NHL Legend Passes Away at 80

Former NHL player and coach Wayne Maxner has died on Thursday, July 27 at the age of 80. No cause of death has been announced.

A longtime face in the game of hockey in both the NHL and in junior hockey (especially in the Ontario Hockey League as a coach), Maxner was a left winger during his playing career.

The Halifax native spent two illustrious seasons in the OHA for the Niagara Falls Flyers, where he'd become the league's MVP and leading scorer at the end of the 1962-63 season. Despite this, he'd eventually play only 62 NHL games, all for the Boston Bruins. and score 17 points.

Maxner's career as a head coach would be far more fruitful. He'd have a successful stint coaching the Windsor Spitfires (including a finals appearance in 1980) before getting an opportunity to coach the Detroit Red Wings — first for their AHL affiliate, then the big club.

Maxner missed the playoffs both seasons as bench boss in Detroit, posting a combined 34-68-27 record before being fired in 1982. He'd return to the OHL to coach the Sudbury Wolves and London Knights, sandwiched in between two more stints in Windsor.

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