Pete Mahovlich

Pete Mahovlich
Date of birth	October 10, 1946
place of birth	Timmins , Ontario , Canada
Nickname	Big M
size	196 cm
Weight	95 kg
position	center
Shot hand	Left
Draft
NHL Amateur Draft	1963 , 1st lap, 2nd position Detroit Red Wings
Career stations
1962-1963	St. Michael's Buzzers
1963-1966	Hamilton Red Wings
1966-1969	Detroit Red Wings
1969-1977	Montréal Canadiens
1977-1979	Pittsburgh Penguins
1979-1981	Detroit Red Wings
1981-1982	Adirondack Red Wings

Peter Joseph "Pete" Mahovlich (born October 10, 1946 in Timmins , Ontario ) is a former Canadian ice hockey player (center) and coach who worked for the Detroit Red Wings , Montréal Canadiens and Pittsburgh Penguins in the National Hockey League from 1965 to 1981 played.

Career

Mahovlich played in 1963, at the age of 16, with the juniors for the Hamilton Red Wings in the Ontario Hockey Association , where he caused a sensation as the team's second best scorer in his rookie year . Hamilton was the then training team of the Detroit Red Wings , who had signed Mahovlich second in the 1963 NHL Amateur Draft . It was also the first draft in NHL history. The name Mahovlich was already known in the NHL by his brother Frank , who had won the Stanley Cup twice with the Toronto Maple Leafs .

In the 1965/66 season Mahovlich came to his first three appearances in the NHL. He was the largest physically player in the league at the time and after his impressive performance in the juniors, the Red Wings management had great expectations of the young player. This pressure was also increased by his brother, who was one of the stars in the NHL. After Frank was nicknamed "Big M" , his older brother Pete was named "Little M" . In Mahovlich's second season in Detroit, his brother also moved to the Red Wings team, but Pete only played 34 games and was often on the farm team at the Pittsburgh Hornets in the American Hockey League . After he could not assert himself in his third and fourth seasons, he toyed with the idea of ​​ending his career.

However, the manager of the Montréal Canadiens , Sam Pollock , was impressed by the physically strong Mahovlich and brought him into his team for the 1969/70 season . In return, Garry Monahan , who was the only player drafted before Pete in 1963, went to the Red Wings. In Montreal, too, he initially commuted between the NHL and the farm team, but the 17 points that he got in his first year with the Canadiens were only two fewer than in the four years in Detroit. To prevent injuries to his weight, he now used knee pads. His final breakthrough came in his second year with the Habs. With 61 points in the 1970/71 season was among the best scorers of his team, which just reached the playoffs. He played in a row with Henri Richard . In the first round they met the top favorites, the Boston Bruins . With an outstanding Ken Dryden in goal, but also eight goals from Mahovlich, they eliminated the favorite and were able to win the Stanley Cup for Montréal after two more series won.

At the Summit Series 1972 Mahovlich was in the Canadian selection. In the decisive game, Paul Henderson called out to him seconds before the end to come on the bench. Henderson scored the decisive goal and Mahovlich made it possible with one of the most widely noticed substitutions.

Together with his storm partners Guy Lafleur and Steve Shutt , he scored more than 100 points twice in the following years. In the 1976 NHL All-Star Game , he scored one goal and prepared three more. For this he was voted the most valuable player in the game. He won the Stanley Cup three more times before he was handed over to the Pittsburgh Penguins together with Peter-John Lee in November 1977 . In his two seasons with the Penguins, he was one of the team's most successful attackers.

For the 1979/80 season Mahovlich returned to the Detroit Red Wings. The now 33-year-old Mahovlich received a five-year contract from trainer and general manager Ted Lindsay , which brought him a million dollars. In the course of his second season, however, he was seriously injured. When he returned to the squad, Lindsay had been replaced as coach and manager. He played another year on the farm team with the Adirondack Red Wings , with whom he won the Calder Cup , before retiring from his NHL career.

In 1985 he coached the Toledo Goaldiggers in the International Hockey League and returned to the ice for 23 games. In the following years he coached various teams in the lower leagues .

After his active career, he worked as a scout for the Edmonton Oilers , Tampa Bay Lightning and Atlanta Thrashers and commented for a TV station in Montreal. In 2000, doctors diagnosed him with prostate cancer .

NHL statistics

	Seasons	Games	Gates	Assists	Points	Penalty minutes
Regular season	16	884	288	485	773	916
Playoffs	8th	88	30th	42	72	134

Sporting successes

• Stanley Cup : 1971 , 1973 , 1976 , 1977
• Calder Cup : 1967, 1981

Personal awards

• All-Star Game MVP: 1976
• Participation in the NHL All-Star Game : 1971 , 1976

Team records

• 82 assists in one season for the Montréal Canadiens ( 1974/75 )

Web links

• Pete Mahovlich at hockeydb.com (English)
• Pete Mahovlich at legendsofhockey.net (English)