It was long been considered "the bible of (ice) hockey" and was the book the NHL issued to reporters, broadcasters, scouts and general managers.
Statisticians Ron Andrews and Carol Randall managed the book during the NHL's expansion eras of the 1960s, 1970s and into the 1980s.
By the mid-1980s, the old digest-sized format of the NHL Guide could no longer accommodate the increased number of league players and clubs.
Early in 1984, Dan Diamond, a Toronto-based editor and publisher, proposed a redesign and reorganization of the NHL Guide, converting it to a magazine-sized format and incorporating photographs for the first time since the Hendy editions.
Twenty-five years later, the book had grown to 656 pages and included a mug-shot photo of every active NHL player.