[1] Born in Melville, Saskatchewan, Abel, or "Old Bootnose" as he was known, played junior hockey with the Flin Flon Bombers and joined the Red Wings in 1938.

In 1943, Abel left the Red Wings to serve with the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II.

[2] In 1947, Red Wings' coach Jack Adams placed Abel and Ted Lindsay on a forward line with rookie right winger Gordie Howe.

[3] The following season, Lindsay, Abel, and Howe finished first, third, and fourth respectively, in team scoring, and led the Red Wings to the Stanley Cup Finals.

[3] By the 1949 season, the newly dubbed "Production Line" led the Wings to the first of seven consecutive first-place finishes, an NHL record still standing today.

In 1974 Abel was named general manager of the expansion Kansas City Scouts and served through the 1975–76 season,[9] after which the franchise relocated to Denver to become the Colorado Rockies.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Abel worked as a colour commentator on Red Wings radio and television broadcasts beside play-by-play announcer Bruce Martyn.