Al MacInnis
The hardest shot in hockey and a Hall of Fame defenceman.
Allan MacInnis (born July 11, 1963) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who was a defenceman for 23 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Calgary Flames (1981–1994) and St. Louis Blues (1994–2004). A first round selection of the Flames in the 1981 NHL entry draft, he went on to become a twelve-time All-Star. He was named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as the most valuable player of the playoffs in 1989 after leading the Flames to the Stanley Cup championship. He was voted the winner of the James Norris Memorial Trophy in 1999 as the top defenceman in the league while a member of the Blues. In 2017, MacInnis was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.
Quick Facts
- Hall of Fame
- 2007
- Born
- 11 July 1963
- Birthplace
- Inverness, Nova Scotia, Canada
- Position
- Defence
- Shoots
- Right
- Played for
- Calgary Flames; St. Louis Blues
- Draft
- 15th overall
- Drafted by
- Calgary Flames
Lore & Background
MacInnis was most famous for having the hardest shot in the league. He tied Bobby Orr's Ontario Hockey League (OHL) record for goals by a defenceman, and won two OHL championships and a Memorial Cup with the Kitchener Rangers as a junior. He famously split goaltender Mike Liut's mask with a shot, and became only the fourth defenceman in NHL history to score 100 points in a season. Internationally, he was an all-star on defence as Canada won the 1991 Canada Cup and twice participated in the Winter Olympics. He was a member of the 2002 team that won Canada's first gold medal in 50 years. An eye injury suffered early in the 2003–04 NHL season forced MacInnis into retirement. He finished his career third all-time among defencemen in goals, assists and points and was named to seven postseason all-star teams. He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2007, and his jersey number 2 was retired by the Blues and is honoured by the Flames. MacInnis remains a member of the Blues organization, currently serving as the team's senior advisor to the general manager. When the Blues won the Stanley Cup in 2019, he got his name engraved on the Stanley Cup for a second time.
Reader's Guide
MacInnis made his NHL debut with the Flames on December 30, 1981, against the Boston Bruins. He appeared in two games that season, and an additional fourteen in 1982–83 in seasons spent primarily with Kitchener at the junior level. He scored his first NHL point against the Toronto Maple Leafs on October 23, 1982. MacInnis began the 1983–84 season with the Colorado Flames of the Central Hockey League, scoring 19 points in 19 games before joining Calgary full-time. With the Flames, he scored 11 goals and 34 assists in 51 games and appeared in his first 11 postseason games during the 1984 Stanley Cup playoffs. A point-per-game pace in 1984–85 (66 points in 67 games) earned MacInnis his first All-Star Game appearance, playing in front of his hometown fans at the 1985 game in Calgary. He was voted a second-team All-Star for the 1986–87 NHL season, and started his first All-Star Game in 1988. He was a finalist for the James Norris Memorial Trophy as top defenceman in the league in three consecutive seasons, 1989, 1990 and 1991, but failed to win the award each time. Led by MacInnis' 31 points, the Flames won the first Stanley Cup championship in their history in 1989. He had four goals and five assists in six games in the Stanley Cup Final series against the Montreal Canadiens en route to winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs. MacInnis became the first defenceman to lead the league in postseason scoring, and he finished with a 17-game scoring streak, the longest by a defenceman in NHL history. MacInnis finished second amongst NHL defencemen in scoring in 1989–90 with 90 points and was named a First Team All-Star for the first time. He improved to a career high 103 points the following year, becoming the first Flames' defenceman and only the fourth in NHL history to record a 100-point season. He scored his 563rd career point in a January 8, 1991, game against Toronto, to surpass Kent Nilsson as the franchise's all-time scoring leader. MacInnis missed three months of the 1992–93 season when he suffered a dislocated hip during a game on November 11, 1992, against the Hartford Whalers. While chasing a puck at high speed, he lost control and crashed into the end boards after Hartford rookie Patrick Poulin shoved MacInnis with his stick.
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