Ron Ellis, a right winger who played 16 seasons in the NHL with Toronto and was a member of the last Maple Leafs team to win a Stanley Cup, has died at the age of 79.
The team announced Ellis’ death on Saturday in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. No cause of death was given.
“We mourn the loss of Ron Ellis, a lifetime Leaf whose legacy is woven into the fabric of the blue and white,” the Leafs said in a statement.
Ellis played his entire NHL career in Toronto and had 640 points, scoring 332 goals and adding 308 assists in 1,034 games, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported. He was one of five Leafs who played more than 1,000 games for Toronto, according to The Athletic.
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) May 11, 2024
He was a four-time all-star and a member of the Maple Leafs squad that won the Stanley Cup during the 1966-67 season, according to the news organization.
Ellis was a two-way forward who won a Memorial Cup while playing for the junior squad Toronto Marlboros in 1964, The Athletic reported.
Born Jan. 6, 1945, in Lindsay, Ontario, Ellis was one of the youngest members of Toronto’s Stanley Cup champions and scored the first goal in the Maple Leafs’ title-clinching 3-1 victory against the Montreal Canadiens in Game 6, according to Canadian Press.
Ellis had 11 seasons with 20 or more goals and topped 30 goals twice, according to Hockey-Reference.com.
In 1968, Ellis was honored when Maple Leafs legend Ace Bailey asked the team to unretire his No. 6 jersey so the winger could wear it, the CBC reported.
Ellis wore Bailey’s number for the final 11 seasons of his career, according to the news organization.
Internationally, Ellis played all eight games in Canada’s Summit Series victory against the Soviet Union in 1972, competing on a line with Bobby Clarke and Paul Henderson, the CBC reported.
Ellis published an autobiography, “Over the Boards: The Ron Ellis Story” and wrote about his battles with clinical depression. He attributed his condition to head injuries he sustained during his playing career, according to the Canadian Press.
“I had my share of concussions and my doctors believe it led to some problems with depression I’ve had later in life.” Ellis said in a 2014 interview.
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