Former NHLer Mark Kirton passes away at 67
The Toronto Maple Leafs and Vancouver Canucks have announced the passing of former center Mark Kirton.
We are saddened to learn of the passing of Mark Kirton following a battle with ALS.
Mark made his NHL debut with the blue and white and would go on to spend 8 seasons in the NHL. In 2018, he was diagnosed with ALS and in 2020 he founded ALS Action Canada with PALS (Patients with… pic.twitter.com/hYO7lMWcD6
We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of #Canucks alumni Mark Kirton after his courageous battle with ALS.
Mark spent the latter part of his NHL career in Vancouver, appearing in 119 games as a Canuck. Following his diagnosis, he became a tireless advocate, founding ALS… pic.twitter.com/d4yKbccwtN
Kirton passes after a seven-year battle with amyotrophic lateral schlerosis (ALS), a disorder former known as Lou Gehrig’s disease that affects a person’s motor neurons.
Kirton was diagnosed with the disease in 2018, and became an avid advocate in the fight against it, founding ALS Action Canada to raise awareness and help find a cure. The Leafs Alumni Association recognized his efforts by naming him the recipient for the Carl Brewer Memorial Award.
Kirton spent parts of six seasons in the NHL with the Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, and Canucks, putting together a career that totaled 57 goals and 56 assists for 113 points in 266 games, as well as one goal and two assists for three points in four playoff games.
Originally the 48th-overall pick in the third round of the 1978 NHL Amateur Draft by the Maple Leafs, Toronto drafted him after three strong seasons in the OHA where he totaled 67 goals and 106 assists for 173 points in 179 games with the Peterborough Petes. He was one of five players taken in the third round to play at least 250 NHL games.
He spent his first professional season in the AHL with the Leafs’ minor-league affiliate, the New Brunswick Hawks before making his NHL debut at the start of the 1979-80 season, scoring his first NHL goal 9:54 into his first game against the New York Rangers. He played in one more game before spending the rest of the season in the AHL, and then played another 11 games with the Leafs the following season before he was dealt to the Red Wings for Jim Rutherford on December 4th, 1980.
Kirton’s best years were spent with the Red Wings, as he managed to get 18 goals and 31 points in 50 games in the 1980-81 season after the trade. He followed that up with 14 goals and 42 points in 74 games the following season, which would be the most productive season of his NHL career. However, he spent the 1982-83 season in-between the NHL and the AHL, and then was dealt to the Canucks for Ivan Boldirev on January 17th, 1983.
Kirton spent a majority of the rest of his season that year in the NHL, eventually getting into his first and only playoff action of his career, playing in all four games of the Canucks’ first round loss to the Calgary Flames. He played two more seasons split between the NHL and AHL, but managed to get one last productive season in with 17 goals and 22 points in 62 games in his final NHL season.
Kirton spent another two seasons with the Canucks organization playing entirely in the AHL with their affiliate, the Fredericton Express, and then returned to the Maple Leafs organization and played two more seasons in the AHL with Toronto’s newly-named affiliate, the Newmarket Saints before calling it a career.