Dave Keon

Leafs captain who won four Stanley Cups and the Conn Smythe Trophy in 1967.

David Michael Keon (born March 22, 1940) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played from 1960 to 1982. He spent his first 15 seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs, winning four Stanley Cups in 1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64, and 1966–67. In 1960–61, he won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league's top rookie with 20 goals and 45 points. He followed this by winning the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy in 1961–62 and 1962–63, taking only one minor penalty each season.

Keon served as team captain from October 31, 1969, succeeding George Armstrong. In 1970–71, he set an NHL record with eight shorthanded goals in a single season. After leaving Toronto due to contract disputes with owner Harold Ballard, he played for the WHA's Minnesota Fighting Saints and Indianapolis Racers before joining the New England Whalers. When the Whalers joined the NHL in 1979, Keon remained there until his retirement on June 30, 1982, at age 42, becoming the last active player to have played a full season in the Original Six era.

Quick Facts

Played for

Toronto Maple Leafs
Minnesota Fighting Saints
Indianapolis Racers
Hartford Whalers

Position

Centre

Shoots

Left

Born

22 March 1940

Birthplace

Noranda, Quebec, Canada

Hall of Fame

1986

Lore & Background

Keon's career was defined by his defensive prowess and gentlemanly conduct. He usually played against the opposing team's top centre, developing a reputation for neutralizing some of the league's best scorers. His leadership extended beyond his on-ice performance; he was named to the second All-Star team in his second NHL year. In the 1967 Cup Final, he shut down Jean Béliveau, the star centreman of the Montreal Canadiens, in the last two games of the series and was voted the most valuable player of the playoffs, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy.

His eight points are the fewest ever by a non-goalie Conn Smythe winner, and he remains the only Leaf to have won the trophy named for the former owner of the club. On October 16, 2016, as part of the Toronto Maple Leafs centennial celebrations, Keon was named the greatest player in the team's history. In 2017, he was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in NHL history. In 2018, he was awarded the Order of Sport, marking his induction into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.

Reader's Guide

Keon's journey through the World Hockey Association offers a unique chapter in hockey history. After the Minnesota Fighting Saints folded, he was briefly claimed by the Edmonton Oilers but immediately traded to the New England Whalers, reuniting him with Harry Neale. In the 1977–78 season, he played alongside Gordie Howe, who at age 50 was the team's leading scorer. Keon returned to the NHL in 1979 when the renamed Hartford Whalers joined the league as one of four WHA teams.

The merger agreement allowed existing NHL teams to reclaim most WHA players whose rights they held, yet even though Keon was not protected from reclamation by the Whalers in the reclamation draft, the Maple Leafs declined to reclaim their former captain, allowing him to remain in Hartford. Bobby Hull joined the Whalers that season, with Keon, Howe, and Hull sometimes playing as a forward line. Following the retirement of Terry Harper in 1981, Keon became the oldest active player in the NHL. He played two more seasons before announcing his retirement on June 30, 1982, at age 42.

Did You Know?

Keon scored seven goals in one game on December 20, 1956, while playing for the St. Michael's Buzzers.
He set an NHL record with eight shorthanded goals in the 1970–71 season, a mark later broken by Marcel Dionne, Wayne Gretzky, and Mario Lemieux.
He remained with the New England Whalers after the NHL-WHA merger because the Maple Leafs declined to reclaim him in the reclamation draft.