Keith McCreary

Vernon Keith McCreary (June 19, 1940 – December 9, 2003) was a Canadian left winger in the National Hockey League who played for the Montreal Canadiens, Pittsburgh Penguins and Atlanta Flames.

Keith McCreary
Born	(1940-06-19)June 19, 1940 Sundridge, Ontario, Canada
Died	December 9, 2003(2003-12-09) (aged 63) Caledon, Ontario, Canada
Height	5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight	180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb)
Position	Left wing
Shot	Left
Played for	Montreal Canadiens Pittsburgh Penguins Atlanta Flames
Playing career	1961–1975

Playing career

As property of the Montreal Canadiens, McCreary spent seven years in the minor league system, only promoted for a single playoff game in 1962 and 9 games during the 1964–65 season. During this time, he was a top scorer for the Hull-Ottawa Canadiens.

He became an NHL regular with the Pittsburgh Penguins following the 1967 NHL Expansion. In 1972, he was claimed by the Atlanta Flames in the Expansion Draft and was designated the franchise's first captain. McCreary retired following the 1974–75 season after 532 NHL games. He recorded a total of 131 goals and 116 assists during his NHL career.

McCreary played for the Montreal Canadiens, Pittsburgh Penguins, Atlanta Flames, Hershey Bears, Hull-Ottawa Canadiens, and Cleveland Barons.

His brother, Bill McCreary Sr., was also an NHL left winger.

Life and retirement

McCreary is the brother of Bill McCreary Sr., the uncle of Bill McCreary Jr. and Bob Attwell, and the brother-in-law of Ron Attwell.

He was elected as Regional councillor for Caledon in 1978, eventually losing in the 1988 election against Carol Seglins, who would later become Mayor of Caledon.^[1] He stood for consideration in 1991 as a candidate for the appointed role of Regional Chair. Emil Kolb won.

McCreary joined the NHL Alumni Association and was the Association's chairman. He died after a long bout with cancer at the age of 63. He is buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bolton, Ontario.

His Atlanta Flames jersey is on display at the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1956–57	Peterboro T.P.T's	OHA		22	0	1	1	0		—	—	—	—	—
1959–60	Hull-Ottawa Canadiens	EPHL		5	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
1960–61	Hull-Ottawa Canadiens	EPHL		61	19	21	40	35		14	4	2	6	15
1961–62	Hull-Ottawa Canadiens	EPHL		64	30	36	66	48		12	5	8	13	2
1961–62	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		—	—	—	—	—		1	0	0	0	0
1962–63	Hull-Ottawa Canadiens	EPHL		69	27	34	61	44		3	1	1	2	0
1963–64	Hershey Bears	AHL		66	25	19	44	21		6	2	4	6	2
1964–65	Hershey Bears	AHL		46	16	18	34	36		14	0	7	7	24
1964–65	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		9	0	3	3	4		—	—	—	—	—
1965–66	Cleveland Barons	AHL		66	18	24	42	42		2	5	4	9	8
1966–67	Cleveland Barons	AHL		70	28	29	57	50		5	1	2	3	0
1967–68	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		70	14	12	26	44		—	—	—	—	—
1968–69	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		70	25	23	48	42		—	—	—	—	—
1969–70	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		60	18	8	26	67		10	0	4	4	4
1970–71	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		59	21	12	33	24		—	—	—	—	—
1971–72	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		33	4	4	8	22		1	0	0	0	2
1972–73	Atlanta Flames	NHL		77	20	21	41	21		—	—	—	—	—
1973–74	Atlanta Flames	NHL		76	18	19	37	62		4	0	0	0	0
1974–75	Atlanta Flames	NHL		78	11	10	21	8		—	—	—	—	—
NHL Totals				532	131	112	243	294		16	0	4	4	6

Awards

• EPHL First All-Star Team (1962)
• EPHL Second All-Star Team (1963)

Transactions

• June 6, 1967 – Claimed by the Pittsburgh Penguins from the Montreal Canadiens in the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft.
• June 6, 1972 – Claimed by the Atlanta Flames from the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1972 NHL Expansion Draft.