Red Kelly Leonard Patrick " Red " Kelly , ( born 9 July 1927 in Port Dover , Ontario ) , is a retired Canadian player in the NHL . He played on more Stanley Cup winning teams ( eight ) than any player who never played for the Montreal Canadiens . Early career . While playing junior hockey for the St . Michael ' s Majors , he was encouraged to refine his style by his coach , former Leaf great Joe Primeau . NHL career . Although the Majors were usually a talent pipeline for the Maple Leafs , the NHL club passed on Kelly after a scout predicted he wouldn ' t last 20 games in the NHL , and the nineteen year - old joined the Detroit Red Wings in 1947 . In 1954 he was runner - up for the Hart Trophy and won the Norris Trophy as the NHL ' s top defenceman , the first time the trophy was awarded and also won the Lady Byng Trophy in 1951 , 1953 , and 1954 as the NHL ' s most gentlemanly player . An exceptional player at both ends of the ice , Kelly was known not only for his great checking skills as a defenceman , but also for his exceptional puck - handling and passing skills as well . Kelly used all these elements to help the Red Wings move the puck down the ice very quickly . When injuries hampered the team , he sometimes played as a forward ( a position he adapted to easily when needed ) . In over twelve years as a Red Wing the team won eight regular - season championships , the Stanley Cup four times and Kelly was chosen as a First Team All - Star defenceman six times . Late in the 1959 season , Kelly broke his ankle . However , the Red Wings kept the injury a secret , and Kelly played through the pain as the Red Wings missed the playoffs for the first time in 21 years . However , midway through the next season , a reporter asked Kelly why he ' d been off his game for much of 1959 . Kelly replied , " Don ' t know . Might have been the ankle . " When Red Wings general manager Jack Adams got wind of the story , he was furious , and immediately brokered a four - player deal in which Kelly was sent to the New York Rangers . However , Kelly scuttled the deal when he announced he would retire rather than go to New York . Maple Leafs head coach Punch Imlach stepped in and tried to talk Kelly into playing for him . Though he disliked Maple Leaf Gardens and as a young player was disappointed by the scathing assessment of that Toronto scout , Kelly agreed to be traded to the Leafs . Once Kelly arrived in Toronto , Imlach asked him to become a full - time centre , figuring that Kelly could easily match up against the Montreal Canadiens ' Jean Béliveau . The switch paid off . Already a great playmaker , Kelly turned Frank Mahovlich into one of the most lethal goal scorers in NHL history . He won his fourth Lady Byng Award in 1961 . In his eight seasons with the Leafs , they won the Stanley Cup four times - the same number of times he ' d won in Detroit . In 1 , 316 regular season games , he scored 281 goals and 542 assists for 823 points . At the time of his retirement , he was 7th all time in career points , 5th in assists , 13th in goals , and second only to Gordie Howe in games played . In 164 playoff games , he scored 33 goals and 59 assists for 92 points . Coaching career . After the Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup in 1967 , Kelly announced his retirement as a player , and negotiated with the expansion Los Angeles Kings to be their inaugural coach on the strength of Imlach ' s assertion that Toronto would not stand in the way of Kelly ' s coaching career . However , Imlach insisted that Los Angeles draft Kelly in the expansion draft , and after the Kings failed to do so , refused to release Kelly ' s rights until Los Angeles traded a minor - league defenceman to the Leafs . Despite being the only rookie coach , and being in charge of the favorites to finish last , Kelly went on to guide the Kings to second place in the West Division and made the playoffs two years in a row . In 1969 – 70 , Kelly moved on to coach the Pittsburgh Penguins for three seasons , making the playoffs in his first and last seasons with the team . Kelly returned to the Maple Leafs as coach in 1973 . He stayed in the position from 1973 – 74 to 1976 – 77 . The team earned a playoff berth in all 4 seasons with Kelly as head coach but got eliminated in the quarterfinals each time . His final regular season coaching record was 261 – 311 – 128 .