Left-winger Butch Keeling was a fine goal scorer who also competed well in the playoffs. He spent a dozen years in the NHL, mostly with the New York Rangers, and won a Stanley Cup in 1933 with the Blueshirts.
Born in Owen Sound, Ontario, Keeling played two years of junior with the city's powerful Greys from 1923 to 1925. In 1924, he and future NHL star Cooney Weiland led the Greys to a Memorial Cup final victory over the Calgary Canadians. Following his junior success, Keeling played one year of senior hockey with the London Ravens.
Keeling enjoyed a fine debut in the NHL by scoring eleven goals in 30 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1926-27. He spent one more year with Toronto before he was traded to the Rangers with John Ross Roach for Lorne Chabot and Alex Gray. Keeling became a constant in the Blueshirts' line-up over the next decade and some of his linemates included Babe Siebert and Murray Murdoch. On March 21, 1929, he scored only the second overtime goal in Rangers history when he accounted for the winner in the quarter-finals versus the New York Americans.
He scored at least 15 goals five times and helped New York win its second Stanley Cup in 1933. After 525 regular season games, Keeling left the NHL in 1938. He skated two years in minors with the AHL's Philadelphia Ramblers and the Kansas City Greyhounds of the AHA before retiring in 1950 and settling in Winnipeg.
