He came to the National Hockey League for the 1926-27 season, already a seasoned veteran. Mervyn ‘Red’ Dutton previously played for the Calgary Tigers in the WCHL, at the time a formidable competitor to the young NHL. Dutton’s entire NHL career was split between the Montreal Maroons and the New York Americans, two franchises that haven’t been around since 1942.
Red Dutton – Pre-NHL
As an amateur, Dutton played for the 1919-20 Allan Cup winning Winnipeg Falcons. The team went on to represent Canada at the Olympics but Dutton wasn’t on that squad.
From 1921-22 to 1925-26, Red played in the WCHL for the Calgary Tigers. In his first year, he was seventh in the league with 16 goals over 22 games. The regular season schedule in 1921-22 had each team playing 24 games. He also tied for eighth in the WCHL with 21 points. It was his league leading 73 penalty minutes that gave the hockey world a glimpse of the legacy Dutton would leave behind.
The Tigers were WCHL championship in 1923-24. Dutton and the Calgary squad earned the right to a showdown with the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens for the Stanley Cup championship. The Habs came out on top in a two game sweep.
Red Dutton – NHL Playing Career
In the days of a much shorter regular season schedule, Dutton played in 448 regular season NHL games between 1926-27 and 1935-36 with the Montreal Maroons and New York Americans. Over that time, he scored 29 and assisted on 67 for 96 points from the blue line. Red sat 871 minutes in the penalty box. This made him a bad boy at the time but would represent a mediocre ratio of games to PIM in today’s NHL.
In the Stanley Cup playoffs, he appeared in just 18 games with one goal to show for it. Dutton was never on a Stanley Cup champion but he did play in the finals in his second year in the league.
The 1927-28 Maroons finished second overall in the ten team NHL, five points behind the first place Canadiens. The Maroons reached the finals before losing three games to two to the New York Rangers. Montreal outscored the Rangers 6-5 on the series and all five games were played in Montreal. That year, Dutton finished eighth in the NHL with 94 PIM after placing seventh with 108 in his rookie season.
One year after reaching the finals, Montreal finished out of the playoffs. Dutton led the league with a whopping 139 penalty minutes. His days in Montreal were numbered and the following year would be his last with the Maroons. In 1929-30, Red enjoyed career highs offensively with 13 assists and 16 points. He dropped to fourth with 98 penalty minutes.
For the 1930-31 season, Dutton moved south and joined the New York Americans. In 1931-32, he once more led the league with 107 PIM, one more than Ivan ‘Ching’ Johnson of the New York Rangers.
The following year, Red began to wear the ‘C’ for the Amerks. He would remain captain until he retired as a player. Dutton is one of just five team captains in New York Americans history.
In his final year in the NHL, Dutton took on the role of player/head coach. The Americans had some success in the playoffs, reaching the semi-finals before losing to the Toronto Maple Leafs. In that 1935-36 playoff season, Red played in just three games.
Red Dutton was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1958. He was one of 15 inductees that year. There hadn’t been an induction since 1952.
Red Dutton – Coaching
From 1935-36 to 1941-42, Dutton was the head coach of the Americans. From 1938-39 until the team suspended operations after 1941-42, Red was also franchise owner and general manager.
In 1937-38, the Amerks once more reached the semi-finals. This time, they fell to the Chicago Blackhawks, two games to one. The series had each team score an equal five goals each and the pivotal second game was won in overtime by Chicago.
In his final year with the team, the franchise became the Brooklyn Americans. After 1941-42, it was to be a temporary suspension of operations until World War 2 had ended. The Amerks, of course, were never reinstated.
After Frank Calder passed away, Dutton took on the role of NHL President in 1943-44. He held that job until the end of 1945-46 when he was replaced by Clarence Campbell.
Red Dutton – Rookie Card
In 1933-34, two different companies produced hockey cards featuring Dutton. The 1933-34 V129 #23 is valued at about twice that of a common. The 1933-34 Ice Kings V357 #25 is valued at around 2.5 times that of a common card. Both Red Dutton rookie cards show him as a member of the New York Americans.
He later showed up in the 1960-61 Topps set as an ‘All-Time Great’. That card also shows him with the Americans and is valued as a common.
Red Dutton Stats:
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1921-22 | Calgary Tigers | WCHL | 22 | 16 | 5 | 21 | 73 |
| 1922-23 | Calgary Tigers | WCHL | 18 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 24 |
| 1923-24 | Calgary Tigers | WCHL | 30 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 54 |
| 1924-25 | Calgary Tigers | WCHL | 23 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 72 |
| 1925-26 | Calgary Tigers | WHL | 30 | 11 | 5 | 16 | 82 |
| 1926-27 | Montreal Maroons | NHL | 44 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 108 |
| 1927-28 | Montreal Maroons | NHL | 41 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 94 |
| 1928-29 | Montreal Maroons | NHL | 44 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 139 |
| 1929-30 | Montreal Maroons | NHL | 43 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 98 |
| 1930-31 | New York Americans | NHL | 44 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 71 |
| 1931-32 | New York Americans | NHL | 47 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 107 |
| 1932-33 | New York Americans | NHL | 43 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 74 |
| 1933-34 | New York Americans | NHL | 48 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 65 |
| 1934-35 | New York Americans | NHL | 48 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 46 |
| 1935-36 | New York Americans | NHL | 46 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 69 |
| NHL Totals | 448 | 29 | 67 | 96 | 871 |