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

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

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

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 in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

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 The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

, 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 or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

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. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

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 Hockey League, Eastern Amateur Hockey League for the 1950–51 season, playing at the newly constructed Cambria County War M ...

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 Tulsa ...

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 two separate minor professional ice hockey franchises, originally based in West Springfield, Massachusetts and later Springfield, Massachusetts. The original Indians were founding members of the American Hockey Leagu ...

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 Kings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. ...

of the

(NHL) and renamed the

Springfield Kings Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queensl ...

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

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 i ...

Reaching the NHL

The following season, Johnston played 12 games with the

Tidewater Wings Tidewater may refer to: * Tidewater (region), a geographic area of southeast Virginia, southern Maryland, and northeast North Carolina. ** Tidewater accent, an accent of American English associated with the Tidewater region of Virginia * Tidewater ...

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 () 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, and the International Ic ...

-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 1976–77 NHL season, 1976, the franchise relocated to Denver and became the Colorado Rockies (NHL), Colorado Rockies. In 1982– ...

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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

. 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 Q ...

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 50th season of operation in 2024–25. 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 ice hockey defencemen Colorado Rockies (NHL) players 20th-century Canadian sportsmen 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