Keith McCreary
| Keith McCreary | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born |
June 19, 1940 | ||
| Died |
December 9, 2003 (aged 63) Caledon, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | ||
| Weight | 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb) | ||
| Position | Left wing | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
Montreal Canadiens Pittsburgh Penguins Atlanta Flames | ||
| Playing career | 1961–1975 | ||
Vernon Keith McCreary (June 19, 1940 – December 9, 2003) was a Canadian left winger in the National Hockey League who played for the Montreal Canadiens, Pittsburgh Penguins and Atlanta Flames.
Playing career
As property of the Montreal Canadiens, McCreary spent seven years in the minor league system, only promoted for a single playoff game in 1962 and 9 games during the 1964–65 season. During this time, he was a top scorer for the Hull-Ottawa Canadiens.
He became an NHL regular with the Pittsburgh Penguins following the 1967 NHL Expansion. In 1972, he was claimed by the Atlanta Flames in the Expansion Draft and was designated the franchise's first captain. McCreary retired following the 1974–75 season after 532 NHL games. He recorded a total of 131 goals and 116 assists during his NHL career.
McCreary played for the Montreal Canadiens, Pittsburgh Penguins, Atlanta Flames, Hershey Bears, Hull-Ottawa Canadiens, and Cleveland Barons.
His brother, Bill McCreary Sr., was also an NHL left winger.
Life and retirement
McCreary is the brother of Bill McCreary Sr., the uncle of Bill McCreary Jr. and Bob Attwell, and the brother-in-law of Ron Attwell.
He was elected as Regional councillor for Caledon, Ontario in 1978, eventually losing in the 1988 election against Carol Seglins, who later became Mayor of Caledon.[1] He stood for consideration in 1991 as a candidate for the appointed role of Regional Chair. Emil Kolb won the position.
McCreary joined the NHL Alumni Association and was the Association's chairman. He died after a long bout with cancer at the age of 63. He is buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bolton, Ontario.
His Atlanta Flames jersey is on display at the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1956–57 | Peterboro T.P.T's | OHA | 22 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1959–60 | Hull-Ottawa Canadiens | EPHL | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1960–61 | Hull-Ottawa Canadiens | EPHL | 61 | 19 | 21 | 40 | 35 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 15 | ||
| 1961–62 | Hull-Ottawa Canadiens | EPHL | 64 | 30 | 36 | 66 | 48 | 12 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 2 | ||
| 1961–62 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1962–63 | Hull-Ottawa Canadiens | EPHL | 69 | 27 | 34 | 61 | 44 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1963–64 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 66 | 25 | 19 | 44 | 21 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2 | ||
| 1964–65 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 46 | 16 | 18 | 34 | 36 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 24 | ||
| 1964–65 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 9 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1965–66 | Cleveland Barons | AHL | 66 | 18 | 24 | 42 | 42 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 8 | ||
| 1966–67 | Cleveland Barons | AHL | 70 | 28 | 29 | 57 | 50 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 1967–68 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 70 | 14 | 12 | 26 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1968–69 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 70 | 25 | 23 | 48 | 42 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1969–70 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 60 | 18 | 8 | 26 | 67 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 1970–71 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 59 | 21 | 12 | 33 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1971–72 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 33 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1972–73 | Atlanta Flames | NHL | 77 | 20 | 21 | 41 | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1973–74 | Atlanta Flames | NHL | 76 | 18 | 19 | 37 | 62 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1974–75 | Atlanta Flames | NHL | 78 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 532 | 131 | 112 | 243 | 294 | 16 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 6 | ||||
Awards
- EPHL First All-Star Team (1962)
- EPHL Second All-Star Team (1963)
- Inducted into the Caledon Sports Hall of Fame (2025)[2]
Transactions
- June 6, 1967 – Claimed by the Pittsburgh Penguins from the Montreal Canadiens in the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft.
- June 6, 1972 – Claimed by the Atlanta Flames from the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1972 NHL Expansion Draft.
References
- ↑ Bruce Campion-Smith, "Frank Bean's long term goal: to lead Peel into next decade", The Toronto Star, 22 November 1988, 12 West.
- ↑ Stewart, Jim (10 October 2024). "Five athletes, three builders, and one team slated for Induction into Caledon Sports Hall of Fame". Caledon Citizen. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
- 1940 births
- 2003 deaths
- 20th-century Canadian sportsmen
- Atlanta Flames captains
- Atlanta Flames players
- Canadian ice hockey left wingers
- Deaths from cancer in Ontario
- Hershey Bears players
- Hull-Ottawa Canadiens players
- Ice hockey people from Ontario
- Montreal Canadiens players
- Peterborough Petes (ice hockey) players
- Pittsburgh Penguins players