BOSTON – Former Bruins forward Peter McNab passed away on Sunday at the age of 70. The Vancouver native played eight seasons with the Black & Gold from 1976-84 during the height of the club’s “Lunch Pail AC” era.
After spending the first three seasons of his career in Buffalo, McNab was acquired by the Bruins from the Sabers in 1976 and went on to post at least 35 goals and 75 points in six consecutive seasons upon his arrival in Boston. The University of Denver product collected a career-high 86 points (38 goals, 48 assists) in his first season with Boston in 1976-77, during which he was named to the NHL All-Star Game and helped the B’s to the Stanley Cup. Final.
The following year in 1977-78 – during which the B’s made a second straight trip to the Final – McNab notched a career-high 41 goals for his first of two 40-goal campaigns. As such, he was the leading goal scorer on Boston’s record-setting club that set the NHL mark with 11 20-goal scorers.
That season, he also finished second in the Lady Byng (most gentlemanly player) balloting and four times finished in the top 10 of voting for that award.
“The hockey Gods came to me and said, ‘You know what? You’re not gonna win the Stanley Cup, I’m sorry – that’s not gonna be in the cards. I’m gonna give you something better. You’re gonna play in Boston, your roommate is gonna be a lifelong buddy, but more importantly you’re gonna play 500 games with Terry O’Reilly as your right winger,” McNab recalled during the Bruins’ 40th anniversary celebration of the club’s 11 20-goal scorers in Feb. 2018.
“When I look back, I was part of a team that was really, really tough, hard to play against, tested you. It’s sort of cool to be in and among that group.”
Video: McNab remembers his career with the Bruins
McNab – affectionately known as “Maxy,” after his father, Max, a longtime player, coach, and GM in the NHL – twice scored playoff overtime winning goals for the Bruins, the first coming on April 21, 1978, in Game 3 of the first round against Chicago and the second on April 23, 1982 in Game 6 of the second round against Quebec.
McNab, who played 595 regular-season games for Boston, ranks 11thth in Bruins history in goals (263), 13th in points (575), and 16th in assists (324). On Boston’s all-time postseason lists, he ranks eighth in goals (38), 13th in points (74), and 18th in assists (36).
“I love this fact, that Bobby Orr and I will never be separated,” McNab recalled in that 2018 interview. “Bobby’s got 264 [goals], I’ve got 263, so no one can ever come between me and Bobby Orr. We’re cemented in Bruins history. I’ll be right by him… that is unbelievable.”
McNab is also one of six Bruins with six-or-more 30-goal seasons, along with Phil Esposito, Rick Middleton, Johnny Bucyk, Cam Neely, and Patrice Bergeron.
The 6-foot-3, 205-pounder was traded to the Vancouver Canucks in 1984 and spent two seasons there before finishing his career with two seasons for the New Jersey Devils. Overall, McNab played 954 games with 363 goals, 450 assists, and 813 points. In 107 career playoff games, McNab tallied 40 goals and 42 assists for 82 points.
McNab went on to have a highly successful career as a broadcaster beginning with the Devils in 1987-88. He joined the Avalanche broadcast team for their inaugural season in 1995-96 and was the club’s color analyst for each of their 26 seasons in the NHL.
In 2021, McNab was inducted into the US Hockey Hall of Fame.
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