John McKenzie (ice hockey)

John Albert McKenzie (December 12, 1937 – June 9, 2018) was a Canadian professional hockey player and coach. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for several seasons, most notably with the Boston Bruins, with whom he won the Stanley Cup twice. He also played several seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA).

For the Olympic hockey player, see Jack McKenzie (ice hockey). For other people, see John McKenzie.
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

Playing career

McKenzie's former teammate Gerry 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 the St. Catharines Teepees of the OHA and led the league in goals and points in 1958.

McKenzie made his NHL debut in 1958–59 with the Chicago Black Hawks. The following season he moved on to the Detroit Red Wings, where he lasted two years. He was then demoted again to the minors, where he played most of three seasons in the American Hockey League with the Hershey Bears and the Buffalo Bisons, and was named to the league's First All-Star Team in 1963. He returned to the NHL and the Black Hawks in 1963–64, and two years later played for the New York Rangers for part of the 1965–66 season, halfway during which he was traded to the Rangers' arch-rivals, the Boston 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 the 1967-68 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 in 1969–70. In the playoffs that year he scored seventeen points in fourteen games, fourth on the team after Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito and John Bucyk and did so again in 1971-72. His best season was 1970–71, 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 two Stanley 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 at Madison Square Garden 3-0 to take the Cup, McKenzie skated to center ice, raised one arm in mimicry of the Statue of Liberty, placed his other hand around his neck to appear as though he were choking, 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 since 1940). 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 the expansion draft, and he signed as player-coach with the Philadelphia Blazers of the newly formed World Hockey Association (WHA). In thirteen games he recorded only two wins and eleven losses, and he stepped down as coach in favor of veteran Phil Watson. He continued to play effectively for the Blazers, then for the Minnesota Fighting Saints, the Cincinnati Stingers and finally the New 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

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

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

Career achievements and legacy
  • 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 the Hartford Whalers, making him one of only three players whose number was retired by an NHL franchise for which he never played (the other two being J. C. Tremblay by the Quebec Nordiques and Frank Finnigan by the modern-day Ottawa Senators).
  • In 2010, he was elected as an inaugural inductee into the World Hockey Association Hall of Fame in the "Legends of the Game" category.[5]

Honours
Buffalo Bisons
Boston Bruins

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GPGAPtsPIM GPGAPtsPIM
1953–54 Calgary Buffaloes WCJHL 34681412 50002
1954–55 Medicine Hat Tigers WCJHL 391441833 50004
1955–56 Nanton Palominos FHHL ————— —————
1955–56 Calgary Stampeders WHL 10000 20112
1956–57 St. Catharines Teepees OHA 52323870143 149112050
1957–58 St. Catharines Teepees OHA 52485199227 8841219
1958–59 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 3234722 20002
1958–59 Calgary Stampeders WHL 1325718 —————
1959–60 Detroit Red Wings NHL 598122050 20000
1960–61 Detroit Red Wings NHL 1631413 —————
1960–61 Hershey Bears AHL 4719234284 836910
1961–62 Hershey Bears AHL 58302959149 712319
1962–63 Buffalo Bisons AHL 71354681122 138122028
1963–64 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 45991850 40116
1964–65 St. Louis Braves CHL 554917 —————
1964–65 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 518101846 110116
1965–66 New York Rangers NHL 35651136 —————
1965–66 Boston Bruins NHL 361392236 —————
1966–67 Boston Bruins NHL 6917193698 —————
1967–68 Boston Bruins NHL 74283866107 41128
1968–69 Boston Bruins NHL 6029275699 1022417
1969–70 Boston Bruins NHL 72294170114 145121735
1970–71 Boston Bruins NHL 65314677120 723522
1971–72 Boston Bruins NHL 77224769126 155121737
1972–73 Philadelphia Blazers WHA 60285078157 43148
1973–74 Vancouver Blazers WHA 4514385271 —————
1974–75 Vancouver Blazers WHA 7423376084 —————
1975–76 Minnesota Fighting Saints WHA 5721264752 —————
1975–76 Cincinnati Stingers WHA 12310136 —————
1976–77 Minnesota Fighting Saints WHA 4017133042 —————
1976–77 New England Whalers WHA 3411193025 52138
1977–78 New England Whalers WHA 7927295661 14661216
1978–79 New England Whalers WHA 76192847115 10371010
WHA totals 477163250413619 3314152942
NHL totals 691206268474917 69153247133

International
Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1974 Canada SS 7 2 3 5 14

Coaching record
TeamYearRegular seasonPost season
GWLTPtsFinishResult
Philadelphia Blazers1972-73 7160(2)3rd in WHA East(resigned)
Vancouver Blazers1973-74 7340(6)5th in WHA West(interim coach)

References
  1. Donna O’Neil (March 28, 2007). "Former Bruins forward Johnny McKenzie teaches musicians the game of hockey". Archived from the original on December 5, 2013. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
  2. "Former Bruin Johnny 'Pie' McKenzie dead at 80". The Boston Globe. June 10, 2018. Retrieved June 12, 2018 – via Boston.com.
  3. "Johnny McKenzie, 2-time Stanley Cup winner with Bruins, dies at 80". ESPN. AP. June 11, 2018. Retrieved June 12, 2018.
  4. "Johnny McKenzie, who won 2 Cups with Bruins, dies at 80". Boston Herald. AP. June 11, 2018. Archived from the original on November 19, 2018. Retrieved June 12, 2018.
  5. "WHA Hall of Fame Members". Archived from the original on 2018-08-26. Retrieved 2013-09-14.

Further reading
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