Tony McKegney

Career

Tony McKegney entered the NHL when the Buffalo Sabres picked him 32nd in the 1978 amateur draft. He spent five seasons in Buffalo before being moved on June 8, 1983, as part of a trade that sent him, Andre Savard, and J.F. Sauve to the Quebec Nordiques for winger Real Cloutier and Quebec’s first-round pick in the 1983 draft. Born in Montreal to a Nigerian father and a Canadian mother, McKegney was adopted as an infant and grew up in a white family in Sarnia, Ontario. He played junior B hockey there as a teen, following his older brother Ian, who had starred for the Sarnia Legionnaires before turning pro.

At age 20, McKegney signed with the World Hockey Association’s Birmingham Bulls, but the owner illegally backed out of the deal after fans threatened to boycott the team for adding a black player. That setback didn’t stop him: he went on to score more than 300 NHL goals, netting 40 in the 1987-88 season. His 78-point season stood as the highest total by a black player until Jarome Iginla surpassed it in 2001-02. Over a career spanning more than 900 games, McKegney recorded nine 20-goal seasons.

After the 1990-91 campaign with the Chicago Blackhawks, he played a season in Italy for HC Varese and appeared in three games for the Canadian National Team. When Terry Crisp, a former Canadian National Team coach, took over the expansion Tampa Bay Lightning for their first season in 1992-93, McKegney hoped to return to the NHL as a veteran leader. He didn’t make the roster, however, and played 23 games for the San Diego Gulls in 1992-93 before retiring. Today, McKegney occasionally works with the Red Wings Alumni Association and the Buffalo Sabres Alumni Hockey Team.