He spent his 1943–48 seasons with various teams including the Boston Olympics (EHL), Porcupine Combines (NOHA), and the Providence Reds (AHL). He finally began his storied NHL career in 1948–49 with the New York Rangers.

He played five years in New York before spending the 1953–54 season in the WHL with Vancouver. Stanley started his 1954–55 season in New York with the Rangers and was soon traded to the Chicago Black Hawks where he finished that season and the next.

Stanley spent the 1956–57 and 1957–58 season with the Boston Bruins and went on to spend ten years with the Toronto Maple Leafs. There he acquired the nickname "Snowshoes" for his slow, plodding skating style, but he was a strong stay-at-home defender and an important part of the Leafs teams that won four Stanley Cups in six years in the 1960s in 1962, 1963, 1964, 1967.

He finished off his career playing for the Philadelphia Flyers during 1968–69.

In 1,244 NHL regular season games, he scored 100 goals, 333 assists for a total of 433 points. He had 792 minutes in the penalty box.

After he hung up his skates for good, he remained in the game to coach the Buffalo Sabres.

He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1981.

Hockey