- Former Canadiens center Bobby Sheehan has died
- He won the Stanley Cup with Montreal in 1971 and later piled up points in the WHA
- Read below for a look back at his career
Bobby Sheehan, a member of the Montreal Canadiens’ 1971 Stanley Cup championship team, has died.
The NHL Alumni Association announced the news Monday, and the Canadiens followed with word of their own. The Weymouth, Massachusetts native was a smaller center who bounced around pro hockey for well over a decade.
Montreal drafted Sheehan 32nd overall in 1969 out of the St. Catharines Black Hawks. He played 45 regular season games for the Canadiens over two seasons and was part of the roster that won the Cup in 1971.
California gave him the bigger role. Sheehan joined the Golden Seals for 1971-72 and put up 20 goals and 26 assists in 78 games, the best NHL season of his career.
The WHA was where he really scored. His 1972-73 year with the New York Raiders produced 35 goals and 53 assists for 88 points in 75 games. He stayed with the franchise as it became the Golden Blades and the Jersey Knights, then moved on to the Edmonton Oilers through 1974-75.
Sheehan came back to the NHL with the Chicago Black Hawks in 1975-76 and played for the Detroit Red Wings the following year. He went back to the WHA with the Indianapolis Racers in 1977-78. After that, he split time between the Rangers, Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Kings, plus stops in the AHL and CHL, before retiring in 1983. He finished with 310 NHL games.
His 1979 run with the Rangers might be the neatest bit of his story. New York called him up for the playoffs and he made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final, where the Rangers lost to the Canadiens, the team that drafted him.
It’s the latest loss for the hockey world, coming days after the death of Hall of Fame linesman Matt Pavelich.
We at Gino Hard send our condolences to Sheehan’s family, friends, and former teammates.
