More Stanley Cup rings that any National Hockey League player that did not play for the Montreal Canadiens. One of four in NHL history to win the Lady Byng Trophy four or more times. The first ever head coach of the Los Angeles Kings. Just a few special features that more than justify Leonard Red Kelly’s spot in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Red Kelly – The Player
Kelly learned how to win at the junior level. With the 1946-47 Toronto St. Michael’s club, he played an integral role in the team winning the Memorial Cup championship. Toronto easily ousted the Moose Jaw Canucks in the final series in a four game sweep.
The following year, Red was in the NHL with the Detroit Red Wings and never looked back. In all, he played 1,316 regular season games in the NHL with Detroit and the Toronto Maple Leafs. The defenseman turned forward amassed 823 points on 281 goals and 542 assists. In the playoffs, he played an additional 164 games and added 92 points. His career lasted from 1947-48 to 1966-67.
On the NHL’s all-time list for regular season games played, Kelly still stands in the 54st position, tied with Alexei Kovalev. For career playoff games, Red is currently tied for 55th with Clark Gillies, Sergei Zubov and Brian Skrudland. When you consider the shorter regular season and playoff schedules of the Original 6 era, these numbers are pretty amazing.
Kelly won four Stanley Cup championships with the Red Wings in 1949-50, 1951-52, 1953-54 and 1954-55. After being traded to the Maple Leafs near the end of the 1959-60 season, Red went on to help Toronto to four Stanley Cup championships in 1961-62, 1962-63, 1963-64 and 1966-67. No other non Montreal Canadiens player has won as many Stanley Cups.
Most of his individual success came as a Red Wing. Red won the Norris Trophy in 1953-54 as the league’s top defenseman. That year, he totalled 49 points over 62 games. He was awarded the Lady Byng Trophy as the league’s most gentlemanly player on four occasions. Only Frank Boucher, Wayne Gretzky and Pavel Datsyuk have won four or more, as well. Kelly was a First Team All-Star six times and a Second Team All-Star twice. Red served as Detroit’s team captain in 1956-57 and 1957-58.
With the Maple Leafs, Kelly shone individually in 1960-61. His 50 assists were second in the league to Jean Beliveau of the Montreal Canadiens. Red placed sixth in the race for the Art Ross Trophy with 70 points. He would never achieve numbers that high again.
Following the 1966-67 Stanley Cup victory by the Toronto Maple Leafs, their last, Red Kelly retired as a player. In 1969, the three year waiting period was waived and he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame just two years after retirement. Along with Kelly, Sid Abel, Bryan Hextall and Roy Worters also entered the Hall.
Red Kelly – The Coach
Immediately following his retirement from the game as a player, Kelly jumped behind the bench. He became the first ever head coach of the Los Angeles Kings and coached the expansion franchise through their first two years in the National Hockey League.
In 1970-71, Red jumped to another one of the six 1967 expansion teams, taking over as head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins. He coached Pittsburgh for most of three seasons.
Finally, he made the mistake of working for Harold Ballard. Kelly took the job as head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1974-75 and built up a pretty decent team. He coached Toronto for three years before leaving the game for good.
Red Kelly – Rookie Card
Five years into his career, the Red Kelly rookie card finally appeared on cardboard. As with most players in the era, the 1951-52 Parkhurst set housed their first ever hockey card. The Red Kelly card appears as number 55 in the set and is valued at around $300 or five times the value of a common card.
Red Kelly Career Stats
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1944-45 | St. Michael’s Majors | OHA | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1945-46 | St. Michael’s Majors | OHA | 26 | 13 | 11 | 24 | 18 |
| 1946-47 | St. Michael’s Majors | OHA | 30 | 9 | 24 | 33 | 13 |
| 1947-48 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 60 | 6 | 14 | 20 | 13 |
| 1948-49 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 59 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 10 |
| 1949-50 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 70 | 15 | 25 | 40 | 9 |
| 1950-51 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 70 | 17 | 37 | 54 | 24 |
| 1951-52 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 67 | 16 | 31 | 47 | 16 |
| 1952-53 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 70 | 19 | 27 | 46 | 8 |
| 1953-54 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 62 | 16 | 33 | 49 | 18 |
| 1954-55 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 70 | 15 | 30 | 45 | 28 |
| 1955-56 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 70 | 16 | 34 | 50 | 39 |
| 1956-57 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 70 | 10 | 25 | 35 | 18 |
| 1957-58 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 61 | 13 | 18 | 31 | 26 |
| 1958-59 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 67 | 8 | 13 | 21 | 34 |
| 1959-60 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 50 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 10 |
| 1959-60 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 18 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 8 |
| 1960-61 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 64 | 20 | 50 | 70 | 12 |
| 1961-62 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 58 | 22 | 27 | 49 | 6 |
| 1962-63 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 66 | 20 | 40 | 60 | 8 |
| 1963-64 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 11 | 34 | 45 | 16 |
| 1964-65 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 18 | 28 | 46 | 8 |
| 1965-66 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 63 | 8 | 24 | 32 | 12 |
| 1966-67 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 61 | 14 | 24 | 38 | 4 |
| NHL Totals | 1316 | 281 | 542 | 823 | 327 |