By: Steve McClure | Follow me on Twitter / X @stmcclure1993
Peter McNab was born on this date in 1952. The Bruins’ ‘All-Centennial Team’ member grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia, but moved to San Diego, California, at fourteen years old. A great young athlete—he was offered a baseball scholarship to the University of Denver—McNab took to hockey, just like his father Max, a former NHL player with the Detroit Red Wings.
He was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in 1972, but on June 11, 1976, the 6-3 center was traded to Boston for Andre Savard. While in Boston, ‘Maxy’—a nickname he acquired in reverence to his father—enjoyed six straight seasons of scoring 30 plus goals. He tickled the twine for 41 in 1977-78 and for 40 in 1979-80. McNab’s 587 career points with Boston is thirteenth best on the organization’s all-time list.
McNab scored seven career hat tricks while in Boston. He also had two big-time playoff overtime goals—one against Chicago in Game Two of the 1978 quarterfinals, securing a 4-3 victory, and one in 1982 to stave off elimination vs. Quebec in Game Six, a 6-5 thriller, which forced a seventh game.
In February of the 1983–84 season, McNab was traded to Vancouver for right-wing Jim Nill. General Manager Harry Sinden was said to be looking for an aggressive and versatile forward to add to the mix, and McNab was the price he had to pay. ‘Maxy’ played for the Canucks—and later for New Jersey—before retiring after the 1986-87 season.
Stretching the course of 34 years, Peter McNab was also a successful color analyst for both the New Jersey Devils and the Colorado Avalanche. In addition, he provided studio analysis and color commentary for multiple tv outlets during the 1998, 2002, and 2006 Winter Olympics.
Honored for his lifetime contributions to hockey as both an outstanding player and broadcaster, Peter was inducted into the US Hockey Hall of Fame in 2021. McNab ranks 22nd among Americans in NHL history with 813 points in 995 regular-season games, including 363 goals and 450 assists.
After battling a relapse with cancer in 2021, Peter McNab passed away—comforted and surrounded by family—on November 6, 2022.
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