have access to anyone from Ballard's inner circle and it showed.

For those unfamiliar with Harold Ballard or too young to have lived through his constant shenanigans, this show may be of more interest. For those who already know the story, not so much.