Donald Ernest Johns (December 13, 1937 – July 8, 2017) was a Canadian professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference t ...

who played 153 games in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

(NHL) for the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its ho ...

, and

Minnesota North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for ...

. He played in the Canadian minor leagues for the Fort William Canadiens and the Winnepeg Warriors (1957 to 1960) before signing with the Rangers, where he teamed with Harry Howell,

Bill Gadsby William Alexander Gadsby (August 8, 1927 – March 10, 2016) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played for the Chicago Black Hawks, New York Rangers, and Detroit Red Wings in the National Hockey League between 1946 and 1966. P ...

and

Lou Fontinato Louis Joseph "Leapin' Louie" Fontinato (January 20, 1932 – July 3, 2016) was a Canadian defenceman in the National Hockey League with the New York Rangers from 1954 to 1961 and the Montreal Canadiens from 1961 to 1963. NHL career Lou Fontinato ...

. Johns was on the Minnesota North Stars roster during their inaugural season of 1967–1968. The Canadiens dropped him after a single game, when he left to attend his mother's funeral.

Personal

Johns and his wife Carol were married for 55 years, until his death, and they had a son, Michael and daughter, Kimberly.A moment with Canadiens that lasted a lifetime
''

'', Dave Stubbs, July 21, 2017. Retrieved April 9, 2021.

References

External links

* 1937 births 2017 deaths Baltimore Clippers players Canadian ice hockey defencemen Ice hockey people from Ontario Montreal Canadiens players Minnesota North Stars players New York Rangers players Sportspeople from the County of Brant Winnipeg Warriors (minor pro) players {{Canada-icehockey-defenceman-1930s-stub