 During Detroit Red Wing Ted Lindsay 's attempts to form a players ' union in the 1950s , he was approaching selected leaders among the other five NHL teams . Although Kennedy was the lone holdout , which greatly disappointed Lindsay , he still respected Kennedy for not informing Conn Smythe about being approached . " I won 't squeal " , Kennedy told him . According to Glenn Hall , Conn Smythe " ostracized " his captain when he discovered Kennedy had not told him about Lindsay 's endeavors . There was speculation that this led to Kennedy failing to land a job with the Leafs after retirement . 
