He was often compared to his Montreal Canadiens counterpart Henri Richard. Indeed, Dave Keon and Richard both had soft hands, great leadership skills and were both on the smaller end for National Hockey League players when it came to physical stature. Both were recently recognized by the NHL, named to the league’s centennial top 100 players.
Keon starred with the Toronto Maple Leafs for nearly a decade and a half before jumping to the World Hockey Association in 1975-76. He returned to the NHL for an encore appearance after the WHA merged into the NHL for the 1979-80 season, appearing in three more campaigns with the Hartford Whalers before retiring from the game.
Junior and Minor Pro
NHL Career
Hockey Card Collection
WHA Career
Rookie Card
Career Stats
Dave Keon – Junior and Minor Pro
Dave Keon played parts of four seasons of junior hockey with the Toronto St. Michael’s Majors from 1956-57 to 1959-60. Over that time, he scored 73 and assisted on 97 for 170 points over 142 regular season games.
In 1958-59, the Majors finished fourth in the seven team league with a below .500 average. Yet, St. Michael’s reached the finals before losing a tight series to the Scotty Bowman coached Peterborough TPT Petes. Over eight games, Peterborough won three while Toronto won two, in addition to three ties.
The following year, the Majors again finished fourth of seven but with a better record. They reached the finals yet again, this time losing out to the Chico Maki led St. Catherines Teepees. In net for Toronto was the duo of Gerry Cheevers and Dave Dryden.
During the regular season, Keon placed seventh in the league with 33 goals. His 38 assists were good for sixth while his 71 points placed him seventh in the race for the Eddie Powers Trophy.
At the end of that 1959-60 season, Dave played his first and last games of minor pro hockey. he appeared in four EPHL playoff games for the Sudbury Wolves. In those four games, he scored two and assisted on two. The Wolves reached the finals before losing the championship to the Montreal Royals.
Dave Keon – NHL
Between 1960-61 and 1974-75, then from 1979-80 to 1981-82, Dave Keon played in 1,296 regular season National Hockey League games. His first stint was with the Toronto Maple Leafs and his final three years were with the Hartford Whalers. Over that time, Keon scored 396 and assisted on 590 for 986 points while sitting just 117 minutes in the penalty box.
Dave Keon Collection
The video is worth a look – it includes the NHL hockey card journey of Dave Keon from 1961-62 Parkhurst to 1981-82 O-Pee-Chee. Also included are all Keon’s WHA cards. To view in a larger screen, click on the title or click the play button in the middle then the YouTube button at the bottom.
In the Stanley Cup playoffs, Keon appeared in 92 games, adding 32 goals and 36 assists. Despite the four Stanley Cup championships and a Conn Smythe Trophy, the remarkable thing about Dave in the playoffs is the total of three minor penalties over those 92 games, spread over parts of three decades.
Clean, gentlemanly play was definitely defined Keon’s style of play. He was twice awarded the Lady Byng Trophy in the NHL and was often in close running for the award. He won in 1961-62 and 1962-63 with the Maple Leafs, sitting just a single minor penalty in each of those two campaigns. In both those years, he did not receive a single penalty in the playoffs. He would later earn similar honours in the World Hockey Association.
Keon’s career started with a bang in 1960-61. His 20 goals in 70 games marked the first of eleven seasons when he would score 20 or more with Toronto. Dave was honoured with the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s rookie of the year.
There was no sophomore jinx for Dave. In 1961-62, his 26 goals tied him for eighth in the NHL with Norm Ullman and Alex Delvecchio of the Detroit Red Wings, along with Earl Ingarfield of the New York Rangers.
1961-62 would also be the first of three consecutive Stanley Cup championships for Toronto and the first of four for Dave over his career. Keon was named a Second Team All-Star at centre, behind Stan Mikita of the Chicago Blackhawks.
He improved to 28 goals in 1962-63, taking sole possession of the eighth spot. In the playoffs, Keon led the Maple Leafs in the playoffs with 12 points in ten games. However, Gordie Howe and Norm Ullman of the Red Wings tied for the playoff lead with 16 points each over eleven games.
Dave’s fourth and final Stanley Cup championship came in 1966-67 with Toronto beating the Canadiens in the finals for the title. Keon was honoured with the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs.
Keon was a three time 30+ goal scorer in the NHL. In 1970-71, he tied for sixth with Gilbert Perreault of the Buffalo Sabres, both with 38 goals, one ahead of Bobby Orr and Yvan Cournoyer. His 76 points that year tied him for ninth with Fred Stanfield of the Bruins and Jean Beliveau of the Habs.
