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Roy Gordon Conacher (October 5, 1916 – December 29, 1984) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who was a left winger for 11 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Black Hawks. He was the NHL's leading goal-scorer in 1938–39, his first season in the league. Conacher was a member of two Stanley Cup winning teams with the Bruins and scored the championship winning goal in 1939. He won the Art Ross Trophy in 1948–49 season as the NHL's leading point scorer and was named a first team All-Star.
Conacher was a member of the Memorial Cup winning West Toronto Nationals in 1935 as Canadian junior hockey champions and was a member of the Ontario Hockey Association senior champion Toronto Dominions in 1937. Playing in the shadow of his more famous brothers Charlie Conacher and Lionel Conacher, Roy was known as the "forgotten Conacher". He was posthumously inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1998, following his brothers to become the only trio of siblings so enshrined.
All ten children were encouraged to participate in sports by the principal of Jesse Ketchum School, who felt that such pursuits would keep his students from getting into trouble. Roy joined his elder brothers in playing hockey, and having started younger than they had, was regarded as a better skater. Roy went on to join his brothers Lionel Conacher and Charlie Conacher in professional hockey. Bert was also an aspiring hockey player but his professional hopes were ended when he lost an eye in his late teens to a freak accident while the brothers were playing street hockey in front of their home.
Conacher remained a leading offensive threat throughout his tenure with Boston; he was one of the NHL's top ten scorers in his first four seasons, including the 1939–40 season despite missing 16 games due to a broken wrist. He also finished second in goals in both 1940–41 and 1941–42 with 24 goals in each campaign. By 1941, he had joined with Eddie Wiseman and Bill Cowley to form the "Three Gun Line", so named because all three players were considered top scoring threats. Conacher had only one goal during the 1941 Stanley Cup playoffs, but the Bruins were the NHL's dominant team and swept the Detroit Red Wings in the Final to win their second Stanley Cup in three years.
In 1942, Conacher left the Bruins to enlist in the Royal Canadian Air Force for the duration of the Second World War where he served as a physical training instructor. He continued to play hockey in the Canadian military leagues, playing first for the Saskatoon RCAF team in 1942–43, then with the Dartmouth RCAF for the following two seasons. He led the Halifax city league with nine goals in 1943–44. Toward the end of the war, Conacher was deployed to England where he continued to play with military teams, but the deployment also meant he was unavailable to return to the Bruins at the start of the 1945–46 season like many of his teammates did. He appeared in only four games late in the season following his discharge from the military.
Conacher became embroiled in a bitter contract dispute with Detroit manager Jack Adams following the season. Adams offered $7,600 for the season, but Conacher refused to sign for less than $8,500. Refusing to bow to his demands, Adams traded Conacher to the New York Rangers on October 22, 1947, in exchange for Edward Slowinski and a player to be named later. Conacher, however, refused to report to the Rangers. He announced instead that he planned to retire from hockey, a decision he claimed to have been mulling over for a couple years. The trade to New York was nullified as a result of Conacher's failure to report. Bill Tobin of the Chicago Black Hawks received permission from Detroit to speak with Conacher and successfully negotiated a deal with the player. Tobin claimed the negotiation was easy: "It wasn't hard to sign Roy. I offered him so much money he couldn't refuse." Tobin did not reveal what he was paying Conacher, but admitted that he spent $25,000 combined on the contract and to purchase him from Detroit.
Conacher averaged nearly a point per game in 1947–48 with 48 points in 52 games. His best statistical season came in 1948–49 when he won the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's leading point scorer playing on a line with Bill Mosienko and Doug Bentley on a team that was coached by his brother Charlie. Conacher recorded 68 points while his 26 goals were good enough for second in the league. Additionally, he was named to the first All-Star team at left wing and played in the 1949 All-Star Game. He remained among the league's scoring leaders in 1949–50 as his 56 points were sixth-best in the league. He followed that up by leading the Black Hawks in goals (26) and points (50) in 1950–51. Conacher scored his 200th career goal during the season, at the time a rare feat for an NHL player. However, the physical toll of the sport caught up to him; after playing 12 games of the 1951–52 season, he opted to retire from the NHL. Chicago replaced him with his nephew, Pete Conacher.
Roy was one of several members of the Conacher family to play in the NHL. Three of his nephews, Pete and Brian Conacher, and Murray Henderson all followed. Cory Conacher is also a distant relative of his. Roy was relatively anonymous compared to his more famous brothers Lionel and Charlie, and was often referred to as the "forgotten Conacher". Roy's career was recognized by the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1998 when he was posthumously inducted by the veterans committee. He joined Charlie (1961) and Lionel (1994) as the only trio of brothers to be so honoured. Lionel Conacher Jr. was a CFL football player.
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| NHL | ||
| Art Ross Trophy Leading scorer | 1948–49 | |
| First team All-Star | 1948–49 | |
| Played in All-Star Game | 1949 | |
| Stanley Cup champion | 1938–39 1940–41 | |
| NHL goal leader | 1938-39 |
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