Ron Stewart

Ronald George Stewart (born on July 11, 1932) is a retired professional player in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1952 to 1973, as well as an NHL coach.

Playing Career
Ron continued to develop into a formidable hockey player, and played his first two seasons of junior hockey with the Toronto Marlboros, until being traded in his last year of OHA play. The Marlboros traded Stewart to the Windsor Spitfires where he played only two games, then moved on to the Barrie Flyers. He was picked up by Guelph for the playoffs, where he played exceptionally as the Guelph Biltmores won the Memorial Cup in 1952.

The next season saw Stewart make his NHL debut with the Toronto Maple Leafs where he would play for thirteen straight seasons. Stewart joined the team while they were in the process of rebuilding. The Leafs and Stewart would win three straight Stanley Cup championships from 1961–62 to 1963–64. During his time in Toronto, Stewart played in four All-Star Games, '55, '62, '63 and '64.

Stewart finally left the Leafs when he was traded to the Bruins in 1965, where he spent two seasons.

From Boston, he was claimed by the St. Louis Blues in the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft but was traded to the New York Rangers during the season.

Stewart was involved in a tragic incident in New York that claimed the life of famed goaltender Terry Sawchuk, his housemate at the time. There was never an accurate account of the incident, but Sawchuk apparently fell into a pit during a fight with Stewart. Sawchuk died from these injuries despite being operated on.

After three years with the Rangers, Stewart was traded to Vancouver, only to be dealt back to New York for their run for the Cup in 1972. Boston defeated the Rangers in the Cup final. After being dealt one last time, to the Islanders in the 1972–73 season, he retired from the game as a player.

Stewart scored 276 goals and 253 assists in 529 NHL games.

Coaching Career
Stewart stepped behind the bench to coach minor league teams and made it back to the NHL for the 1975–76 season as the coach of the Rangers and then with the Los Angeles Kings for 1977–78.

Retirement
Back in his hometown of Calgary, Stewart became the manager of a couple of local junior teams. Stewart, now retired, lives in Florida.