Daniel Charles "Snowshoes" Maloney (September 24, 1950 – November 19, 2018) was a 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 ...
left winger
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
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) and NHL coach.
Playing career
Drafted 14th overall by the
Chicago Black Hawks
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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in the
1970 NHL Entry Draft, Maloney played two seasons for the Black Hawks and later played for the
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...
,
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...
and
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 ...
tallying 192 goals, 259 assists and 451 points in 737 games over the course of his playing career. Upon retiring as a player he was offered an assistant coach position with the Maple Leafs in 1982, and promoted to head coach in 1984. He coached two seasons with the Leafs, then coached three more years as head coach of the
Winnipeg Jets
The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, pl ...
.
Maloney is known as having had one of the hardest right-hand punches in his day, and is considered by many hockey fans to have been the greatest fighter (along with the Flyers'
Dave Schultz) in NHL history. The two finally squared off in a fight in a game in Los Angeles on January 4, 1975, with Maloney considered the winner. But Maloney was more than a fighter, as he tallied 27 goals in back to back seasons (1974–75 and 1975–76). Maloney was part of the trade that sent
Marcel Dionne
Marcel Elphège "Little Beaver" Dionne (born August 3, 1951) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers. Marcel Dionn ...
from Detroit to the
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...
. Schultz was traded to the Kings a year later to replace Maloney as their enforcer.
As a member of the Red Wings, he was the third NHL player to be charged by local authorities with a crime resulting from action on the ice. In the second period of a 7–3 loss to Toronto at
Maple Leaf Gardens
Maple Leaf Gardens is a historic building located at the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building was initially constructed in 1931 as an arena to host ice hockey games, though it has sinc ...
on November 5, 1975, Maloney came to the defense of teammate
Bryan Hextall
Bryan Aldwyn Hextall (July 31, 1913 – July 25, 1984) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played for the New York Rangers in the National Hockey League (NHL). Considered one of the top wingers of the 1940s, he led the NHL in goal ...
by attacking the Maple Leafs'
Brian Glennie from behind, flattening him with a right‐hand punch, hitting him several more times and repeatedly lifting and dropping him, face first, to the ice. Glennie sustained a mild
concussion
A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include loss of consciousness (LOC); memory loss; headaches; difficulty with thinking, concentration, ...
. Despite Glennie's hit on Hextall being described by ''
The Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
'' as "a clean check," Maloney claimed the force of the contact was excessive and that he had no intention of injuring him. He was charged with
assault
An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in crim ...
by
Attorney General of Ontario Roy McMurtry the following day on November 6, but was
acquitted
In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as criminal law is concerned. The finality of an acquittal is dependent on the jurisdiction. In some countries, such as the ...
just under eight months later on June 30, 1976.
"Maloney Of Wings Acquitted," ''United Press International'' (UPI), Wednesday, June 30, 1976.
Retrieved December 22, 2020
Personal life
During his time with the Red Wings, Maloney lived year-round in Detroit area (Southfield, Michigan
Southfield is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the city had a population of 76,618.
As a northern suburb of Detroit, Southfield shares part of its ...
). Maloney's nephew, Trenton Bourque, was drafted by the St. Louis Blues
The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...
in 2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
.
In his later years Maloney lived in the Barrie or Orillia, Ontario area. Maloney died on November 19, 2018 after a period of declining health; he was 68.
Career statistics
Coaching record
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maloney, Dan
1950 births
2018 deaths
Canadian ice hockey left wingers
Chicago Blackhawks draft picks
Chicago Blackhawks players
Detroit Red Wings captains
Detroit Red Wings players
Ice hockey people from Simcoe County
London Knights players
Los Angeles Kings players
National Hockey League first-round draft picks
New York Rangers coaches
Sportspeople from Barrie
Toronto Maple Leafs coaches
Toronto Maple Leafs players
Winnipeg Jets (1972–1996) coaches
Canadian ice hockey coaches