Larry Stuart Roy Johnston (born July 20, 1943) is a Canadian former 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 h ...

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 to ...

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 The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

and the Detroit Red Wings of the

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

, where he served a short term as captain.

Playing career

Minor league hockey

The

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

drafted Johnston in 1965. Johnston had spent the previous two seasons playing for the Johnstown Jets of the EHL and the

Tulsa Oilers The Tulsa Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and play in the ECHL. The Oilers played their home games at the Tulsa Convention Center until 2008 when they moved into the new BOK Center. For many years, the Tuls ...

of the

Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...

(CHL). Johnston was traded to the

Springfield Indians The Springfield Indians were a minor professional ice hockey franchise, originally based in West Springfield, Massachusetts and later Springfield, Massachusetts. The Indians were founding members of the American Hockey League. They were in existe ...

for

Bruce Gamble Bruce George Gamble (May 24, 1938 – December 29, 1982) was a professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1962 and 1972, with some stints in the minor leagues during that time. Junior career Gamble ...

. The hockey club was purchased by the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

of the

(NHL) and renamed the

Springfield Kings The Springfield Indians were a minor professional ice hockey franchise, originally based in West Springfield, Massachusetts and later Springfield, Massachusetts. The Indians were founding members of the American Hockey League. They were in existen ...

. 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 Detroit Red Wings along with Dale Rolfe and

Gary Croteau Gary Croteau (born June 20, 1946) is a Canadian former ice hockey forward, most notably with the Colorado Rockies of the National Hockey League. Playing career Croteau was born in Sudbury, Ontario, the son of Earl and Georgina Croteau. Earl Cro ...

for

Garry Monahan Garry Michael Monahan (born October 20, 1946) is a Canadian former professional hockey player who played 12 seasons in the National Hockey League. He was the first-ever draft pick in NHL history. Career Monahan was selected first overall by the ...

, Brian Gibbons and

Matt Ravlich Matthew Joseph Ravlich (born July 12, 1938) is a Canadian retired ice hockey defenceman. He played in the National Hockey League for four teams between and 1962 and 1972. Playing career Ravlich started his National Hockey League career with the ...

on February 20, 1970. He started in the CHL with the Fort Worth Wings before quickly moving back up to the AHL with the Baltimore Clippers.

Reaching the NHL

The following season, Johnston played 12 games with the

Tidewater Wings The Virginia Wings were a professional ice hockey team based in Norfolk, Virginia of the greater Hampton Roads area. They were an affiliated farm team of the Detroit Red Wings, and a member of the American Hockey League for three seasons from 197 ...

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-winning seasons of the 1950s. He played three seasons in Detroit before signing with the

Michigan Stags The Michigan Stags were a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit that played a portion of the 1974–75 season in the World Hockey Association. On January 18, 1975, the team folded, but the league immediately took over operation and moved ...

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 The Kansas City Scouts were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1974 to 1976. In 1976, the franchise relocated to Denver, and became the Colorado Rockies. In 1982, the Rockies relocated to New Jersey where ...

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. 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 The Maine Nordiques were a professional ice hockey team that operated within the North American Hockey League from 1973 to 1977. They were based at the Central Maine Youth Center in Lewiston, Maine. The Nordiques served as a farm club for the ...

of the North American Hockey League and retired in 1977.

Career statistics

References

External links

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