From 1969-70 to 1974-75, Dave Keon was team captain for the Maple Leafs. He replaced George Armstrong and was replaced by Darryl Sittler. In his final season with the Hartford Whalers, Keon also wore the ‘C’. He replaced Mike Rogers and was replaced by Russ Anderson.
In 1979-80, his first year back in the National Hockey League, Keon put up a respectable 52 assists and 62 points over 76 games. The following year, he set a dubious career best. In 1980-81, Dave ventured onto the wild side with 26 penalty minutes, more than double his previous most of 12 in 1968-69.
In 1986, Keon was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, along with Leo Boivin and Serge Savard. His number 14 has been retired by the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Dave Keon – WHA
Between 1975-76 and 1978-79, Dave Keon played 301 regular season games in the World Hockey Association with the Minnesota Fighting Saints (both incarnations), Indianapolis Racers and New England Whalers.
Keeping up with his gentlemanly play, Keon was awarded the Paul Deneau Trophy in both 1976-77 and 1977-78.
Dave played in 36 playoff games in the WHA, adding 36 points. He was denied an Avco World Trophy championship but came close in 1977-78. The Harry Neale coached New England Whalers reached the finals before losing to the Winnipeg Jets. His 16 points in 14 games led a Whalers team that had the Howe family, Mike Rogers and John McKenzie in the lineup.
Dave Keon was inducted into the WHA Hall of Fame in the inaugural year of 2010.
Dave Keon – Rookie Card
The Dave Keon rookie card appears as number 5 in the 1961-62 Parkhurst NHL hockey card set. He is, of course, shown with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Keon’s final card is included in the 1981-82 O-Pee-Chee NHL set as number 129 and as a member of the Hartford Whalers.
His 1970-71 O-Pee-Chee card did well to predict that season’s outcome. It is mentioned on the back that Keon has a good chance of breaking the NHL record for most shorthanded goals in a single season. At the time, the record was seven.
In 1970-71, Dave in fact scored eight shorties to break the record. That count remains a Maple Leafs record to this day, shared with Dave Reid (1990-91). His 32 career shorthanded goals is also a Toronto record.
Dave Keon Career Stats
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1956-57 | Toronto St. Michael’s | OHA | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| 1957-58 | Toronto St. Michael’s | OHA | 45 | 23 | 27 | 50 | 28 |
| 1958-59 | Toronto St. Michael’s | OHA | 46 | 16 | 29 | 45 | 0 |
| 1959-60 | Toronto St. Michael’s | OHA | 47 | 33 | 38 | 71 | 0 |
| 1959-60 | Sudbury Wolves | EPHL | Playoffs Only | ||||
| 1960-61 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 20 | 25 | 45 | 6 |
| 1961-62 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 64 | 26 | 35 | 61 | 2 |
| 1962-63 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 68 | 28 | 28 | 56 | 2 |
| 1963-64 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 23 | 37 | 60 | 6 |
| 1964-65 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 65 | 21 | 29 | 50 | 10 |
| 1965-66 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 69 | 24 | 30 | 54 | 4 |
| 1966-67 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 66 | 19 | 33 | 52 | 2 |
| 1967-68 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 67 | 11 | 37 | 48 | 4 |
| 1968-69 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 75 | 27 | 34 | 61 | 12 |
| 1969-70 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 72 | 32 | 30 | 62 | 6 |
| 1970-71 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 76 | 38 | 38 | 76 | 4 |
| 1971-72 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 72 | 18 | 30 | 48 | 4 |
| 1972-73 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 76 | 37 | 36 | 73 | 2 |
| 1973-74 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 74 | 25 | 28 | 53 | 7 |
| 1974-75 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 78 | 16 | 43 | 59 | 4 |
| 1975-76 | Minnesota Fighting Saints | WHA | 57 | 26 | 38 | 64 | 4 |
| 1975-76 | Indianapolis Racers | WHA | 12 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 2 |
| 1976-77 | New England Whalers | WHA | 34 | 14 | 25 | 39 | 8 |
| 1976-77 | Minnesota Fighting Saints | WHA | 42 | 13 | 38 | 51 | 2 |
| 1977-78 | New England Whalers | WHA | 77 | 24 | 38 | 62 | 2 |
| 1978-79 | New England Whalers | WHA | 79 | 22 | 43 | 65 | 2 |
| 1979-80 | Hartford Whalers | NHL | 76 | 10 | 52 | 62 | 10 |
| 1980-81 | Hartford Whalers | NHL | 80 | 13 | 34 | 47 | 26 |
| 1981-82 | Hartford Whalers | NHL | 78 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 6 |
| NHL Totals | 1296 | 396 | 590 | 986 | 117 | ||
| WHA Totals | 301 | 102 | 189 | 291 | 20 | ||