Red Kelly: Top Ten Toronto Maple Leafs of All-Time, No.10

I haven't written an article in quite awhile now, so I decided to do a "Top Ten List" of something, since it's seemingly popular on Bleacher Report. And since I'm a huge Leafs fan, why not do it on the greatest players to ever wear blue and white?

So, as you can tell by the title, number ten on my list is Red Kelly. 

Before coming to the Leafs in 1959, Kelly had a very successful twelve-year career as a defenseman (and sometimes forward) in Detroit. He was known for dishing out monster hits, great passes, and being able to play at both ends of the ice.

He won four Cups with the Wings, along with eight regular-season championships, and he himself won the Lady Byng Trophy three times as the league's most gentlemanly player.

He also played in the NHL All-Star Game six times as a defenseman, and won the Norris Trophy as the league's top defenseman in 1954, along with being the runner-up for the Hart Trophy as the league's most valuable player.

However, due to problems with Detroit's general manager, Kelly was traded to the Leafs in 1959. When he arrived, Leafs coach Punch Imlach convinced Kelly to become a full-time center, and it clearly worked out—because with his great play-making skills, Kelly made Frank Mahovlich one of the best goal scorers in the NHL.

He won four Cups with the Leafs in eight seasons, along with another Lady Byng Trophy in 1961. He retired in 1967, finishing his career with 1,316 games played, 281 goals, and 542 assists. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1969.

So, with his great play-making skills and overall excellent play with the Leafs, Red Kelly makes my list of "Top Ten Toronto Maple Leafs of All-Time".

Source: www.wikipedia.org