Maxwell Douglas McNab (June 21, 1924 – September 2, 2007) was a Canadian professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...

player,

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

, and

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

(NHL) general manager. He played in the NHL with the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference, and are ...

between 1947 and 1951, winning the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

with them in 1950. The rest of his playing career, which lasted from 1945 to 1959, was spent in various minor leagues. McNab's coaching and management career included stints as the general manager of the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, a ...

and

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The club was founded as the Kan ...

between 1976 and 1987. He also spent time as president of the

Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which oper ...

; the Max McNab Trophy, awarded to the MVP of the league playoffs, would later be named in his honour. In 1998, McNab was awarded the Lester Patrick Trophy in recognition of his contributions to hockey in the United States.

Playing career

After playing junior hockey in

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

, McNab played on the

Omaha Knights The Omaha Knights was the name of three minor league professional ice hockey teams from 1959 to 1965 and from 1966 to 1975, based in Omaha, Nebraska, at the Ak-Sar-Ben Arena. The Knights were founded in 1959 as members of the International Hoc ...

of the USHL in the 1946–48 season before being called up to the

of the

in 1947. He would play on and off with the Red Wings until 1951, playing on the team that won the

in 1950, centering a line with

Gordie Howe Gordon Howe (March 31, 1928 – June 10, 2016) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. From 1946 to 1980, he played 26 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) and six seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA); his first 25 seaso ...

and Ted Lindsay. He played for the

Indianapolis Capitols The Indianapolis Capitols were a professional American football team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They played in the Continental Football League from 1968 to 1969 and Midwest Football League from 1972 to 1974 and 1977 to 1978. The team was ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the lea ...

in 1950–51. Before the 1951–52 season, he was traded by the Red Wings to the

Chicago Black Hawks (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, but never played for the team. Back surgery kept him out of action in 1951–52 and McNab then joined the

New Westminster Royals The New Westminster Royals was the name of several professional ice hockey teams based in New Westminster, British Columbia, first established in 1911 for the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA). Though nominally based in New Westminster, ...

of the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior ...

, where he played for seven seasons, retiring in 1959. He was voted league MVP in 1955, scoring 32 goals and 81 points.

Coaching and managing

In 1961, McNab became general manager and coach of the San Francisco Seals of the WHL. He was then coach of the WHL's

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce ...

and in 1966 was hired as coach and general manager of the

San Diego Gulls The San Diego Gulls are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that began play in the 2015–16 season. Based in San Diego, California, and affiliated with the National Hockey League's Anaheim Ducks, the Gulls play th ...

. He rose in the front office to vice-president by 1971. In 1974 he was named president of the

. Although he would only remain with the CHL for a year, the Max McNab Trophy, awarded to the most valuable player in the league's playoffs, would be named in his honor. Near the end of 1975, he joined the NHL as general manager of the

, succeeding Milt Schmidt. McNab remained in that job until 1982. Under his watch, the team drafted players such as Rick Green,

Ryan Walter Ryan William Walter (born April 23, 1958) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League. He was also an assistant coach with the Vancouver Canucks, head coach of the Canadian National W ...

, Mike Gartner, and Bobby Carpenter. Midway through the 1983–84 season, McNab joined the

as vice-president and general manager. He would remain their general manager until 1987, and then retired from the team and hockey in the 1990s. During his tenure as Devils' GM, players such as

Chris Terreri Christopher Arnold Terreri (born November 15, 1964) is an American professional ice hockey coach and former player. He was inducted as a charter member of the Rhode Island Hockey Hall of Fame in 2018. Playing career Terreri was drafted by the N ...

Kirk Muller Kirk Christopher Muller (born February 8, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger who played in the National Hockey League for 19 seasons from 1984–85 until 2002–03. He was also the head coach of the National Hockey League ...

, Sean Burke, and Eric Weinrich would be drafted. In 1998, McNab was recognized for his contribution to ice hockey in the United States by the NHL and

USA Hockey USA Hockey is the national ice hockey organization in the United States. It is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee as the governing body for organized ice hockey in the United ...

as co-recipient of the Lester Patrick Trophy.

Family

Two of McNab's three sons have hockey-related careers.

Peter McNab Peter Maxwell McNab (May 8, 1952 – November 6, 2022) was a Canadian-born American professional ice hockey player. He played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1973 to 1987, with the Buffalo Sabres, Boston Bruins, Vancouver Can ...

played in the NHL for 14 seasons, scoring 363 goals and 813 points, before becoming a television

color analyst A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and the ...

. David McNab spent 43 seasons working as a scout and executive for four NHL franchises before retiring in May 2021 as the senior vice president of hockey operations for the

Anaheim Ducks The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Ducks compete in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division, and play their home games at Honda Center ...

after 28 years with the club from its inaugural season. McNabs Island in Nova Scotia is named in honour of the McNab family, who first settled the island in the 1780s.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

References

External links

*
Ex-Devils GM DeadPicture of 1950 Stanley Cup plaque
{{DEFAULTSORT:McNab, Max 1924 births 2007 deaths Canadian expatriates in the United States Canadian ice hockey centres Canadian ice hockey coaches Detroit Metal Mouldings players Detroit Red Wings players Ice hockey people from Saskatchewan Indianapolis Capitals players Lester Patrick Trophy recipients National Hockey League executives New Jersey Devils executives New Westminster Royals (WHL) players Omaha Knights (USHL) players Stanley Cup champions Washington Capitals executives