Playing alongside the likes of Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsay, Sid Abel and Terry Sawchuk for the Detroit Red Wings, many of the unique traits fashioned by Red Kelly during an unparalleled NHL career were often overlooked.
Kelly, who died Thursday in Toronto at the age of 91, was the first defenseman to win the Norris Trophy, garnering 162 of 180 possible ballots. He was also the first defenseman to win the Lady Byng Trophy, and remains the only defenseman to win it multiple times.
“You’ve got to go all the way back to Eddie Shore to find one in his class,” New York Rangers general manager Frank Boucher said at the time of Kelly. “The redhead attacks like a great forward and defends like an even greater defenseman.
“There’s nobody like him for taking the pressure off his own team and in a few seconds applying it to the other guys.”
During the 1953-54 season, Kelly finished runner-up in the Hart Trophy balloting. Hockey people appreciated the one-of-a-kind player he was.
“Kelly is the best all-around performer in our league,” Boston Bruins coach Lynn Patrick told Associated Press in 1954. “Red is not only great on defense, he can score too.
“When we play the Wings, we go out to stop him. We feel there’s a better chance of winning that way.”
Kelly also won eight Stanley Cups, and also achieved this in a unique manner. He won Cups with Detroit in 1949-50, 1951-52, 1953-54 and 1954-55. Traded to Toronto in 1960, Leafs coach Punch Imlach moved Kelly to center, and he won four more Cups in 1961-62, 1962-63, 1963-64 and 1966-67. He’s the only player in NHL history to win that many Stanley Cups and never play for the Montreal Canadiens.
During his 20-season NHL career, Kelly played in a dozen Stanley Cup final series.
“They were the things you dreamed about,”Kelly once explained. “You never knew they were going to happen and then they did happen. There were just so many good times it would be difficult to pick just one outstanding moment.”
Amazingly, Kelly was Toronto property as a junior but believing that he wasn’t a strong enough skater to make the NHL grade, the Leafs let him go and Kelly was scooped up by the Wings.
Kelly jumped directly into the Detroit lineup in 1947 from junior hockey with Toronto St. Michael’s, something few players did during the Original Six era.
Kelly was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1969. The Wings retired his No. 4 during ceremonies held Feb. 1 at Little Caesars Arena prior to a Toronto-Detroit game.
“It’s a great city with great fans,” Kelly said of Detroit. “And a great sports town.”
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