Keith Acton

Montreal Canadiens (1978–1984)

Acton was selected 103rd overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the 1978 NHL Amateur Draft. He spent most of the first two seasons of his career in the American Hockey League (AHL), playing for the Nova Scotia Voyageurs, who were the Montreal Canadians' AHL affiliate team at the time. He would also play 2 games for Montreal at this time, making his NHL debut on December 11, 1979 against the New York Islanders. In his first game he would record his first point in the NHL, an assist on a goal scored by Guy Lapointe.^[6]

Acton would make Montreal's final roster in the beginning of the 1980–81 season. He would score his first NHL goal on October 21, 1980 in a 3–4 loss against the St. Louis Blues.^[7] He finished his first full season in the NHL with 30 points in 61 games.

His most productive NHL season came in 1981–82 when he registered 88 points in 78 games with Montreal. He began the season 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. He became known as one of the best faceoff men in the NHL.^[8] Acton would score two hat tricks during the season. He would score his first in an 11–2 victory against the Philadelphia Flyers on October 27, 1981.^[9] His second hat trick would happen almost a month later on November 21, 1981 in a 9–5 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Acton would play in the 1982 NHL All-Star Game.^[10]

When his production dipped in the 1982–83 season to just fifty points, his stock in Montreal fell, leading to Acton being traded early in the 1983-84 season. On October 28, 1983, Acton was traded alongside teammate Mark Napier to the Minnesota North Stars for Bobby Smith.

Minnesota North Stars (1983–1988)

With Minnesota, Acton reeled off three consecutive 20-goal seasons. On January 22, 1988, after a slow start to the 1987-88 season, Acton was traded to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Moe Mantha.

Edmonton Oilers (1988–1989)

With Edmonton and their high-powered offence, Acton was not expected to help carry the offence and settled into a more defensive role. That spring he won the Stanley Cup though he played just seven games in the postseason. Acton was a healthy scratch through the first two rounds and remained in the press box through the first three games of the conference final against the Detroit Red Wings. However, with the Oilers' coaching staff looking for more speed on their fourth line, Acton was inserted into the lineup for game four and he paid immediate dividends, scoring the series-clinching goal. His clutch play continued in the Stanley Cup Finals when he ended game one against the Boston Bruins by tipping a Steve Smith point shot for the game-winning goal. Despite his playoff heroics, it still proved difficult to carve out a place on the Oilers' deep roster and late in the 1988-89 season, on February 7, 1989, Acton was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers for Dave Brown.^[11]

Philadelphia Flyers (1989–1993)

Acton spent the next four seasons with the Flyers. Acton would only play 50 games in the 1991–92 season after breaking his wrist. After his contract ran out, the Flyers decided to release Acton, and he would become a free agent for the first time in his career.

Washington Capitals, New York Islanders and retirement (1993–1995)

During the 1993-94 season he signed with the Washington Capitals but was put on waivers after just six games, and was claimed by the New York Islanders, where he would play for the rest of the season. Acton would sign with the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL) for the 1994–95 season, where he would play 12 games before retiring from professional hockey.

Regular season and playoffs

International