Buddy O'Connor


Herbert William "Buddy" O'Connor was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who played for the Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers in the National Hockey League.

Playing career

O'Connor played for the Montreal Canadiens from 1941 to 1947 and won two Stanley Cups during his career in 1944 and 1946 while playing for the Canadiens.
In 1947, O'Connor was traded to the New York Rangers. He had 60 points that season, finishing second to Montreal's Elmer Lach in the scoring race. He was also awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy and Lady Byng Memorial Trophy and was the first player to win both in the same year. These achievements were reflected in his being named Canada's athlete of the year for 1948.
O'Connor played for the Rangers until 1951. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988, becoming the first inductee into the now defunct Veteran category.
In the 2009 book 100 Ranger Greats, the authors ranked O'Connor at No. 38 all-time of the 901 New York Rangers who had played during the team's first 82 seasons.

Career statistics

Personal

In the mid-1950s, Danny Gallivan was known to assist with the Department of Education's Physical Fitness Division's annual hockey school in PEI, along with NHL chief referee Roy Storey and NHL star Buddy O'Connor.