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John McKenzie (ice hockey)

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For the Olympic hockey player, seeJack McKenzie (ice hockey). For other people, seeJohn McKenzie.

Ice hockey player

John McKenzie
McKenzie in 2012
Born	(1937-12-12)December 12, 1937 High River, Alberta, Canada
Died	June 9, 2018(2018-06-09) (aged 80) Wakefield, Massachusetts, U.S.
Height	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight	170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb)
Position	Right wing
Shot	Right
Played for	NHL Chicago Black Hawks Detroit Red Wings New York Rangers Boston Bruins WHA Philadelphia Blazers Vancouver Blazers Minnesota Fighting Saints Cincinnati Stingers New England Whalers
National team	Canada
Playing career	1958–1979

John Albert McKenzie (December 12, 1937 – June 9, 2018) was aCanadian professionalhockey player and coach. He played in theNational Hockey League (NHL) for 12 seasons, most notably with theBoston Bruins, with whom he won theStanley Cup twice. He also played several seasons in theWorld Hockey Association (WHA).

Playing career

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Card of McKenzie of the Boston Bruins in the 1969-70 season.

McKenzie's former teammateGerry Melnyk dubbed the young player "Pieface" for his resemblance to a cartoon figure of the same name featured on the wrapper of a popular Canadian candy bar; this was later shortened to "Pie." He played junior hockey for three years with theSt. Catharines Teepees of theOHA and led the league in goals and points in 1958.

McKenzie made hisNHL debut in1958–59 with theChicago Black Hawks. The following season he moved on to theDetroit Red Wings, where he lasted two years. He was then demoted again to the minors, where he played most of three seasons in theAmerican Hockey League with theHershey Bears and theBuffalo Bisons, and was named to the league's First All-Star Team in 1963. He returned to the NHL and the Black Hawks in1963–64, and two years later played for theNew York Rangers for part of the1965–66 season, halfway during which he was traded to the Rangers' arch-rivals, theBoston Bruins. McKenzie scored his first goal as a Bruin on January 20, 1966, in Boston's 4–3 home victory over Chicago.

It was with the Bruins that the 5-foot-9-inch, 170 pound (77 kg) right wing had the most productive seasons of his career. He became a star in the1967-68 season, scoring twenty-eight goals and gaining a reputation as a pesky, relentless hustler. He scored twenty-nine goals each of the next two seasons, and was named to the Second Team All-Star in1969–70. In the playoffs that year he scored seventeen points in fourteen games, fourth on the team afterBobby Orr,Phil Esposito andJohn Bucyk and did so again in1971-72. His best season was1970–71, when he scored 31 goals and 77 points in 65 games. All in all, McKenzie scored 169 goals in his seven years in Boston and helped the Bruins win twoStanley Cup titles, in 1970 and 1972.

At the end of the sixth and last game in the 1972 Stanley Cup finals, when the Bruins defeated the New York Rangers atMadison Square Garden 3–0 to take the Cup, McKenzie skated to center ice, raised one arm in mimicry of theStatue of Liberty, placed his other hand around his neck to appear as though he werechoking, then jumped up and down in a circle several times. (Thus he implied, to the Rangers and their fans, that the Rangers had choked at their best chance of winning their first Stanley Cup since1940). This became known as the "McKenzie Choke Dance," or simply the "choke dance."

In the summer of 1972, McKenzie was disgruntled at being left unprotected in the1972 NHL expansion draft, and he signed as player-coach with thePhiladelphia Blazers of the newly formedWorld Hockey Association (WHA). In thirteen games he recorded only two wins and eleven losses, and he stepped down as coach in favor of veteranPhil Watson. He continued to play effectively for the Blazers, then for theMinnesota Fighting Saints, theCincinnati Stingers and finally theNew England Whalers. He finished his career in the WHA's final season in 1978–79, having played twenty-one seasons of professional hockey in the NHL and WHA.

Later life

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In 2007, McKenzie served as the coach of the Berklee Ice Cats, the newly formed hockey team atBerklee College of Music in Boston.^[1] Following that, he was the liaison for hockey development at theUniversity of Massachusetts Lowell.

