McCourt was drafted 1st overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the 1977 NHL amateur draft. He made an impression on the Detroit Red Wings after being the first NHL amateur pick in 1977. He successfully scored 33 goals in the first year with the team.[2]
Before the start of the 1978–79 season, Red Wings general managerTed Lindsay signed goaltender Rogatien Vachon of the Los Angeles Kings, who was a restricted free agent at that time. An NHL arbitrator ruled that McCourt should be the compensation given the Kings for Vachon's loss, but McCourt refused to report to the Kings. Ultimately, this led to McCourt suing the NHL, the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA), the Red Wings, and the Kings to prevent being sent to the Los Angeles Kings as a part of any compensation package. During this lawsuit, McCourt remained playing for the Red Wings, finishing the season second in Red Wing scoring (by two points) for 1978-79. The matter was eventually resolved and McCourt remained in Detroit, but he felt betrayed by the fact that his own NHLPA, led by executive director Alan Eagleson, did not back him against the owners during the lawsuit.[3] His legal case created a huge impact on sport and was the first sports case to challenge the antitrust laws during the bargaining agreement.[4]
Trade
McCourt continued to be the Red Wings' top scorer in both his third (1979–80) and fourth (1980–81) seasons. Despite this, and while leading the team in scoring a third of the way through the 1981–82 season, management did not feel he had achieved their overall expectations, trading McCourt to the Buffalo Sabres in December 1981—having produced at a point-a-game pace during his time with the Red Wings but failing to make the playoffs for three of his four years with the team. He played with Buffalo before being claimed on waivers by the Toronto Maple Leafs in October 1983, finishing his NHL career at the end of the 1983–84 NHL season, with 478 points in 532 games played.
McCourt then played for 8 seasons for HC Ambrì-Piotta, in the top Swiss league. Ambrì-Piotta retired McCourt's number 15 jersey.
Hockey family
McCourt's brother Dan was an NHL linesman during the 1980s and early 1990s.