Why Red Kelly's Number Hasn't Been Retired Yet?

[sawchuk1971]

i know he was traded to toronto in late 1950s...but darn..he was probably the greatest red wing d-man of all time (well maybe add nicky lidstrom on the list too)....

Click to read more...

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

Kelly made an enemy of Detroit management:

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.

Pretty petty IMO, as Kelly was at that point the second best player to ever put on a Red Wings uniform.

 

[kdfsjljklgjfg]

Also Detroit isn't exactly generous when handing out retired numbers. They have pretty strict requirements, if I'm not mistaken.

 

[Calderon]

Kelly made an enemy of Detroit management:

Pretty petty IMO, as Kelly was at that point the second best player to ever put on a Red Wings uniform.

Having learned about this only now, reading that, I think I take Kelly's side. Jack Adams presumably being dead and gone a long time ago and all, I have a hard time believing that would be the deciding factor regarding his number retirement.