O\'Connell was raised in Cohasset, Massachusetts, and grew up playing hockey and gridiron football at Archbishop Williams High School in Braintree. He moved to the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League\'s Kingston Canadians as a teenager, following the recommendation of Boston Bruins General Manager Harry Sinden and was promptly named best OMJHL defenceman in 1974–75.\n', '

O\'Connell was chosen in the second round, 43rd overall, by the Chicago Black Hawks in the 1975 NHL Entry Draft. His professional career for the Hawks began in the minors with the Central Professional Hockey League\'s Dallas Black Hawks in 1976–77. He became the first Chicago native to play for the Black Hawks in 1978, but most of his career was spent in his adopted home state of Massachusetts with the Boston Bruins, who obtained him in a trade for Al Secord in 1980. An excellent skater, O\'Connell was a solid all-around player, being both reliable in the defensive zone and consistently effective on offense, with a hard, accurate shot from the point. His best years were spent in Boston, helping to make up a defensive squad that included Brad Park and Ray Bourque. He played in the 1984 NHL All-Star Game while with the Bruins, also representing the United States at the 1981 Canada Cup and 1985 Ice Hockey World Championship tournaments. O\'Connell finished his NHL career as a penalty killer and defensive specialist with the Detroit Red Wings in 1989, who had obtained him in a trade for Reed Larson in 1986. He also served as an alternate captain during his time with the Red Wings.\n', '

Following retirement as a player, O\'Connell served as head coach of the San Diego Gulls of the International Hockey League (IHL) in 1990–91. Despite a losing record, Harry Sinden hired his protégé to coach the Bruins\' top minor league affiliate, the Providence Bruins. O\'Connell was then named the Bruins\' assistant general manager in 1994, also becoming vice president of hockey operations in 1998 and alternate governor in 2000. The Bruins named O\'Connell vice president and general manager on November 1, 2000, and he later signed a five-year contract extension on June 21, 2002. He was however fired from the job on March 25, 2006 following a controversial number of player trades that did not work out well for the Bruins. Notably, O\'Connell decided to trade high-scoring center Joe Thornton.\n', '

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