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Parker MacDonald

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Parker MacDonald
Born (1933-06-14)June 14, 1933
Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada[1]
Died August 17, 2017(2017-08-17) (aged 84)
Northford, Connecticut, U.S.[2]
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 160 lb (73 kg; 11 st 6 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Left
Played for Toronto Maple Leafs
New York Rangers
Detroit Red Wings
Boston Bruins
Minnesota North Stars
Playing career 1952–1969

Calvin Parker MacDonald (June 14, 1933 — August 17, 2017) was a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger who played for five National Hockey League teams between 1953 and 1969.[1] He later coached the Minnesota North Stars and the Los Angeles Kings.

Playing career

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MacDonald played in the Ontario Hockey Association for the Toronto Marlboros in the 1951–52 season and starting turning heads. He was a natural goal-scorer but the management felt he needed time to blossom. He made his NHL debut in 1952, playing one game for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The management liked what they saw and promoted MacDonald to the AHL the following season. There MacDonald played for the Pittsburgh Hornets until he finally earned full-time status with the Leafs in 1954. After that season the New York Rangers plucked MacDonald from the Leafs' roster in the Intra-League Draft, where he continued to be shuffled between the Rangers and their AHL affiliates. When New York finally gave up on MacDonald, he sought out a doctor to examine his chronically sore shoulder and was surprised to find that a chunk of metal was still embedded in it, the result of a broken drill left in him from a previous operation.

Following this news, the Detroit Red Wings decided to take a chance and grabbed MacDonald in the 1960 Intra-League Draft. That season he found his stride and reached his full potential playing centre on a line with Gordie Howe and Alex Delvecchio of the famed "Production line". He had a career year in the 1962–63 season when he scored 33 goals with eight of those being game winning goals. MacDonald would remain with the Wings until May 31, 1965 when he was traded to the Boston Bruins along with Albert Langlois, Ron Harris and Bob Dillabough for Ab McDonald, Bob McCord and Ken Stephanson, only to be traded back for Pit Martin after just half a season.

During the 1967 Expansion Draft, MacDonald was chosen by the Minnesota North Stars 18th overall. He would contribute 62 points, including 9 in the playoffs to the Stars in two seasons. He retired in 1969, with 323 career NHL points in 676 games played.

Coaching

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Following his retirement, MacDonald became a player-coach for the Iowa Stars of the Central Hockey League and led them to a 35–26–11 record, losing in the finals. He moved on to coaching full-time with the New Haven Nighthawks for a year and then returned to his former team in the NHL, Minnesota, as head coach. He performed well with the North Stars but decided to return to coaching the Nighthawks, as the pressure was too great. He would coach the Nighthawks for the next five seasons, always with a winning record but always losing in the playoffs, including losing in the finals twice. He even received the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award for the AHL's best coach after the 1978–79 season. He decided to give the NHL one more shot as he accepted an assistant coaching position for the Los Angeles Kings in 1980 followed by the head coach position in the 1981–82 season. MacDonald retired midway through the season with a record of 13–24–5.

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1949–50 Sydney Millionaires CBSHL 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0
1950–51 Toronto Marlboros OHA 51 31 22 53 50 13 9 5 14 6
1951–52 Toronto Marlboros OHA 52 39 51 90 58 6 2 3 5 4
1952–53 Toronto Marlboros OHA 55 39 20 59 48 7 3 2 5 4
1952–53 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 1 0 0 0 0
1952–53 Pittsburgh Hornets AHL 1 0 0 0 0
1953–54 Pittsburgh Hornets AHL 70 29 24 53 22 5 0 2 2 0
1954–55 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 62 8 3 11 36 4 0 0 0 4
1954–55 Pittsburgh Hornets AHL 8 3 4 7 2
1955–56 Pittsburgh Hornets AHL 58 35 32 67 60 3 0 3 3 2
1956–57 New York Rangers NHL 45 7 8 15 24 1 1 1 2 0
1956–57 Providence Reds AHL 2 4 1 5 0
1957–58 New York Rangers NHL 70 8 10 18 30 6 1 2 3 2
1958–59 Buffalo Bisons AHL 67 17 21 38 58 11 2 7 9 8
1959–60 New York Rangers NHL 4 0 0 0 0
1959–60 Springfield Indians AHL 65 37 36 73 16 10 3 7 10 4
1960–61 Detroit Red Wings NHL 70 14 12 26 6 9 1 0 1 0
1961–62 Detroit Red Wings NHL 32 5 7 12 8
1961–62 Hershey Bears AHL 20 10 4 14 8
1962–63 Detroit Red Wings NHL 69 33 28 61 32 11 3 2 5 2
1963–64 Detroit Red Wings NHL 68 21 25 46 25 14 3 3 6 2
1964–65 Detroit Red Wings NHL 69 13 33 46 38 7 1 1 2 6
1965–66 Boston Bruins NHL 29 6 4 10 6
1965–66 Detroit Red Wings NHL 37 5 12 17 24 9 0 0 0 2
1966–67 Detroit Red Wings NHL 16 3 5 8 2
1966–67 Pittsburgh Hornets AHL 59 16 30 46 18 9 1 3 4 4
1967–68 Minnesota North Stars NHL 69 19 23 42 22 14 4 5 9 2
1967–68 Memphis South Stars CHL 5 2 3 5 2
1968–69 Minnesota North Stars NHL 35 2 9 11 0
1968–69 Memphis South Stars CHL 28 6 11 17 0
1969–70 Iowa Stars CHL
NHL totals 676 144 179 323 253 75 14 14 28 20

Coaching record

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    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GC W L T Finish GC W L Result
1969–70 Iowa Stars CHL 72 35 26 11 2nd, CHL 11 5 6 Lost in final
1970–71 Cleveland Barons AHL
1972–73 New Haven Nighthawks AHL 76 16 40 20 5th, Eastern
1973–74 New Haven Nighthawks AHL
1973–74 Minnesota North Stars NHL 61 20 31 11 7th, West
1975–76 New Haven Nighthawks AHL 76 29 39 8 2nd, Southern 3 0 3 Lost in first round
1976–77 New Haven Nighthawks AHL 80 43 31 6 2nd, AHL 6 2 4 Lost in first round
1977–78 New Haven Nighthawks AHL 80 38 31 11 2nd, Southern 15 8 7 Lost in final
1978–79 New Haven Nighthawks AHL 80 46 25 9 1st, Southern 10 4 6 Lost in final
1979–80 New Haven Nighthawks AHL 80 46 25 9 1st, Southern 10 6 4 Lost in second round
1981–82 Los Angeles Kings NHL 42 13 24 5
NHL totals 103 33 54 16

Awards

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References

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  1. ^ a b AHL Staff (19 August 2017). "Parker MacDonald (1933-2017)". The AHL.com. Archived from the original on 1 October 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  2. ^ Funeral Home Staff (17 August 2017). "Mr. Calvin Parker MacDonald". Guilford, Connecticut. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
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Preceded by Head coach of the Minnesota North Stars
1973–74
Succeeded by
Jack Gordon
Preceded by Head coach of the Los Angeles Kings
1981–82
Succeeded by