He played 603 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) with five teams between 1956 and 1969, recording 70 goals and 108 assists for 178 points and 888 penalty minutes.

Kennedy's most infamous game was marked by a violent incident in the 1969 Stanley Cup playoffs in Boston, as teammate Pat Quinn delivered a massive hit to Bruins star Bobby Orr, knocking him unconscious.

He was brought in to coach the Summerside Crystals of the PEI Junior Hockey League in 1971-72 and 1972-73 before leaving for the Los Angeles Sharks of the WHA to try to resume his playing career.

That did not work out for Kennedy due to injuries so he ended his playing career and went back to coaching with the Winston-Salem Polar Twins of the Southern Hockey League.

[2] On November 24, 2019, at the Homburg Theatre of the Confederation Centre for the Arts in Charlottetown, PEI, Kennedy joined Prince Edward Island Symphony Orchestra (PEISO) Music Director Mark Shapiro to lead the PEISO and a concert audience in "O Canada."