Born in Newmarket, Ontario, Macoun played junior B in his hometown and in nearby Aurora. He then spent nearly three years at Ohio State and was signed as a free agent by the Calgary Flames in January 1983. He got his feet wet in a few late season and playoff games that year before enjoying a solid debut in 1983-84. That year Macoun notched 32 points and earned a place on the HL All-Rookie team

The steady rearguard became a fixture on the Flames as they excelled in the regular season but constantly ran into the unstoppable Edmonton Oilers in the playoffs. In 1986, they finally vanquished their rivals and reached the finals where they lost to the Montreal Canadiens. In May, 1987, Macoun was involved in an automobile accident that resulted in severe nerve damage to his arm. He was forced to sit out the entire 1987-88 season but returned the next year to help the Flames win their first Stanley Cup.

Midway through the 1991-92 season, Macoun took on a new challenge when he was part of a ten-player deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs that was built around Doug Gilmour and Gary Leeman. The hard-nosed veteran became a valuable team leader and eventually played some of his best hockey under coach Pat Burns' close-checking system. Macoun helped the Maple Leafs reach the semifinals in 1993 and 1994 and remained with the club into the latter stages of the 1997-98 schedule. At that point Toronto began to rebuild and sent the wily veteran to the Detroit Red Wings where he was a role player on his second Stanley Cup team. Macoun retired after playing 69 games for the Wings in 1998-99, bringing his career total to 1,128 regular season appearances.

Courtesy of the Hockey Hall of Fame