Keith Edward Acton (born April 15, 1958) is a Canadian former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

who played 15 seasons in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL), with the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

Minnesota North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for ...

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wells ...

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL) ...

and

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...

between 1980 and 1994. In his NHL coaching career he has been an assistant coach with the

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, ...

, the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

, the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

and most recently the Edmonton Oilers, who released Acton and fellow assistant

Craig Ramsay Craig Edward Ramsay (born March 17, 1951) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He played in the NHL from 1971 to 1985 for the Buffalo Sabres before beginning an NHL coaching career, serving as the final head coach of the ...

on June 4, 2015. Acton ran for mayor of

Whitchurch-Stouffville Whitchurch-Stouffville ( 2021 population 49,864) is a town in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada, approximately north of downtown Toronto, and north-east of Toronto Pearson International Airport. It is in area, and located in the ...

in the 2018 elections.

Playing career

Acton was selected 103rd overall by the

in the

1978 NHL Amateur Draft The 1978 NHL Amateur Draft was the 16th NHL Entry Draft. It was hosted at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec, on June 15, 1978. It was the last draft to be called the "Amateur Draft" before the process was renamed to the NHL Entry Dra ...

. 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 Stephen John Shutt (born July 1, 1952) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and NHL Hall of Famer who played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), 12 seasons for the Montreal Canadiens and 1 season for the Los Angeles King ...

and

Guy Lafleur Guy Damien Lafleur (September 20, 1951 – April 22, 2022), nicknamed "the Flower" and "Le Démon Blond", was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He was the first player in National Hockey League (NHL) history to score 50 goals in six c ...

. 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. When his production dipped the following year to just fifty points, his stock in Montreal fell and early in the 1983-84 campaign, Acton was part of a blockbuster trade. The Canadiens packaged Acton up with Mark Napier and a third pick and dealt them to the Minnesota North Stars for Bobby Smith. With Minnesota, Acton reeled off three consecutive 20-goal seasons but after a slow start to the 1987-88 season he was dealt to the

. With Edmonton and their high-powered offence, Acton was not expected to help carry the offence and settled into a more defensive role. That spring he won the Stanley Cup though he played just seven games in the post season. Acton was a healthy scratch through the first two rounds and remained in the pressbox through the first three games of the conference final against the Detroit Red Wings. However, with the Oilers' coaching staff looking for more speed on their fourth line, Acton was inserted into the lineup for game four and he paid immediate dividends, scoring the series-clinching goal. His clutch play continued in the Stanley Cup final when he ended game one against the Boston Bruins by tipping a Steve Smith point shot for the game winning goal. Despite his playoff heroics, it still proved difficult to carve out a place on the Oilers' deep roster and late in the 1988-89 season, his second in Edmonton, he was on the move again when he was traded to Philadelphia in exchange for tough guy Dave Brown. Acton spent the next four seasons with the Flyers. During 1993-94 season he signed with Washington Capitals but was put on waivers after just six games, and was claimed by the New York Islanders, with whom he finished the season before retiring.

Personal life

Acton's son,

Will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and 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 The Schwenninger Wild Wings are a professional German ice hockey team from Schwenningen am Neckar in Baden-Wuerttemberg that was founded on 31 July 1904 and currently plays in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). The greatest success of the associ ...

of the DEL. In 2018, Acton became a candidate for mayor of

, Ontario, in the Ontario municipal elections in which he came in second.

Awards and achievements

*1979-80 AHL Second Team All-Star * 1987–88 - NHL -

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

(

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

)

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Coaching statistics

Season  Team                Lge Type 
1994-95 Philadelphia Flyers NHL Assistant               
1995-96 Philadelphia Flyers NHL Assistant               
1996-97 Philadelphia Flyers NHL Assistant               
1997-98 Philadelphia Flyers NHL Associate               
1998-99 New York Rangers    NHL Assistant               
1999-00 New York Rangers    NHL Assistant               
2001-02 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL Assistant               
2002-03 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL Assistant               
2003-04 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL Assistant               
2005-06 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL Assistant               
2006-07 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL Assistant               
2007-08 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL Assistant 
2008-09 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL Assistant 
2009-10 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL Assistant 
2010-11 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL Assistant
2013-14 Edmonton Oilers     NHL Assistant

References

External links

*
Profile at hockeydraftcentral.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Acton, Keith 1958 births Living people Canadian ice hockey centres Canadian ice hockey coaches Canadian people of English descent Columbus Blue Jackets coaches Edmonton Oilers coaches Edmonton Oilers players Hershey Bears players Ice hockey people from Ontario Minnesota North Stars players Montreal Canadiens draft picks Montreal Canadiens players New York Islanders players New York Rangers coaches Nova Scotia Voyageurs players People from Whitchurch-Stouffville Peterborough Petes (ice hockey) players Philadelphia Flyers coaches Philadelphia Flyers players Stanley Cup champions Toronto Maple Leafs coaches Washington Capitals players Canadian sportsperson-politicians