Rick Kehoe

Richard Thomas Kehoe (born July 15, 1951) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and coach. He was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1971 NHL entry draft but spent most of his professional career with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Upon his retirement in 1985, Kehoe ranked first among the Penguins' scoring leaders.

Playing career Kehoe played junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey Association with the London Knights and the Hamilton Red Wings. He was drafted in the second round (22nd overall) by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1971 NHL entry draft.

He played in 32 games with the Tulsa Oilers of the Central Hockey League in 1971 before being promoted to the Maple Leafs midway through the 1972 season. He led the Leafs in goal scoring during the 1973 season with 33 goals.

Kehoe was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1974 and spent the remainder of his playing days with the Penguins. A notably clean player—he recorded 120 penalty minutes in a 14-season career—he won the Lady Byng Trophy in 1981, during which he scored a career best 55 goals. He retired after the 1985 season as the Penguins' career scoring leader, though most of his records were later shattered by Mario Lemieux. He currently ranks fifth in points behind Lemieux, Jaromír Jágr, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

In his playing career, he played in 906 NHL games, scoring 371 goals and 396 assists for 767 points, and accrued 120 penalty minutes. In 39 playoff games, he scored 4 goals and 17 assists for 21 points with 4 penalty minutes.

Awards and achievements Won the Lady Byng Trophy in 1980–1981. Played in the NHL All-Star Game in 1981 and 1983. Member of the Trib Total Media Penguins All-Time Team and the Pittsburgh Penguins Hall of Fame Pictured up in the Ring of Honor that formerly circled in the Pittsburgh Civic Arena

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1969–70 London Knights OHA 23 3 2 5 6 — — — — — 1969–70 Hamilton Red Wings OHA 32 2 4 6 7 — — — — — 1970–71 Hamilton Red Wings OHA 58 39 41 80 43 7 4 0 4 2 1971–72 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 38 8 8 16 4 2 0 0 0 2 1971–72 Tulsa Oilers CHL 32 18 21 39 20 — — — — — 1972–73 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 77 33 42 75 20 — — — — — 1973–74 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 69 18 22 40 8 — — — — — 1974–75 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 76 32 31 63 22 9 0 2 2 0 1975–76 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 71 29 47 76 6 3 0 0 0 0 1976–77 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 80 30 27 57 10 3 0 2 2 0 1977–78 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 70 29 21 50 10 — — — — — 1978–79 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 57 27 18 45 2 7 0 2 2 0 1979–80 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 79 30 30 60 4 5 2 5 7 0 1980–81 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 80 55 33 88 6 5 0 3 3 0 1981–82 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 71 33 52 85 8 5 2 3 5 2 1982–83 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 75 29 36 65 12 — — — — — 1983–84 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 57 18 27 45 8 — — — — — 1984–85 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 6 0 2 2 0 — — — — — NHL totals 906 371 396 767 120 39 4 17 21 4

Coaching career Kehoe became Director of Pro Scouting for the Penguins in 1985 and was named an assistant coach in 1986. Kehoe's name was engraved on the Stanley Cup with Pittsburgh in 1991 and 1992. He remained in the Penguins organization as a scout or assistant coach until 2002.

Four games into the 2001–02 season, Kehoe took over for former Czech Olympic coach Ivan Hlinka as head coach of the Penguins. Kehoe served as head coach of the Penguins from 2002 to 2003, amassing a 55–81–14 record. Kehoe was replaced by Ed Olczyk after the 2002–03 season. His final stint as a coach in the organization was as interim coach for the minor-league Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins when Michel Therrien was called up to Pittsburgh as head coach; the Baby Pens had a 2–1 record in the three games Kehoe was behind the bench.

On September 18, 2006, he was named to the professional scouting staff for the New York Rangers.

Kehoe was inducted into the Pittsburgh Penguins Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Western Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 1995. He currently resides in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania.

Coaching record Team Year Regular season Postseason G W L T OTL Pts Finish G W L Result Pittsburgh Penguins 2001–02 78 28 37 8 5 69 5th in Atlantic — — — Missed playoffs Pittsburgh Penguins 2002–03 82 27 44 6 5 65 5th in Atlantic — — — Missed playoffs NHL totals 158 55 81 14 10