Born in
Toronto,
Ontario, Kontos played junior hockey for the
Sudbury Wolves and
Toronto Marlboros. During the 1981–82
OHL season he scored 42 goals, and after the season was drafted with the 15th selection in the first round of the 1982
NHL entry draft by the
New York Rangers. He split his time in both the NHL and minor leagues in his first two seasons. He was member of the
Tulsa Oilers (
CHL) team that suspended operations on February 16, 1984, playing only road games for final six weeks of 1983–84 season. Despite this adversity, the team went on to win the league's championship. Kontos spent the first half of 1985–86 playing in Finland before returning to finish the year in the
AHL. On January 21, 1987, Kontos was traded to the
Pittsburgh Penguins for
Ron Duguay, finishing his tenure with the Rangers with 38 points in 78 games. He would score 25 points in 67 games with the Penguins over two seasons before being dealt to the
Los Angeles Kings on February 5, 1988. He played only six regular season games for the Kings in
87–88 tallying 12 points (another career highlight was a 6-point game against Chicago where Kontos had 1 goal and 5 assists), and scored a goal in his first NHL playoffs. The following year, after returning from playing in
Switzerland he scored three points in seven games, and his 9 playoff goals would help the Kings advance to the second round. He played only 11 games (6 regular season, 5 playoff) with Los Angeles after the 1988–89 playoff run, and decided to join the Canadian National Team in 1991–92. When the
Tampa Bay Lightning started play in
1992–93, Kontos signed on as a
free agent. His surprising 4-goal performance led the upstart
Tampa Bay Lightning to a 7–3 shocker of the
Chicago Blackhawks on October 7, 1992, and remains tied for the team record for goals scored in a single game. He scored 27 goals in 66 games, second on the team only to
Brian Bradley. He would return to the National Team in 93–94, and helped Canada win a silver medal at the
1994 Olympics. Kontos would never return to the NHL, and continued to play in Sweden, the
IHL and Germany before retiring in 1998. ==Career statistics==