| Keith Acton | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | April 15, 1958 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 |  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.