Two time NCAA Frozen Four champion. 1969 NCAA Frozen Four Most Outstanding Player. Two time Stanley Cup finalist. Two time NHL leader in penalty minutes. Captain of the Chicago Blackhawks. Number 3 retired by the Blackhawks in his honour. Keith Magnuson was a fire starter as a player. His determination and heart by far outperformed his talent. For that, he will forever have a spot in the hearts of Chicago Blackhawks players and fans.
Keith Magnuson – Junior / University
Magnuson played a year of junior hockey for his hometown Saskatoon Blades of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL), predecessor to the WHL. In that 1964-65 season, Keith and fellow future NHLer Bobby Schmautz couldn’t propel the Blades higher than a sixth place finish in the eight team league over the 56 game schedule.
He then spent four years at the University of Denver from 1965-66 to 1968-69, playing for the Pioneers. Over his final three seasons, Magnuson was a First Team All-Star defenseman in the NCAA/WCHA. In 1966-67, he was named Sophomore of the Year and in his third year he was Player of the Year. Keith was a First Team All-American in his final two years.
Keith Magnuson Collection:
In 1967-68, the Pioneers played in the Frozen Four NCAA championship tournament and Denver came out on top with a 4-0 victory over North Dakota in the final game. Magnuson was a First Team All-Star defenseman for the tournament while Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender Ken Dryden, then playing for Cornell, was a Second Team All-Star.
In his final season with the University of Denver, serving as team captain, Magnuson once again led the Pioneers to a national championship. This time, the final game victory came over Ken Dryden and Cornell by a 4-3 score. Not only was Keith a First Team All-Star for the tournament, he was named Most Outstanding Player. Dryden was once again a Second Team All-Star.
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Keith Magnuson – NHL
Magnuson was undrafted and signed as a free agent with the Blackhawks in 1969. He played in the National Hockey League from 1969-70 to 1979-80, all with Chicago. Over that time, he appeared in 589 regular season games, scoring 14 and assisting on 125 for 139 points while sitting 1,442 minutes in penalties. Over 68 additional Stanley Cup playoff games, he added 12 points and 164 PIM.
Over his first two years in the NHL, Magnuson was the league’s penalty king. In 1969-70, he led the league with 213 PIM, one minute more than Carol Vadnais of the Oakland Seals. The following year, Keith led the NHL with 291 PIM, 74 more than Dennis Hextall of the California Golden Seals. In 1971-72, he dropped to second with 201 PIM, eleven minutes behind Bryan Watson of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Twice over his first four years with the Hawks, Magnuson played in a Stanley Cup final series. In 1970-71, Chicago fell to the Montreal Canadiens in seven games after holding 2-0 and 3-2 leads in the series. In 1972-73, it was once again the Habs that denied Chicago the Cup.
In his second and third years in the NHL, Magnuson played in the All-Star Game. He was team captain with the Blackhawks for three years from 1976-77 to 1978-79, taking over from Stan Mikita and being replaced in the end by Terry Ruskowski. In his final two years, injuries took over and Keith played just 26 games in 1978-79 and three in 1979-80.
His death is well-documented, so we won’t get into here. It was an unfortunate accident in December, 2003 that terribly affected the hockey world. In November, 2008, number three was retired by the Blackhawks in honour of both Keith and Pierre Pilote.
Keith Magnuson – Coach
Magnuson’s coaching career was short and, of course, all with the Chicago Blackhawks. In 1979-80, after calling it as a career as a player, Keith jumped behind the bench as assistant coach to Ed Johnston. Chicago placed first in the Smythe Division and seventh overall in the 21 team NHL. After winning in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Hawks were then swept by the Buffalo Sabres in round two.
In 1980-81, Keith took over as head coach with long time teammate with the University of Denver and the Blackhawks, Cliff Koroll, as his assistant. Chicago dropped to second in the Smythe, far behind the St. Louis Blues, and tied for tenth in the 21 team NHL with the Quebec Nordiques. In the opening round of the playoffs, the Blackhawks were swept by the Calgary Flames.
In 1981-82, Magnuson was replaced midseason by Bob Pulford. Pulford turned the team around, although placing just tied for third in the Norris Division with just 72 points, Chicago reached the semi-finals before falling in five to the Vancouver Canucks.
Keith Magnuson – Rookie Card
The Keith Magnuson rookie card appears as number 151 in the 1970-71 O-Pee-Chee set. The card is valued as a common card and, of course, shows Keith as a member of the Blackhawks. Magnuson was also on card number 73 of the 1970-71 Dad’s Cookies set. Topps did not follow suit and his first card with that company came the following year in 1971-72.
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1969-70 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 76 | 0 | 24 | 24 | 213 |
| 1970-71 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 76 | 3 | 20 | 23 | 291 |
| 1971-72 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 74 | 2 | 19 | 21 | 201 |
| 1972-73 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 77 | 0 | 19 | 19 | 140 |
| 1973-74 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 57 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 105 |
| 1974-75 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 48 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 117 |
| 1975-76 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 48 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 99 |
| 1976-77 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 37 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 86 |
| 1977-78 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 67 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 145 |
| 1978-79 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 26 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 41 |
| 1979-80 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| NHL Totals | 589 | 14 | 125 | 139 | 1442 |