When Harold Ballard seized control of Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens in 1972 he quickly transformed one of the proudest franchises in sport into a laughingstock. And when Ballard died in April, 1990, his will left a lot of business unfinished, resulting in a war among his executors, shareholders, and the public trustee who acted on behalf of the charities named as beneficiaries.

Offside is a far too comprehensive account of this boardroom battle as reported by journalist Theresa Tedesco, who first covered the story for CBC’s Venture. In excruciating detail, Tedesco takes the reader through the months preceding Ballard’s death until this past September, when grocery magnate Steve Stavro completed the takeover of Maple Leaf Gardens Ltd. and assumed control of the hockey team and the building on Carlton Street.

As Tedesco explains, Stavro was in a potential conflict of interest: As one of Ballard’s executors, his fiduciary responsibility was to get the highest price he could for Ballard’s Maple Leaf Gardens stock, but in trying to buy the public company and make it private, he would obviously seek the lowest price for those same shares. Tedesco is critical of Stavro’s actions, though throughout the book she is even-handed in her treatment of the major players.

However important it may be to add her impressive research to the public record, it can’t negate the fact that Offside is a terribly dull read. Peopled by more lawyers than a John Grisham boxed set, this tale would have suited Toronto Life or Saturday Night, but there simply isn’t enough compelling material here for a full-length book.