Amateur career Born in
Vancouver, McNab spent his early childhood in
British Columbia before moving to
San Diego, California at age 14, where his father was
head coach of the minor-league
San Diego Gulls. Peter initially excelled as a
baseball player; he entered the
University of Denver (DU) on a baseball scholarship and later made the
ice hockey team, becoming an all-
WCHA selection in 1973. In the early 1970s
NCAA players rarely made it to the National Hockey League, but McNab was drafted by the
Buffalo Sabres while playing forward for the Denver Pioneers in 1972.
Professional career McNab led the
Cincinnati Swords of the
American Hockey League (AHL) in scoring in 1973–74, despite playing in 49 of 76 games, and debuted with Buffalo that same season. While with Buffalo, he scored his first NHL goal on December 15, 1973, against the
Minnesota North Stars. He helped the Sabres reach the
1975 Stanley Cup Finals. On June 11, 1976, the Sabres traded the rights to McNab, a free agent, to the
Boston Bruins in exchange for the rights to
Andre Savard. He would enjoy the best years of his NHL career in Boston. With his best statistical season coming in his first year with the team in
1976-77. Scoring 86 points (38 goals and 48 assists). Leading to him playing in the
1977 NHL All-Star Game. The Bruins reached the Stanley Cup Finals in 1977 and 1978. McNab continued to put up great numbers for the bruins during the rest of his tenure having back to back 80 points seasons in
1978 and
1979 finishing as runner-up for the
Lady Byng Trophy in 1978. He also twice scored a playoff overtime winning goal. He led the Bruins in goals for a third straight year in
1980 and had a 83 point season (37 goals 46 assists) the following year in 1981. In total from 1977 to 1983 he scored least 35 goals and 75 points six seasons in a row. As his time with the Bruins coming to an end after the
1983-84 season. During his time with the Bruins he scored 7 hat tricks. On December 23, 1979, during a game at
Madison Square Garden in
New York, Bruins player
Stan Johnathan was punched and had his stick taken by a Rangers fan.
Terry O’Reily climbed into the stands to track down a fan that had stolen the stick. McNab, teammate
Mike Milbury, and several other Bruins climbed into the stands to confront fans. McNab engaged in a physical confrontation with one fan, and was soon joined by Milbury, who removed the fan's shoe and proceeded to strike the fan with it. McNab later stated to a news reporter. “We had to go up there," "It's not something to be proud of, but we couldn't leave Terry up there alone. The guy had a stick and he was swinging it." On April 9, 1981, North Stars goaltender
Don Beaupre stopped a McNab penalty shot, the first penalty shot ever taken by a member of the Bruins in a playoff game. As of 2022 McNab is among Boston's top ten career leaders in goals, points and playoff scoring. On April 11th 1982 McNab set an NHL playoff record for most points in a single period with 4. The record has since been broken. But it still remains the record for any Boston Bruins player. The Bruins traded McNab to the
Vancouver Canucks in 1984; he played in Vancouver for two seasons before signing with the
New Jersey Devils, for whom his father Max was the general manager at the time. He also made his international debut for the
U.S. national team at the
1986 World Championships in
Moscow. He retired from hockey at the end of the 1986–87 season after playing two seasons in New Jersey. In 2021 McNab was inducted into the
U.S hockey hall of fame. ==Post-playing career==