Kevin Maguire

Kevin Maguire was a hard-nosed right winger for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Buffalo Sabres and Philadephia Flyers over 6 NHL seasons. He was a grinder, a role player, a Don Cherry favorite.

Kevin signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a free agent prior to the 1984-85 campaign. He then spent two years with the Leafs' AHL farm club, the St. Catharines Saints of the AHL. It was in St. Catharines that Maguire came upon the man he credits for making the biggest difference in his professional hockey career: Saints coach John Brophy.

"He was the guy who got the most out of you. He just worked you and worked you and demanded you to be better and get better. It was tough years with Brophy but when you look back at it if you didn't have a guy that was so hard on you like that I may have never made it."

Kevin did make it. His first taste of NHL action came with the with the Leafs in 1986-87. Despite some spirited play, Maguire failed to pick up a point and spent most of the year in the minors. The next year he joined Buffalo as the Sabres picked up the right winger on waivers.

Kevin played almost 3 full seasons in Buffalo. He had a career year in 1988-89 when he set personal highs in points with 18 and penalty minutes with 241. Maguire's body-banging play made him a fan favorite in the small Memorial Auditorium. Maguire was traded to Philly at the trading deadline of the 1989-90 season but he only appeared in 5 games for the Orange and Black, picking up one goal.

The Leafs realized that they made a mistake letting Maguire slip away from the organization. So they reacquired the Toronto native from Philadelphia in the summer of 1990. Maguire played parts of two seasons with the Leafs. But he finished his pro career where it started - with the Leafs farm team, now located in St. John's Newfoundland.

Maguire retired at the end of 1992. He left the NHL with 59 points and 782 penalty minutes in 260 regular season games. But his career in hockey was far from over.

Maguire turned to officiating, first as a linesman and later a referee at many levels, including the National Hockey League. He later left the ice to move into a business career. His contacts in the business world must have been plentiful, as in 2009 he was acknowledged as the head of a group trying to land a second NHL franchise in the greater Toronto area.