Slap Shot (film)

Slap Shot is a 1977 comedy film directed by George Roy Hill, written by Nancy Dowd and starring Paul Newman and Michael Ontkean. It depicts a minor league hockey team that resorts to violent play to gain popularity in a declining factory town.

When it is announced that the local mill will be closing and 10,000 workers will be unemployed, Dunlop grows concerned about the teams future. He makes several attempts to learn the identity of the teams anonymous owner a running gag throughout the film, but is deftly deflected by McGrath each time. When McGrath accompanies them on an away game, top scorer Ned Braden Michael Ontkean overhears him attempting to get a job with another team. After Braden relays this information to his teammates, Dunlop confronts McGrath, who confirms that the Chiefs will fold at the end of the season.Determined to save the team at all costs, Dunlop starts provoking fights at games to secure goals and the Chiefs start to win games. In a moment of desperation, he lets the Hansons play and discovers that their aggressive fighting style enthralls the fans. He begins retooling the team as a goon squad in the Hansons image and attendance quickly increases. Capitalizing on this growing interest, he plants a false story with eccentric sports news writer Dickie Dunn M. Emmet Walsh that a Florida retirement community is interested in purchasing the team, in order to bolster the confidence of the players and to hopefully inspire an actual sale. ........

Source: Wikipedia