Forbes Kennedy, the tenacious centre from Prince Edward Island who spent 13 seasons in professional hockey and became one of the most penalized players of his era, died on May 26, 2026 in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. He was 90.
Born August 18, 1935 in Dorchester, New Brunswick and raised in PEI, Kennedy was never the biggest player on the ice — he stood 5’8″ and weighed 150 pounds — but he played as though the size differential was someone else’s problem. Over 603 NHL games with the Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers, and Toronto Maple Leafs, he recorded 70 goals, 108 assists, and 888 penalty minutes. He led the entire NHL in penalty minutes during the 1968-69 season, an achievement that tells you everything you need to know about how he approached the game.
The moment that defined his reputation — and ended his time with the Maple Leafs — came during the 1969 Stanley Cup playoffs in Boston. When teammate Pat Quinn delivered a thunderous hit on Bruins star Bobby Orr, knocking him unconscious, Kennedy responded in the fashion that was entirely consistent with his career: he got into four fights before punching a linesman and getting ejected. The suspension that followed was lengthy. His tenure in Toronto was over. The hockey world shook its head. The hockey world was also not entirely surprised.
After retiring as a player, Kennedy returned to the game he loved as a coach, working his way through a string of junior and minor league assignments across the Maritimes and beyond. He coached the Cape Breton Metros in their very first year of existence in 1969-70, the Halifax Junior Canadians, the Summerside Crystals, and later the Summerside Western Capitals from 2004 to 2007, earning a Forbes Kennedy Night in his honour from that organisation in January 2012. He went home to PEI and stayed, coaching junior hockey for years, giving back to the game that had defined his life.
He was 90 years old. In a sport that has always needed players willing to protect their teammates regardless of the consequences, Forbes Kennedy was exactly that player, every single night.

