Bobby Sheehan, the speedy 5-foot-7 forward who went from not playing in a regular-season game for the Rangers to becoming a playoff hero during their run to the 1979 Stanley Cup Final, died Saturday at his Massachusetts home, the Canadiens announced.
He was 77 years old. A cause of death wasn’t revealed.
“We join the hockey community in mourning the loss of Bobby Sheehan, who played an integral role in helping the Rangers advance to the Stanley Cup Final in 1979,” the Rangers said in a statement. “Our thoughts are with Bobby’s family, friends, and former teammates during this difficult time.”
Sheehan spent the entire 1978-79 season with AHL New Haven, finishing with 33 goals and 48 assists, and after the Rangers lost to the Flyers in Game 1 of their quarterfinal series, then-head coach Fred Shero summoned Sheehan from their affiliate to skate between Pat Hickey and Ron Duguay, according to a New York Times article at the time.
The move instantly paid off, as the Rangers won four consecutive games to take the series against Philadelphia, and Sheehan scored in his third match with the team.
Then, Sheehan added tallies in Games 1, 2 and 3 of their next series against the Islanders, helping the Rangers take a 2-1 lead that eventually propelled them to the Final against the Canadiens — where they fell in five games.
“[Sheehan] was just that shot in the arm, that energy, that speed he brought,” Don Maloney, a former Rangers forward and the brother of ex-Blueshirts defenseman Dave Maloney, told The Athletic in 2018. “All of a sudden, you throw him in the lineup and it just kind of opened up time and space for all of us. It was a great move, a great addition at that time. That speed was second to none back then. He had a really good run.”
Sheehan skated in 310 NHL games across a career that began during the 1969-70 campaign and lasted until 1981-82, with a 241-game stint in the World Hockey Association in between.
He started his career with Montreal and helped the Canadiens win the 1971 Stanley Cup, and Sheehan also skated in NHL games with the Golden Seals, Blackhawks, Red Wings, Rockies and Kings.
In the WHA, Sheehan spent time with the New York/New Jersey franchise, the Oilers and the Indianapolis Racers.
