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Keith Acton
Keith acton
Born April 15, 1958 (1958-04-15) (age 65)
Stouffville, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb)
Position Centre
Shoots Left
Played for NHL
Montreal Canadiens
Minnesota North Stars
Edmonton Oilers
Philadelphia Flyers
Washington Capitals
New York Islanders
AHL
Nova Scotia Voyageurs
Hershey Bears
National team Flag of Canada Canada
NHL Draft 103rd overall, 1978
Montreal Canadiens
Playing career 1978–1995

Keith Acton (born Keith Edward Acton on April 15, 1958) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey centre who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Montreal Canadiens, Minnesota North Stars, Edmonton Oilers, Philadelphia Flyers, Washington Capitals and the New York Islanders between 1980 and 1994.

Playing Career[]

Keith was selected 103rd overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the 1978 NHL Amateur Draft.

He began his NHL career on Montreal's fourth line, but his productive play soon earned him a promotion to the first line where he centered all-stars Steve Shutt and Guy Lafleur.

On October 28, 1983, Keith was traded to the Minnesota North Stars along with Mark Napier and Toronto's third-round choice in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft in exchange for Bobby Smith.

After five seasons in Minnesota, he was to the Edmonton Oilers on January 22, 1988 in exchange for Moe Mantha where he won a Stanley Cup with the team in 1988.

On February 7, 1989, Keith was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers along with Edmonton's 6th-round pick (Dmitry Yushkevich) in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft in exchange for Dave Brown.

On September 28, 1989, he was traded to the Winnipeg Jets along with Pete Peeters in exchange for future considerations, but five days later on October 3, 1989, he & Peeters were traded back to Philadelphia in exchange for Toronto's 5th-round choice in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft.

After 5 seasons in Philadelphia, Keith signed as a free agent with the Washington Capitals on July 27, 1993 where he played with the team for only six games before being claimed off waivers by the New York Islanders on October 22, 1993.

In 1995, Keith retired from playing professional hockey. During his career, he played in more than 1,000 NHL games and represented Canada three times at the World Championships.

Coaching Career[]

After retiring from playing professional hockey, Keith became an assistant coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2000-01 season.

He later worked as an assistant coach for the Columbus Blue Jackets, the New York Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers.

Most recently, Keith was the assistant coach for the Edmonton Oilers before being released on June 4, 2015.

Career Statistics[]

Regular season and playoffs[]

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1974–75 Wexford Raiders OPJHL 43 23 29 52 46
1975–76 Peterborough Petes OMJHL 35 9 17 26 30
1976–77 Peterborough Petes OMJHL 65 52 69 121 93 4 1 4 5 6
1977–78 Peterborough Petes OMJHL 68 42 86 128 52 21 10 8 18 16
1977–78 Peterborough Petes M-Cup 3 0 1 1 0
1978–79 Nova Scotia Voyageurs AHL 79 15 26 41 22 10 4 2 6 4
1979–80 Montreal Canadiens NHL 2 0 1 1 0
1979–80 Nova Scotia Voyageurs AHL 75 45 53 98 38 6 1 2 3 8
1980–81 Montreal Canadiens NHL 61 15 24 39 74 2 0 0 0 6
1981–82 Montreal Canadiens NHL 78 36 52 88 88 5 0 4 4 16
1982–83 Montreal Canadiens NHL 78 24 26 50 63 3 0 0 0 0
1983–84 Montreal Canadiens NHL 9 3 7 10 4
1983–84 Minnesota North Stars NHL 62 17 38 55 60 15 4 7 11 12
1984–85 Minnesota North Stars NHL 78 20 38 58 90 9 4 4 8 6
1985–86 Minnesota North Stars NHL 79 26 32 58 100 5 0 3 3 6
1986–87 Minnesota North Stars NHL 78 16 29 45 56
1987–88 Minnesota North Stars NHL 46 8 11 19 74
1987–88 Edmonton Oilers NHL 26 3 6 9 21 7 2 0 2 16
1988–89 Edmonton Oilers NHL 46 11 15 26 47
1988–89 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 25 3 10 13 64 16 2 3 5 18
1989–90 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 69 13 14 27 80
1990–91 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 76 14 23 37 131
1991–92 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 50 7 10 17 98
1992–93 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 83 8 15 23 51
1993–94 Washington Capitals NHL 6 0 0 0 21
1993–94 New York Islanders NHL 71 2 7 9 50 4 0 0 0 8
1994–95 Hershey Bears AHL 12 5 7 12 58
NHL totals 1023 226 358 584 1172 66 12 21 33 88
OMJHL totals 168 103 172 275 175 25 11 12 23 22
AHL totals 166 65 86 151 118 16 5 4 9 12

International[]

Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1986 Canada WEC 10 3 0 3 2
1990 Canada WEC 10 2 0 2 0
1992 Canada WC 6 1 0 1 2
Senior int'l totals 26 6 0 6 4

Accolades[]

  • 1979-80:AHL Second Team All-Star
  • 1987–88: NHL - Stanley Cup (Edmonton)

Personal Life[]

Keith's son Will is a hockey player who played for the Edmonton Oilers for two seasons. These days, he plays for the Schwenninger Wild Wings of the DEL.

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