Dennis McAleer Kearns (born September 27, 1945) is a Canadian former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

who spent his entire

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

career with the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. The Canucks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conferenc ...

. He is the cousin of Shawn Evans.

Playing career

His rights being held by the

Chicago Black Hawks Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Kearns served a four-year apprentice in the minor leagues, principally with the

Portland Buckaroos The Portland Buckaroos was the name of several professional ice hockey teams based in Portland, Oregon. PCHL/NWHL era (1928–1941) The first incarnation of Portland Buckaroos played their home games at the Portland Ice Arena (Oregon), Portland ...

of the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a 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 hocke ...

. Between the 1969 and 1971 seasons, Kearns was a First or Second Team league All-Star all three years. In the summer of 1971, Chicago – then being deep on defence, behind perennial All-Stars Pat Stapleton and Bill White – exposed Kearns in the Intra-League Draft, and he was claimed by Vancouver, for whom he made his NHL debut that fall. Kearns played his next ten years in Vancouver, his entire NHL career, becoming a star playmaker with noteworthy skill on offense and the power play despite his small size for a defenceman. His best years were between

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

and

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

, when, having recovered from injuries the previous two years, he averaged nearly fifty assists a season, was named to the Canadian national team at the World Championships twice, and was called by ''The Hockey News'' the "

Denis Potvin Denis Charles Potvin (born October 29, 1953) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman and Captain (ice hockey), team captain for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is a four-time Stanley Cup winner as a ...

of the West." His feats on the ice never translated to success in the playoffs; during his career Kearns played in only eleven playoff games, and the Canucks won only three playoff matches during his tenure. His production declined sharply after the 1979 season, and no longer a frontline defenceman as the team moved younger players into prominence, retired after the 1981 season.

International career

Kearns was a member of

Team Canada Canadian National Team or Team Canada may refer to: Canada at multi-sport events * Canada at the Olympics ** Canadian Olympic Committee * Canada at the Paralympics ** Canadian Paralympic Committee * Canada at the Commonwealth Games * Canada at ...

at the

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

and

1978 World Ice Hockey Championships The 1978 Ice Hockey World Championships took place in Prague, Czechoslovakia from 26 April to 14 May. Held at the Sportovní hala ČSTV in the capital city, it was the sixth time Czechoslovakia hosted the competition. Eight teams took part, with ...

Retirement

Kearns finished his career with 31 goals and 290 assists for 321 points in 677 games, adding 386 penalty minutes. His 55 assists in

remained the franchise record for defencemen until surpassed by

Quinn Hughes Quintin Hughes (born October 14, 1999) is an American professional ice hockey Defenceman, defenseman and Captain (ice hockey), captain of the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Hughes was drafted seventh overall by the Canuck ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

with 60 assists. His 321 career points was the all-time mark for Canucks defencemen for over three decades until surpassed by

Mattias Öhlund Kenneth Mattias Öhlund (born 9 September 1976) is a Swedes, Swedish former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Vancouver Canucks and Tampa Bay Lightning. Öhlund played two seasons in the Swe ...

at the end of the 2009 season. His 290 career assists stood as the franchise record for defenceman until being overtaken by

Alexander Edler Ulf Niklas Alexander Edler (born 21 April 1986) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey defenceman who played 17 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Vancouver Canucks and the Los Angeles Kings. He was drafted out of Sweden's ...

in 2020. In retirement, he and his family live in Vancouver, where he owns an insurance business. His son, Bracken Kearns, also played hockey professionally with the

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Panthers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team initially played it ...

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. The Sharks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Con ...

, and

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (N ...

before retiring in 2019.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kearns, Dennis 1945 births Living people Canada men's national ice hockey team players Canadian ice hockey defencemen Dallas Black Hawks players Ice hockey people from Kingston, Ontario Portland Buckaroos players Vancouver Canucks players 20th-century Canadian sportsmen