Al MacInnis

At 61 years old, Al MacInnis has this physical status:

Allan MacInnis (born July 11, 1963) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played 23 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Calgary Flames and St. Louis Blues.

A first round selection of the Flames in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft, he went on to become a 12-time All-Star.

He was named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as the most valuable player of the playoffs in 1989 after leading the Flames to the Stanley Cup championship.

He was voted the winner of the James Norris Memorial Trophy in 1999 as the top defenceman in the league while a member of the Blues.

In 2017 MacInnis was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.MacInnis was most famous for having the hardest shot in the league.

He tied Bobby Orr's Ontario Hockey League (OHL) record for goals by a defenceman, and won two OHL championships and a Memorial Cup with the Kitchener Rangers as a junior.

He famously split goaltender Mike Liut's mask with a shot, and became only the fourth defenceman in NHL history to score 100 points in a season.

Internationally, he was an all-star on defence as Canada won the 1991 Canada Cup and twice participated in the Winter Olympics.

He was a member of the 2002 team that won Canada's first gold medal in 50 years. An eye injury suffered early in the 2003–04 NHL season forced MacInnis into retirement.

He finished his career third all-time among defencemen in goals, assists and points and was named to seven post-season all-star teams.

He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2007, and his jersey number 2 was retired by the Blues and is honoured by the Flames.

MacInnis remains a member of the Blues organization, currently serving as the team's Senior Advisor to the General Manager.

When the Blues won the Stanley Cup in 2019, he got his name engraved on the Stanley Cup for a second time.

Early life

MacInnis was born in Inverness, Nova Scotia, and grew up in Port Hood, Nova Scotia, a fishing village on Cape Breton Island. He is the seventh of eight children born to Alex and Anna Mae MacInnis, and one of six brothers. His father worked as a coal miner and later as the assistant manager of the arena in Port Hood when the mine closed while his mother was a school teacher. The brothers all played hockey in Port Hawkesbury during the winter. MacInnis often assisted his father's work at the arena, collecting pucks that he used to shoot repeatedly against a sheet of plywood set against the family barn during the summer. It was through this practice, which occasionally left him with blistered fingers, that he developed his powerful slapshot.

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Playing career

MacInnis came from home in 1979 to play for the Regina Pat Blues of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL). He played in 59 games, scoring 20 goals and 48 points for the Pat Blues, and he appeared in two Western Hockey League (WHL) games with the Regina Pats. He then migrated to Ontario and joined the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). MacInnis was named the second best defensive prospect at the 1981 NHL Entry Draft after a season in which he scored 39 points in 47 games and winning the League Championship with Kitchener. He was drafted by the Calgary Flames in the first round and 15th overall. The Flames welcomed him to their training camp, but they did not want him to play for them right away, and he was returned to junior.

The bulk of his season was spent with Kitchener, where MacInnis was named to the OHL's first All-Star team after scoring 75 points for the Rangers. The team captured the 1982 Memorial Cup for their second straight OHL title and also won the 1982 Memorial Cup. He spent three seasons in Kitchener between 1982-1983 and 1983, and was also named a first-team All-Star after an 84-point record. In addition, MacInnis was crowned the top defenceman of the OHL by the Max Kaminsky Trophy. He tied Bobby Orr's OHL record for goals by a defenceman in one season (thenfully broken by Bryan Fogarty's 47 in 1988–89), and holds the Canadian Hockey League record of five goals in a single game by a defenseman.

MacInnis made his NHL debut with the Flames against the Boston Bruins on December 30, 1981. He appeared in two games this season and eight others in 1982–83, primarily with Kitchener at the junior level. On October 23, 1982, he scored his first NHL point against the Toronto Maple Leafs. MacInnis played for 19 points in 19 games before joining Calgary full time in 1983–84. He had scored 11 goals and 34 assists in 51 games and appeared in his first 11 post-season games with the Flames in 1984 Stanley Cup playoffs.

In 1984-85 (66 points in 67 games) MacInnis his first All-Star Game appearance, playing in front of his hometown supporters at the 1985 Calgary game. He was named as a second-team All-Star for the 1986–87 NHL season, and he appeared in his first All-Star Game in 1988. In three seasons, 1989, 1990, and 1991, he qualified for the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the best defenseman in the league, but he failed to win the trophy each time.

The Flames captured their first Stanley Cup championship in 1989, led by MacInnis' 31 points. In six games against the Montreal Canadiens, he scored four goals and five assists in the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs. MacInnis was the first defenceman to lead the league in post-season scoring, and he ended with a 17-game scoring streak, the longest by a defenseman in NHL history.

