Tony McKegney

Tony played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League from 1978–79 until 1990–91. He is the first black player in NHL history to score 40 goals in a season. He was drafted 32nd overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1978 NHL Amateur Draft. On June 8, 1983, after five seasons with the Sabres, he was traded along with centers Andre Savard and J.F. Sauve to the Quebec Nordiques in exchange for winger Real Cloutier and Quebec’s first-round draft pick in the 1983 draft.

McKegney was born in Montreal, and as a teenager he played Jr. ‘B’ hockey in Sarnia, Ontario. He was following in the footsteps of his older brother Ian, who had been a star with the Sarnia Legionnaires before moving on to the pros. He would go on to score over 300 career goals, including 40 in the 1987-88 season. His total of 78 points in one season would remain the highest ever recorded by a black player until Jarome Iginla’s breakout 2001-2002 campaign. He registered nine 20-goal seasons in a career that lasted over 900 games.