McKenzie died at his home inWakefield, Massachusetts, at age 80 on June 9, 2018, after a long illness.^[2]^[3]^[4]

Career achievements and legacy

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Played in 477 WHA games (7th all-time), totalling 163 goals, 250 assists and 413 points (16th all-time)
Played in the NHL All-Star Game in 1970 and 1972
Played in the Summit Series for Team Canada in 1974 against the Soviet Union
His #19 was retired by theHartford Whalers, making him one of only three players whose number was retired by an NHL franchise for which he never played (the other two beingJ. C. Tremblay by theQuebec Nordiques andFrank Finnigan by the modern-dayOttawa Senators).
In 2010, he was elected as an inaugural inductee into theWorld Hockey Association Hall of Fame in the "Legends of the Game" category.^[5]

Honours

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Buffalo Bisons

Calder Cup:1963

NHL

Stanley Cup:1970,1972

Boston Bruins

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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			Regular season					Playoffs
Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1953–54	Calgary Buffaloes	WCJHL	34	6	8	14	12	5	0	0	0	2
1954–55	Medicine Hat Tigers	WCJHL	39	14	4	18	33	5	0	0	0	4
1955–56	Nanton Palominos	FHHL	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1955–56	Calgary Stampeders	WHL	1	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	1	2
1956–57	St. Catharines Teepees	OHA	52	32	38	70	143	14	9	11	20	50
1957–58	St. Catharines Teepees	OHA	52	48	51	99	227	8	8	4	12	19
1958–59	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL	32	3	4	7	22	2	0	0	0	2
1958–59	Calgary Stampeders	WHL	13	2	5	7	18	—	—	—	—	—
1959–60	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	59	8	12	20	50	2	0	0	0	0
1960–61	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	16	3	1	4	13	—	—	—	—	—
1960–61	Hershey Bears	AHL	47	19	23	42	84	8	3	6	9	10
1961–62	Hershey Bears	AHL	58	30	29	59	149	7	1	2	3	19
1962–63	Buffalo Bisons	AHL	71	35	46	81	122	13	8	12	20	28
1963–64	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL	45	9	9	18	50	4	0	1	1	6
1964–65	St. Louis Braves	CHL	5	5	4	9	17	—	—	—	—	—
1964–65	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL	51	8	10	18	46	11	0	1	1	6
1965–66	New York Rangers	NHL	35	6	5	11	36	—	—	—	—	—
1965–66	Boston Bruins	NHL	36	13	9	22	36	—	—	—	—	—
1966–67	Boston Bruins	NHL	69	17	19	36	98	—	—	—	—	—
1967–68	Boston Bruins	NHL	74	28	38	66	107	4	1	1	2	8
1968–69	Boston Bruins	NHL	60	29	27	56	99	10	2	2	4	17
1969–70	Boston Bruins	NHL	72	29	41	70	114	14	5	12	17	35
1970–71	Boston Bruins	NHL	65	31	46	77	120	7	2	3	5	22
1971–72	Boston Bruins	NHL	77	22	47	69	126	15	5	12	17	37
1972–73	Philadelphia Blazers	WHA	60	28	50	78	157	4	3	1	4	8
1973–74	Vancouver Blazers	WHA	45	14	38	52	71	—	—	—	—	—
1974–75	Vancouver Blazers	WHA	74	23	37	60	84	—	—	—	—	—
1975–76	Minnesota Fighting Saints	WHA	57	21	26	47	52	—	—	—	—	—
1975–76	Cincinnati Stingers	WHA	12	3	10	13	6	—	—	—	—	—
1976–77	Minnesota Fighting Saints	WHA	40	17	13	30	42	—	—	—	—	—
1976–77	New England Whalers	WHA	34	11	19	30	25	5	2	1	3	8
1977–78	New England Whalers	WHA	79	27	29	56	61	14	6	6	12	16
1978–79	New England Whalers	WHA	76	19	28	47	115	10	3	7	10	10
WHA totals			477	163	250	413	619	33	14	15	29	42
NHL totals			691	206	268	474	917	69	15	32	47	133