Ab McDonald sort of won four consecutive Stanley Cup championships during his career. In 1957-58, his only two NHL games came with the Cup winning Montreal Canadiens during the playoffs. He was a regular the following year then didn’t play a single playoff game for the Habs in 1959-60 after playing most of the season with the team. The following year, he was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks and won the fourth with a win over the Detroit Red Wings.
Outside of that four year stint, Ab was a finalist. Memorial Cup finalist with the St. Boniface Canadiens. Calder Cup finalist with the Cleveland Barons. Stanley Cup finalist with the Blackhawks, Red Wings and Blues. Avco World Trophy finalist with the Winnipeg Jets.
Junior and Minor Pro
Hockey Card Collection
NHL and WHA Career
Rookie Card
Career Stats
Ab McDonald – Junior and Minor Pro
Ab McDonald played for St. Boniface in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) from 1951-52 to 1953-54. In the middle year, the Canadiens reached the Memorial Cup finals and played off against the Barrie Flyers. The Flyers had the likes of Don Cherry, Don McKenney, Doug Mohns and Orval Tessier on the roster. Barrie came with the championship in five games.
Ab McDonald Collection
Ab moved to Ontario for 1954-55 and 1955-56 to play in the OHL with the St. Catherines Teepees. In 1955-56, McDonald finished third in the league with 49 goals and fourth in the race for the Eddie Powers Trophy with 83 points.
Right out of junior, McDonald spent two years ‘apprenticing’ in the American Hockey League with the Rochester Americans. In 1956-57, the Amerks lost in the Calder Cup finals to the Cleveland Barons. In 1957-58, despite Rochester not qualifying for the post season, Ab tied for ninth in the AHL with 30 goals and led his team in goals and points. He also saw his first National Hockey League action, appearing in two Stanley Cup playoff games with the Montreal Canadiens.
Over his career, McDonald had sporadic stints in the minors, appearing on clubs in the AHL and CPHL. In 1966-67, playing just 12 games with the Detroit Red Wings, he spent most of the season in the AHL with the Pittsburgh Hornets. The team finished first overall in what was their last year of existence with the Penguins starting up in the NHL the following season. The Hornets won the Calder Cup championship over the Rochester Americans in the finals. It was the only non-Stanley Cup championship of Ab’s pro career.
Ab McDonald – NHL and WHA
Over his National Hockey League career, Ab McDonald played in 762 regular season games between 1957-58 and 1971-72 with the Canadiens, Blackhawks, Boston Bruins, Red Wings, Pittsburgh Penguins and St. Louis Blues. Over that time, he scored 182 and assisted on 248 for 430 points. He sat just 200 penalty minutes and his career high was just 38 in 1967-68 with Pittsburgh. Yet, he was never awarded the Lady Byng Trophy. Ab also played in 84 playoff games, adding 21 goals and 29 assists.
As mentioned, his first two games in the NHL were the only two he played in 1957-58 and came in the playoffs for the Canadiens. As luck would have it, the Habs were in the middle of their five year dynasty at the time and won the championship. The following year, he played in eleven playoff game for the Habs as they won their fourth in a row. In 1959-60, he played most of the regular season but did not play during the playoffs for Montreal.
Joining the Blackhawks in 1960-61, McDonald continued his habit of playing in the finals, winning the Cup in 1960-61 over the Red Wings in the finals and losing in the 1961-62 finals to the Toronto Maple Leafs. With Detroit in 1965-66, the Wings fell to the Canadiens in the finals. As a member of the St. Louis Blues, McDonald’s team fell to the Canadiens in the 1968-69 finals and the Boston Bruins in the 1969-70 finals.
Not normally an offensive threat, Ab did get in the top ten in 1962-63. He finished seventh in the NHL with 41 assists, playing for Chicago.
After the Pittsburgh Penguins picked McDonald in the sixth round of the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft, 34th overall, Ab became the franchise’s first ever team captain. His leadership would be noticed again a few years later when he captained the WHA’s Winnipeg Jets in their first two years of existence, 1972-73 and 1973-74. The 1972-73 Jets reached the finals before losing to the New England Whalers.
Bouncing between six NHL teams brought around some interesting trades for Ab. In June, 1960, he went to Chicago from Montreal with Reg Fleming, Bob Courcy and Cecil Hoekstra for Terry Gray and Glen Skov. Four years later, in June, 1964, him and Fleming were shipped to Boston from Chicago for Doug Mohns. His time in Boston lasted just a year and McDonald went to Detroit in May, 1965 with Bob McCord and Ken Stephanson for Bob Dillabough, Ron Harris, Al Langlois and Parker MacDonald. His final trade from Pittsburgh to St. Louis was straight up for Lou Angotti.
Ab McDonald – Rookie Card
The Ab McDonald rookie card appears as number 30 in the 1958-59 Parkhurst set. The card shows him as a member of the Montreal Canadiens and is valued as a common.
You can find hockey cards showing Ab with all six NHL teams he played for. With the 1967-68 Topps set not including players from expansion teams, it’s a bit tough to find McDonald as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins. However, there is one card out there. The 1968-69 O-Pee-Chee card shows him with the Blues but the Topps version still has him as a member of the Penguins.
The 1969-70 Topps card still shows him in a Pittsburgh jersey but states he is indeed a member of the St. Louis Blues. Interestingly, there’s no ‘C’ on his Penguins jersey in the photo.
1960-61 is an interesting year for McDonald, as far as cardboard goes. He is featured in both the Parkhurst and Topps sets. Parkhurst shows him as a member of the Montreal Canadiens while Topps includes him with his new club, the Chicago Blackhawks.
Ab McDonald Career Stats
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1954-55 | St. Catharines Teepees | OHA | 49 | 33 | 37 | 70 | 20 |
| 1955-56 | St. Catharines Teepees | OHA | 48 | 49 | 34 | 83 | 24 |
| 1956-57 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 64 | 21 | 31 | 52 | 8 |
| 1957-58 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 70 | 30 | 33 | 63 | 18 |
| 1957-58 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1958-59 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 69 | 13 | 23 | 36 | 35 |
| 1959-60 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 68 | 9 | 13 | 22 | 26 |
| 1960-61 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 61 | 17 | 16 | 33 | 22 |
| 1961-62 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 65 | 22 | 18 | 40 | 8 |
| 1962-63 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 69 | 20 | 41 | 61 | 12 |
| 1963-64 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 70 | 14 | 32 | 46 | 19 |
| 1964-65 | Providence Reds | AHL | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| 1964-65 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 60 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 6 |
| 1965-66 | Memphis Wings | CPHL | 20 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 4 |
| 1965-66 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 43 | 6 | 16 | 22 | 6 |
| 1966-67 | Pittsburgh Hornets | AHL | 61 | 25 | 31 | 56 | 22 |
| 1966-67 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 12 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 1967-68 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 74 | 22 | 21 | 43 | 38 |
| 1968-69 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 68 | 21 | 21 | 42 | 12 |
| 1969-70 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 64 | 25 | 30 | 55 | 8 |
| 1970-71 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 20 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
| 1971-72 | Tidewater Wings | AHL | 41 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 4 |
| 1971-72 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 19 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| 1972-73 | Winnipeg Jets | WHA | 77 | 17 | 24 | 41 | 16 |
| 1973-74 | Winnipeg Jets | WHA | 70 | 12 | 17 | 29 | 8 |
| NHL Totals | 762 | 182 | 248 | 430 | 200 | ||
| WHA Totals | 147 | 29 | 41 | 70 | 24 |