Introduction
Keith Edward Acton (born 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 New York Islanders between 1980 and 1994. In his NHL coaching career he has been an assistant coach with the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Philadelphia Flyers, the New York Rangers, the Toronto Maple Leafs and most recently the Edmonton Oilers, who released Acton and fellow assistant Craig Ramsay on June 4, 2015.
Playing career
Acton 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. He became known as one of the best faceoff men in the NHL. His most productive NHL season came in 1981–82 when he registered 88 points in 78 games with Montreal. He won a Stanley Cup in 1988 as a member of the Edmonton Oilers.
Family
Acton's son, Will, is also a hockey player. Like his father, Will played parts of two seasons with the Edmonton Oilers. Will now plays for the Schwenninger Wild Wings of the DEL.
Awards and achievements
- 1979-80 AHL Second Team All-Star
- 1987–88 - NHL - Stanley Cup (Edmonton)
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 | |||
Coaching statistics
SeasonTeamLge Type1994-95 Philadelphia Flyers NHL Assistant1995-96 Philadelphia Flyers NHL Assistant1996-97 Philadelphia Flyers NHL Assistant1997-98 Philadelphia Flyers NHL Associate1998-99 New York RangersNHL Assistant1999-00 New York RangersNHL Assistant2001-02 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL Assistant2002-03 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL Assistant2003-04 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL Assistant2005-06 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL Assistant2006-07 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL Assistant2007-08 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL Assistant2008-09 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL Assistant2009-10 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL Assistant2010-11 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL Assistant 2013-14 Edmonton OilersNHL Assistant