Peter McNab: Overlooked Goal Scorer For the Boston Bruins

With so many stars on those Boston Bruins of the 1970’s, it’s easy to overlook Peter McNab. Yet, McNab scored a healthy 363 goals over a 954 regular season game NHL career. For six straight seasons with Boston, Peter topped the 30 goal plateau. In two of those seasons, he went north of 40. Unlike some of his teammates on the Big Bad Bruins, McNab spent very little time in the penalty box, collecting just 179 PIM over his career.

Peter McNab – University and Minor Pro

McNab originally went to the University of Denver on a baseball scholarship but quickly established himself as a star on the ice. Over his three years from 1970-71 to 1972-73, he scored 78 goals and assisted on 92 over just 105 games. In his final year with Denver, the team reached the NCAA final game before falling to the University of Wisconsin. Peter was named and All-Tournament All-Star.

Peter McNab Collection

His only minor action came in 1973-74, his first year of pro hockey. His time with the Cincinnati Swords of the American Hockey League was limited to 49 games because he also dressed for 22 games with the Buffalo Sabres. Over those 49 games, McNab scored 34 and assisted on 39 for 73 points. He led the Swords in assists and points and was just outside the top ten in the AHL for goals and points, despite missing so many games.

Yet, it was future teammate Rick Middleton of the Providence Reds that took rookie of the year honours in 1973-74, earning the Dudley ‘Red’ Garrett Memorial Award. In five Calder Cup playoff games with Cincinnati, McNab kept up the pace with eight points.

Peter McNab – NHL

Originally, Peter was a lowly sixth round pick by the Buffalo Sabres at the 1972 NHL Amateur Draft, 85th overall. Over his National Hockey League career, McNab appeared in 954 regular season games between 1973-74 and 1986-87. Over that time, he scored 363 and assisted on 450 for 813 points while sitting just 179 minutes in the penalty box. Over that time, he played for the Buffalo Sabres, Boston Bruins, Vancouver Canucks and New Jersey Devils.

McNab played a healthy 107 games in the Stanley Cup playoffs. He did his part, scoring 40 and assisting on 42 for 82 points. He stayed true to character with just 20 PIM. Never a Stanley Cup champion, Peter went to the finals three times. In 1974-75, he played for Buffalo as they fell to the Philadelphia Flyers. In both 1976-77 and 1977-78, he played for the Bruins as the were topped by the Montreal Canadiens. He is also the only Bruin to date to be awarded a penalty shot in the playoffs. He did not score.

Despite his honest play, Peter was never awarded the Lady Byng Trophy. In 1977-78, he sat just two minor penalties. Yet, it was Butch Goring of the Los Angeles Kings taking the Byng. Goring took just one minor penalty while playing the full 80 game schedule.

Over his career, McNab was a 20 goal scorer in ten of his seasons. He finished among the NHL’s top ten goal scorers twice. In 1976-77, he tied for eighth with Darryl Sittler of the Toronto Maple Leafs with 38 goals. In 1977-78, Peter tied for seventh with Gilbert Perreault of the Buffalo Sabres and Bill Barber of the Philadelphia Flyers, all with 41 goals.

He was shipped from Boston to Vancouver in February, 1984 for Jim Nill. Nill played parts of the 1983-84 and 1984-85 NHL season with the Bruins. He had a 524 game career that spanned from 1981-82 to 1989-90 that saw him play with the St. Louis Blues, Vancouver, Boston, Winnipeg Jets and Detroit Red Wings.

McNab played on the international stage just once. In 1986, he played for the United States at the IIHF World Championships in Moscow, Russia. He had just an assist over ten games and the U.S. finished out of the medal round.

Peter McNab – Hockey Family

Peter’s father Max played pro hockey from 1946-47 to 1958-59 in the IHL, AHL, NHL and WHL. In the National Hockey League, he played 128 regular season and 25 playoff games with the Red Wings. He won a Stanley Cup with Detroit in 1949-50 with the Red Wings beating the New York Rangers in the finals. He went on to spend many years in coaching and management at various levels of pro hockey and was the first general manager of the Washington Capitals.

Peter’s brother David McNab played with the University of Wisconsin but never went pro. He was selected by the St. Louis Blues in the ninth round of the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft, 151st overall. David was also taken in the 12th round of the 1975 WHA Amateur Draft, 151st overall, by the Cincinnati Stingers. He has been involved in the NHL since 1978-79 with various teams in various capacities. David has been Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations with the Anaheim Ducks since 2008-09.

Peter McNab – Rookie Card

The Peter McNab rookie card appears as number 252 in the 1975-76 O-Pee-Chee and Topps sets. He is shown with the Buffalo Sabres and the card is valued at around four times that of a common card.

His final card is interesting, the 1984-85 O-Pee-Chee number 326. He is shown with the Canucks in their classic ‘V’ jersey. Beside him is Billy Smith of the New York Islanders in a cameo role. Note that he’s not wearing a bucket. McNab would play two more years with the New Jersey Devils but would not get his face on cardboard again.

Peter McNab Career Stats

Season	Team	Lge	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1973-74	Cincinnati Swords	AHL	49	34	39	73	16
1973-74	Buffalo Sabres	NHL	22	3	6	9	2
1974-75	Buffalo Sabres	NHL	53	22	21	43	8
1975-76	Buffalo Sabres	NHL	79	24	32	56	16
1976-77	Boston Bruins	NHL	80	38	48	86	11
1977-78	Boston Bruins	NHL	79	41	39	80	4
1978-79	Boston Bruins	NHL	76	35	45	80	10
1979-80	Boston Bruins	NHL	74	40	38	78	10
1980-81	Boston Bruins	NHL	80	37	46	83	24
1981-82	Boston Bruins	NHL	80	36	40	76	19
1982-83	Boston Bruins	NHL	74	22	52	74	23
1983-84	Boston Bruins	NHL	52	14	16	30	10
1983-84	Vancouver Canucks	NHL	13	1	6	7	10
1984-85	Vancouver Canucks	NHL	75	23	25	48	10
1985-86	New Jersey Devils	NHL	71	19	24	43	14
1986-87	New Jersey Devils	NHL	46	8	12	20	8
	NHL Totals		954	363	450	813	179