MacInnis finished second amongst NHL defencemen in scoring in 1989–90 with 90 points, and was named a First Team All-Star for the first time. He finished with 103 points in the first year and just the fourth in NHL history to reach a 100-point season. In a January 8, 1991, game against Toronto, he scored his 563rd career point to top Kent Nilsson as the franchise's all-time scoring leader. MacInnis suffered a dislocated hip during a game against the Hartford Whalers on November 11, 1992. After losing control and crashed into the end boards as chasing a puck at high speeds, Hartford rookie Patrick Poulin shoved MacInnis with his stick. MacInnis set a franchise record in his 706th appearance in his career on February 23, 1993, three weeks after returning to action.

Both MacInnis and the team were searching for a change in 1994 after five consecutive seasons in which the Flames failed to advance to the first round of the playoffs. Despite the fact that MacInnis made an offer of C$2.5 million a season, he instead signed an agreement with the St. Louis Blues for US$3.5 million a season, making him the fourth highest-paid player in the NHL. The Blues sent defenseman Phil Housley and two second round draft picks to the Flames in restitution as MacInnis was a restricted free agent, as well as receiving a fourth round pick back.

MacInnis said his decision to leave Calgary was not straightforward because his family was from the city. He said that money was not the only reason he signed with the Blues, and that he wanted a new challenge. He left Calgary after 11 full NHL seasons as the franchise's all-time leader in scoring with 822 points and led in assists (603), playoff assists (77), and playoff points (103). He appeared in six All-Star Games with Calgary and was named a league all-star five times: twice on the first team and three times on the second. In 2012, MacInnis was named as the first player to be inducted into the team's "Forever a Flame" program. On February 27, 2012, his jersey number 2 was introduced to the Saddledome rafters, but not officially retired.

MacInnis was limited to 28 points in 32 games in 1994-1995 due to a labour dispute. MacInnis, who has returned to play in the playoffs, required off-season surgery to repair the injury to his shoulder. He returned to form in 1995-96, playing in all 82 games for the Blues. MacInnis played his 1,000th game against the Vancouver Canucks in October 23, 1997, his third season with the Blues. However, he suffered a fragmented shoulder in December 1997, causing him to be out of the Blues line-up for three weeks.

In a 5-3 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on April 7, 1998, MacInnis scored a goal and an assist, becoming the sixth defenseman in NHL history to score 1,000 points. After being close many times, MacInnis brought the Norris Trophy to the league's top defenseman in 1998–99. MacInnis had four assists in a 5–2 victory over the Florida Panthers, setting a new franchise record for scoring by a defenseman. In his 424th game with the club, he reached the mark with his 300th point.

MacInnis was named interim captain for the remainder of the season after Chris Pronger broke his arm early in the 2002–03 NHL season. With 68 points, he finished the season as the league's best defenseman in scoring. When MacInnis returned to the 2003–04 season, Pronger insisted that they remain captains for life. MacInnis' vision problems he suffered during a game against the Nashville Predators in October 2003 were diagnosed as the result of a detached retina in one eye, the same eye in which he sustained a serious injury after being struck by a high stick in 2001. He missed the remainder of the season as a result, and MacInnis felt he could not return to the game at a high enough level to compete after the 2004–05 NHL season was called off due to a labour strike.

MacInnis announced his retirement as a player on September 9, 2005, but stayed with the Blues organization as part of its marketing and hockey operations teams. MacInnis, who played in six additional All-Star Games as a member of the Blues, finished his career with 1,274 points and third all-time in goals, assists, and points amongst defencemen. On April 9, 2006, the team retired his jersey number 2 and honoured him with a bronze statue outside the Scottrade Center in 2009. In 2007, MacInnis was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He was the first player from Nova Scotia to be honoured, and he was also inducted into the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame and the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame.

MacInnis was a member of the Canadian national team on four occasions. He appeared for Canada at the 1990 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships, where he scored one goal and four points. He appeared in his first Canada Cup tournament a year later. As Canada defeated the United States, he scored two goals and four assists, as well as being named a tournament all-star. He suffered a broken shoulder shortly before the 1998 Winter Olympics, and although it was feared he would be out of the tournament as a result, he recovered in time to play. MacInnis scored two goals during the tournament, but Canada finished fourth after losing the bronze medal match to Finland following a semi-final loss to the Czech Republic. MacInnis also participated in the 2002 Winter Olympics. Despite scoring no points in the tournament, Canada defeated the United States to win the country's first gold medal in hockey in 50 years.

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