Roy Gordon Conacher (October 5, 1916 – December 29, 1984) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who was a left winger for 11 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Black Hawks. He was the NHL's leading goal-scorer in 1938–39, his first season in the league. Conacher was a member of two Stanley Cup winning teams with the Bruins and scored the championship winning goal in 1939. He won the Art Ross Trophy in 1948–49 season as the NHL's leading point scorer and was named a first team All-Star.

Conacher was a member of the Memorial Cup winning West Toronto Nationals in 1935 as Canadian junior champions and was a member of the Ontario Hockey Association senior champion Toronto Dominions in 1937. Playing in the shadow of his more famous brothers Charlie and Lionel, Roy was known as the "forgotten Conacher". He was posthumously inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1998, following his brothers to become the only trio of siblings so enshrined.

Early life

Roy Conacher was born October 5, 1916, along with his twin brother Bert, to Benjamin and Elizabeth Conacher. They were the youngest of ten siblings: five boys and five girls. The family grew up in the Toronto neighbourhood of Davenport, which his brother Charlie described as "one of Toronto's higher class slums". His father was a teamster, and struggled to earn enough money to support the family. In the winter, he ploughed the snow off outdoor skating rinks to earn additional money.

All ten children were encouraged to participate in sports by the principal of Jesse Ketchum School, who felt that such pursuits would keep his students from getting into trouble. Roy went on to join his brothers Lionel and Charlie in professional hockey. Bert was also an aspiring hockey player but his professional hopes were ended when he lost an eye in his late teens to a freak accident while the brothers were playing street hockey in front of their home. In his third season, 1935–36, Conacher led the OHA junior league in scoring with 12 goals in 10 games. In 12 Memorial Cup playoff games, Roy Conacher recorded eight goals and five assists. West Toronto won the best-of-three final in two consecutive games, 5–1 and 4–2, to capture the Dominion junior championship. Following his two seasons of senior hockey, the Bruins signed Conacher to a contract on October 23, 1938. it would be 54 years before another rookie, Teemu Selänne, would lead the league. and he scored the Stanley Cup-winning goal in the deciding contest. Conacher had only one goal during the 1941 Stanley Cup playoffs, but the Bruins were the NHL's dominant team and swept the Detroit Red Wings in the Final to win their second Stanley Cup in three years. He continued to play hockey in the Canadian military leagues, playing first for the Saskatoon RCAF team in 1942–43, then with the Dartmouth RCAF for the following two seasons. He led the Halifax city league with nine goals in 1943–44. He appeared in only four games late in the season following his discharge from the military.

Detroit and Chicago

Art Ross feared that Conacher would not be able to return to his previous form due to losing four seasons to military service when he was in his physical prime and opted to trade him. Conacher excelled with Detroit. He led the team with 30 goals and 54 points, seventh best in the league, and scored four goals in one game that were all assisted by Billy Taylor on a night where the latter player set an NHL record with seven assists.

Conacher became embroiled in a bitter contract dispute with Detroit manager Jack Adams following the season. Refusing to bow to his demands, Adams traded Conacher to the New York Rangers on October 22, 1947, in exchange for Edward Slowinski and a player to be named later. The trade to New York was nullified as a result of Conacher's failure to report. He followed that up by leading the Black Hawks in goals (26) and points (50) in 1950–51. Conacher scored his 200th career goal during the season, at the time a rare feat for an NHL player. However, the physical toll of the sport caught up to him; after playing 12 games of the 1951–52 season,

Personal life

thumb|right|Graves of Roy and Charlie Conacher at Mount Pleasant Cemetery

During his final four seasons in the NHL, Conacher lived in Midland, Ontario. He remained in the community with his wife Fran and children Roy Jr., Mark and Candace. He was buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto.

Roy was one of several members of the Conacher family to play in the NHL. Three of his nephews, Pete and Brian Conacher, and Murray Henderson all followed. Cory Conacher is also a distant relative of his. Roy was relatively anonymous compared to his more famous brothers Lionel and Charlie, and was often referred to as the "forgotten Conacher".

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| First team All-Star

| 1948–49

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Named one of the top 100 best bruins player of all time.

See also

  • List of family relations in the NHL

References

  • Career statistics: