There wasn't much that Mervyn "Red" Dutton didn't do in hockey. He was a player, a coach, a team executive and president of the NHL.

Dutton, who earned his nickname because of his red hair, used hockey as a way to rehabilitate a leg injury sustained during World War I. He joined the Calgary Canadiens in 1920 and the Calgary Tigers of the Western Canada Hockey League for the 1921-22 season. An aggressive, physical defenseman, he played five seasons with Calgary, helping the Tigers advance to the Stanley Cup Final in 1924, although they lost to the Montreal Canadiens.

When the WCHL went out of business in 1926, Dutton found himself with the Montreal Maroons and helped them advance to the Cup Final in 1928, though they lost to the New York Rangers. Two years later, Dutton was sold to the New York Americans, the team with which he's most associated.

Dutton became one of the most popular players in New York, although the Americans played second fiddle to the Rangers and failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in any of his first five seasons as a player. He was named player/coach for the 1935-36 season and helped the Americans advance to the playoffs and defeat the Chicago Black Hawks in the NHL Quarterfinals before losing to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Semifinals.

A hip injury had limited Dutton in the 1936 playoffs, and he retired to devote all his time to coaching. With the Americans facing bankruptcy, he also took over management of the team at the behest of the NHL. The Americans' high point came in 1938, when they qualified for the playoffs and defeated the Rangers in the first round. They made the playoffs again in 1939 and 1940 before the loss of players to the military during World War II began to take a toll. Dutton had hoped to move the Americans to Brooklyn, and they were known as the Brooklyn Americans in 1941-42 but finished last in the League and suspended operations before the 1942-43 season.

However, Dutton was soon back in the NHL, this time as president. He was asked to take the office after Frank Calder, the League's first president, died Feb. 4, 1943, and did so reluctantly, hoping to reactivate the Americans after the war ended. That didn't happen, and he remained in the job until 1946, when Clarence Campbell was named as his replacement.

Dutton went home to Calgary and became a successful businessman. In 1950 he agreed to become a trustee of the Stanley Cup, a position he held until he died March 15, 1987. He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1958, and on Oct. 9, 1980, he entered an NHL arena for the first time in 34 years when he dropped the puck for the ceremonial face-off before the first game in the history of the Calgary Flames.