Legendary hockey reporter Stan Fischler writes a weekly scrapbook for NHL.com. Fischler, known as "The Hockey Maven," shares his humor and insight with readers each Wednesday.
This week Fischler presents his "Then and Now" feature and compares Red Kelly and Erik Karlsson, Norris Trophy winners from different eras.
In 1954, Leonard “Red” Kelly was the first winner of the Norris Trophy, presented annually to the top defenseman in the NHL. Sixty-nine years later, Erik Karlsson is the reigning Norris Trophy winner.
Though Kelly won the Stanley Cup eight times and later switched to playing center and Karlsson has yet to win the Cup and has no intentions of changing positions, the two All-Stars share many similarities.
Roughly the same size -- Kelly stood 5-foot-11 and weighed 180 pounds; Karlsson is 6-0, 190 -- each was one of the op offensive defensemen of his era.
Kelly had 49 points (16 goals, 33 assists) in 62 games when he won the Norris Trophy after the 1953-54 season with the Detroit Red Wings. That figure would have pleased the top scoring forwards during the Original Six days. Kelly also had 54 points in 1950-51 and 50 points in 1955-56.
"We won four Cups with Red because he was a double threat," said Red Wings legend Ted Lindsay, who was Kelly's teammate for 10 seasons. "He was just as much at ease on the attack as he was taking care of business in his own end."
Karlsson had an NHL career-high 101 points (25 goals, 76 assists) in 82 games with the San Jose Sharks last season. He was the first NHL defenseman to reach 100 points since Brian Leetch in 1991-92. Karlsson also surpassed 70 points four other times in the NHL and won the Norris Trophy previously in 2012 and 2015 with the Ottawa Senators.
Legendary NHL defensemen such as Bobby Orr and Paul Coffey have lauded Karlsson for his speed, ability to lead a rush and be the first man to return to defend as well as for making plays.
"Erik ranks among the elite players," Coffey said.
Former NHL coach Ken Hitchcock observed, "When it comes to reading plays, Karlsson is ahead of the curve everywhere."
Karlsson was also in the running last season for the Lady Byng Trophy, given annually to the League’s most gentlemanly player. That’s something Kelly could relate to. Like Karlsson, Kelly spent little time in the penalty box and won the Lady Byng Trophy four times.
"Those trophy wins for Kelly could be deceptive," Lindsay said, "because I've seen Red handle his dukes and he rarely lost a fight."
Courage is another shared trait. Unobtrusively, Kelly played much of the 1958-59 season with a broken ankle. Meanwhile Karlsson has received acclaim for his extraordinary durability. During the 2017 Eastern Conference Final against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Karlsson continued to take a regular turn for Ottawa despite suffering two hairline fractures in his heel. Only after the season did he have surgery to repair torn tendons in his left foot.
Both Kelly and Karlsson maintained their standard of excellence against iconic foes. During the early 1950's I witnessed a classic Red Wings game against the Montreal Canadiens at the Forum in Montreal. Future Norris Trophy-winner Doug Harvey went head-to-head against Kelly. But Kelly won the game with a pair of goals.
"As usual," said Detroit coach Tommy Ivan, "Red played a strong defensive game as well."
To win the Norris Trophy three times, Karlsson has had to beat out such worthy foes as Drew Doughty, Brent Burns, Duncan Keith, Cale Makar, Niklas Lidstrom and Adam Fox.
Ironically a trade from Detroit to the Toronto Maple Leafs during the 1959-60 season gave new life to Kelly's career. Maple Leafs coach Punch Imlach converted Kelly to center and he won four more Cup championships with them before retiring after his final conquest in 1967.
Similarly, Karlsson hopes a trade to the Penguins for the 2023-24 season will have a salutary effect on his career. He’ll get to play with three major stars-- Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang -- each still hungry to win a fourth Stanley Cup title with the Penguins.
"I'm in a really good spot in my life right now," Karlsson said after the deal.
There may not be time for Karlsson to catch Kelly and his eight rings, but the 33-year-old would love to get at least one before he retires. And when his playing days are complete, it’s likely that Karlsson will join Kelly in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
