Red Kelly has passed away at the age of 91.
The Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings legend enjoyed 20 seasons in the NHL before getting inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1969. The Simcoe, Ontario native enjoyed an illustrious career as a centre and defenceman with 823 points in 1,316 games, but is remembered most for winning a remarkable eight Stanley Cups; four with each team. He was named one of the NHL’s top 100 greatest players of all time and had his #4 retired by both Toronto and Detroit.
During his career, Kelly was elected to the House of Commons in Canada in 1962 while still a member of the Maple Leafs and won the York West riding in back-to-back elections under the Liberal Party. Following his playing career, Kelly took to the bench, coaching the Los Angeles Kings (1967-1969), Pittsburgh Penguins (1969-1973) and Toronto Maple Leafs (1973-1977) and In 2001, he was made a member of the Order of Canada.
The hockey world mourned Kelly’s incredible life on Twitter.
Throughout his career, Kelly was named the first Norris Trophy winner, won four Lady Byng trophies and was announced a first or second team NHL All-Star on eight separate occasions. He will forever be remembered as one of the all-time greats for his contributions both on, and off the ice.
