Keith McCreary
# 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.

## Playing career

As property of the Montreal Canadiens, McCreary spent a 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. 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 | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | 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 | NHL Totals | 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.
