Larry Stuart Roy Johnston (born July 20, 1943) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played for over 14 years in seven different hockey leagues. He spent the most time with the Springfield Indians/Kings of the American Hockey League and the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

of the National Hockey League, where he served a short term as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Playing career

Minor league hockey

The Toronto Maple Leafs drafted Johnston in 1965. Johnston had spent the previous two seasons playing for the

Johnstown Jets The Johnstown Jets were a professional ice hockey team from Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The Jets were founded in the Eastern Amateur Hockey League for the 1950–51 season, playing at the newly constructed Cambria County War Memorial Arena. The Jet ...

of the EHL and the Tulsa Oilers of the Central Hockey League (CHL). Johnston was traded to the American Hockey League's Springfield Indians for Bruce Gamble. The hockey club was purchased by the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL) and renamed the Springfield Kings. In the 1967–68 season he made four appearances with the Los Angeles Kings, picking up four penalty minutes and a −7 plus/minus rating. He wouldn't reach the NHL again for three more seasons. In 1969, he was named the most valuable player in Springfield and also led the AHL in penalty minutes in 1968 and 1969. With his increased value, Johnston was traded by Los Angeles to the

along with

Dale Rolfe Dale Roland Carl Rolfe (born April 30, 1940) is a Canadian former ice hockey defenseman. He played for four teams in the National Hockey League between 1960 and 1975. He spent his junior career with the Barrie Flyers through the 1956–57 and 1959 ...

and Gary Croteau for Garry Monahan, Brian Gibbons and Matt Ravlich on February 20, 1970. He started in the CHL with the

Fort Worth Wings The Fort Worth Texans were a professional ice hockey team based in Fort Worth, Texas. They started play in 1967 as the Fort Worth Wings, a minor league affiliate for the Detroit Red Wings. They were part of the Central Hockey League and played t ...

before quickly moving back up to the AHL with the

Baltimore Clippers The Baltimore Clippers were a minor league professional ice hockey team from in Baltimore, Maryland, playing in the Baltimore Civic Center. The Clippers were members of the American Hockey League from 1962 to 1976, and then played one season in ...

Reaching the NHL

The following season, Johnston played 12 games with the Tidewater Wings of the AHL before he was brought up to the Detroit Red Wings to finish out the 1971–72 season. After ten seasons in the minor leagues, Johnston finally found his place in the NHL with Detroit. He would finish his first season with a +20 rating, 24 points and 111 penalty minutes. He was a bright spot on a team that was losing its direction after the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

-winning seasons of the 1950s. He played three seasons in Detroit before signing with the Michigan Stags of the WHA in July 1974 and played there until a rash of injuries shut him down. The Stags transferred to Baltimore during the 1974–75 season becoming the Baltimore Blades. According to the book ''Icing On The Plains: The Rough Ride of Kansas City's NHL Scouts'' (pp. 137-138, Troy Treasure, Balboa Press), when the Michigan franchise moved to Baltimore to be operated by the WHA, Johnston claimed the league failed to properly abide by the terms of his contract. The WHA countered Johnston was not putting forth proper effort on the ice. "Johnston didn't want to play here and he wasn't performing up to expectations," Blades executive director Skip Feldman told the ''Kansas City Star''. "He was just going through the motions. His release was by mutual agreement." According to published reports, Johnston's agent Bob Wolfe told Baltimore media his client had effectively bought out the remainder of his contract for what he was owed for the rest of the season. The Kansas City Scouts acquired Johnston on March 1, 1975 in exchange for an undetermined amount of cash to add muscle and organization to their young defence. Johnston signed for the remainder of the 1974-75 season and the following year. Johnston had one full season with Kansas City in 1975–76 before the franchise relocated to Denver, Colorado, as the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

. Johnston suited up for 25 games in the 1976–77 season, which were his last in the NHL. Johnston played the remainder of that season for the Maine Nordiques of the

North American Hockey League The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is in its 48th season of operation in 2022–23. It is the only Tier II junior league sanctioned by USA Hockey, and acts as an alternati ...

and retired in 1977.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Larry 1943 births Living people Baltimore Blades players Baltimore Clippers players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey defencemen Colorado Rockies (NHL) players Detroit Red Wings captains Detroit Red Wings players Fort Worth Wings players Ice hockey people from Ontario Johnstown Jets players Kansas City Scouts players Los Angeles Kings players Maine Nordiques players Michigan Stags players Sportspeople from Kitchener, Ontario Springfield Indians players Springfield Kings players Tulsa Oilers (1964–1984) players