Eddie Johnston
| Eddie Johnston | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
November 24, 1935 Montreal, QC, CAN |
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| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
| Weight | 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb) | ||
| Position | Goaltender | ||
| Caught | Left | ||
| Played for |
Boston Bruins Toronto Maple Leafs St. Louis Blues Chicago Black Hawks |
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| Playing career | 1956–1978 | ||
Edward Joseph Johnston (born November 24, 1935) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender and former coach and general manager in the National Hockey League. While being the last NHL goaltender to play every minute of every game in a season, his professional career spanned more than 50 continuous years (22 as a player and 31 as management); more than 45 of them were within the NHL. He won two Stanley Cups as a player with the Boston Bruins in 1970 and 1972, and a third in 2009 as senior advisor for hockey operations with the Pittsburgh Penguins, an organization he served in various capacities for 25 years.
Johnston grew up in an anglophone neighborhood in Montreal and was often called "E.J.", a nickname that is still often used today. He became interested in ice hockey as a youth and became a goaltender.
He began his hockey career as a teenager in 1953 playing for the hometown Montreal Junior Royals of the Quebec Junior Hockey League. After a six year minor league career, principally in the Western Hockey League, Johnston was called up to the Boston Bruins in 1962, who owned his rights and for whom he would play the bulk of his NHL career. In his second season, he became notable for being the final NHL goaltender to play every minute of every game during the regular season. However, the Bruins were a mediocre team in his first five seasons, finishing out of the playoffs every year and generally in last place.
This changed after expansion in 1967, when after acquiring Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito, the resurgent Bruins became a powerhouse that went on to win Stanley Cups in 1970 and 1972. Capably backing up lead goaltender Gerry Cheevers, Johnston played well enough to be named as a backup to Team Canada for the Summit Series in 1972, although he played only in exhibition matches. The following season, after defections to the new World Hockey Association left Johnston as the number one goaltender for the Bruins once more, he did not play nearly so well, and was traded after the season to the Toronto Maple Leafs as the "future considerations" in Boston's acquisition of Jacques Plante from Toronto. Toronto in its turn dealt Johnston to the St. Louis Blues, for whom he would be a credible backup for three seasons. His final season, 1978, he played poorly in twelve games for St. Louis before being sold to the Chicago Black Hawks, for whom he played in four matches to end his long goaltending career.
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