Former NHLer Forbes Kennedy passes away at 90

The hockey world has just lost one of its eldest members.

On Tuesday, former NHL player Forbes Kennedy passed away at 90 years old.

Kennedy, who was born in Dorchester, New Brunswick and raised in Prince Edward Island, was a center in the NHL for 11 seasons, spanning from the 1956-57 season through until the 1968-69 season. At just 5’8″, he was always one of the smaller players on the ice, but was known for his aggressive and fiesty style of play. He was often one of the most penalized players in the league, and he even led the NHL with 219 penalty minutes in his final season.

He began his NHL career with the Chicago Blackhawks, then officially known as the Chicago Black Hawks, in the 1956-57 season, in which he put up eight goals and 13 assists for 21 points in 69 games played, to go along with 104 penalty minutes.

Following his rookie season in Chicago, Kennedy was dealt to the Detroit Red Wings as part of the deal that saw the Black Hawks get legendary goaltender Glenn Hall along with a 32-year-old Ted Lindsay. He then spent four years with the Red Wings, with his best season in Detroit being his first, in which he notched 11 goals and 16 assists for 27 points, while racking up 135 penalty minutes.

His production with the Red Wings dwindled over the next few years, and was even sent down to the minor leagues before getting traded to the Boston Bruins ahead of the 1962-63 season. His performance immediately improved in Boston, as he registered 12 goals and 18 assists for a career-best 30 points in 49 games in the 1962-63 season.

After four seasons with the Bruins, Kennedy was claimed by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1967 expansion draft. He spent a year-plus in Philadelphia before getting traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs for the final 13 games of his career.