Doug Keans Explained

Played For:Los Angeles Kings
Boston Bruins
Position:Goaltender
Catches:Left
Height Ft:5
Height In:7
Weight Lb:185
Birth Date:January 7, 1958
Birth Place:Pembroke, Ontario, Canada
Draft:94th overall
Draft Year:1978
Draft Team:Los Angeles Kings
Career Start:1978
Career End:1989

Douglas Frederick Keans (born January 7, 1958) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played nine seasons in the National Hockey League with the Los Angeles Kings and Boston Bruins between 1980 and 1988.

Playing career

In his youth, he played in the 1970 and 1971 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Barrie.[1]

Following a solid junior career with the Oshawa Generals, Keans was selected in the 6th round (94th overall) of the 1978 NHL Entry Draft by the Los Angeles Kings. He would make his debut in the 1979–80 season, posting a stellar 2.47 goals-against average in 10 games. Keans spent parts of four seasons with the Kings, but was inconsistent and never fully established himself, serving as one of several backups to incumbent starter Mario Lessard. His best season was 1981–82, when he posted an 8–10–7 record and 4.30 GAA in 31 appearances.

Keans was claimed off waivers by the Boston Bruins prior to the 1983–84 season to back up starter Pete Peeters. In Boston, he would finally settle down and play consistent hockey, establishing himself as one of the better backup goaltenders in the NHL. In his first season as a Bruin, he posted a 19–8–3 record with an excellent 3.10 GAA as well as his first two career shutouts.

While Boston cycled through starting goalies during the mid-1980s, Keans was a fixture as the backup, routinely outplaying the starter. He would spend 5 seasons in Boston, backing up Peeters, Pat Riggin, Bill Ranford and Réjean Lemelin. During this period he never won less than 14 games in a season, never finished with a record below .500, and compiled a stellar 84–46–13 record. Despite his solid performances, however, he was considered too small at 5'7" to be relied upon as a #1 netminder.

At the trade deadline near the end of the 1987–88 season, Boston would acquire star netminder Andy Moog from the Edmonton Oilers. Lemelin was now the backup, and Keans was relegated to the #3 position and sent to the minors. He would spend another season in the minors before retiring in 1989, although he would come out of retirement for two brief stints in low-end minor pro during the 1990s.

Keans finished his 9-year NHL career with 96–64–26 record and 3.50 GAA in 210 career appearances, along with 4 shutouts.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular seasonPlayoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGP W L T MIN GA SV%GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV%
1975–76Oshawa LegionairesMJBHL
1975–76Oshawa GeneralsOMJHL1 0 0 0 29 4 0 8.28
1976–77Oshawa GeneralsOMJHL48 2632 291 0 6.63
1977–78Oshawa GeneralsOMJHL42 2500 172 1 4.13 5 1 3 1 299 23 0 4.63
1978–79Saginaw GearsIHL59 3207 217 0 4.06 2 120 10 0 5.05
1979–80Los Angeles KingsNHL10 3 3 3 556 23 0 2.48 .9071 0 1 40 7 0 10.50 .650
1979–80Binghamton DustersAHL7 3 3 2 429 25 0 3.50 .874
1979–80Saginaw GearsIHL22 1070 67 1 3.76
1980–81Los Angeles KingsNHL9 2 3 1 454 37 0 4.89 .837
1980–81Houston ApollosCHL11 3 4 4 699 27 0 2.32 .912
1980–81Oklahoma City StarsCHL9 3 5 0 492 32 1 3.90 .883
1981–82Los Angeles KingsNHL31 8 10 7 1431 103 0 4.32 .8642 0 1 31 1 0 1.96 .800
1981–82New Haven NighthawksAHL13 5 5 1 686 33 2 2.89 .901
1982–83Los Angeles KingsNHL6 0 2 2 304 24 0 4.73 .826
1982–83New Haven NighthawksAHL30 13 13 2 1724 125 0 4.35 .864
1983–84Boston BruinsNHL33 19 8 3 1777 92 2 3.11 .883
1984–85Boston BruinsNHL25 16 6 3 1496 82 1 3.29 .8774 2 2 238 15 0 3.78 .864
1985–86Boston BruinsNHL30 14 13 3 1754 107 0 3.66 .863
1986–87Boston BruinsNHL36 18 8 4 1942 108 0 3.34 .8812 0 2 238 15 0 3.78 .864
1987–88Boston BruinsNHL30 16 11 0 1658 90 1 3.26 .880
1987–88Maine MarinersAHL10 8 2 0 600 34 0 3.40 .88110 5 5 617 42 0 4.08 .868
1988–89Baltimore SkipjacksAHL4 1 3 0 239 17 0 4.27 .847
1988–89Springfield IndiansAHL32 11 16 2 1737 124 0 4.28 .854
1992–93Minnesota Iron RangersAmHA8 2 6 0 481 39 0 4.86 .870
1992–93Jacksonville BulletsSunHL15 8 5 0 801 53 1 3.97 .8855 2 2 1 301 17 0 3.39
1995–96Jacksonville BulletsSHL9 5 3 0 430 53 0 5.15 .854
NHL totals210 96 64 26 11374 666 4 3.51 .8749 2 6 428 34 0 4.77 .824

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA. 2018. Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2019-01-10. 2019-03-06. https://web.archive.org/web/20190306085544/https://www.publicationsports.com/ressources/files/439/Joueurs_Pro.pdf. dead.