The world was different in 1980. Cable TV, home computers and car phones were just starting to become popular. So ABC could record and edit Winter Olympic events to fit their prime-time show without any real worries about viewers finding out results in advance.
Another difference was that large crowds at Penguin games were rare.
All of which will bring us to Mark Johnson's NHL debut.
The now-legendary USA-USSR Olympic hockey game took place at 5 p.m. on Friday, February 22, 1980. ABC asked to switch it with the Sweden-Finland game that was scheduled for 8:00, but the International Ice Hockey Federation said no. So when ABC's Olympic coverage went on the air at 8:30 that night after a half-hour of Pink Panther winter sports cartoons, the streets of Lake Placid were full of celebrating Americans, but the rest of the country was unaware. The Post-Gazette showed the coverage as:
"8:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. -- United States vs. Soviet Union and Sweden vs. Finland, hockey; men's slalom, 4x7.5 biathlon relay skiing. Channels 4, 9.
11:30 p.m. to 12 p.m. -- Highlights and summaries of Friday's events."
And while ABC ended up showing the whole game, in chunks, on tape, they mixed in the other coverage.
Both Pittsburgh papers ran wire service Olympic summaries the next day. (Phil Musick, who was there for the PG, wrote a column about the bad organization of the Lake Placid Games.)
The Post-Gazette's AP story included, "Johnson, a draft choice of the Pittsburgh Penguins who had scored his first goal of the game with one second left in the first period, added his second at 8:39 of the third period. A Dave Silk pass bounced off the skate of Soviet defenseman Sergei Starikov, and Johnson -- five feet to the right of replacement goalie Vladimir Myshkin, rammed in a shot." The Pittsburgh Press didn't mention any Penguin connection in the UPI coverage of the game, but did have a note inside the Sunday sports section buried at the bottom of their coverage of the Penguins' 2-1 win over the Nordiques: "Negotiations are continuing between the Penguins and Mark Johnson, who scored two goals in the stunning 4-3 U.S. victory over the Soviets Friday. He scored the winning goal in two previous Olympic games."
Sunday morning's 11:00 game between the USA and Finland did coincide with scheduled ABC coverage, so that game was broadcast live. Johnson scored the last goal in the 4-2 gold medal clincher, and the front page story in the next day's PG included a parenthetical "(Johnson is a draft choice of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Story on Page 21.)"
Amid all the stories about the hockey gold medal, Eric Heiden's five speed-skating golds, and the Penguins' 2-0 loss in Quebec, there was coverage of Johnson's negotiations with the Penguins.
"I've been on the phone for four hours today and I don't want to hear his name again," general manager Baz Bastien said about agent Norm Caplan. "Naturally, today, they want half the building. But I'm not going to be backed into a corner just because the U.S. team won the Olympics. They'll settle down tomorrow."
Johnson was the Penguins' fourth-round choice in 1977, though he went to play at the University of Wisconsin. Although he was only 5-9 and 165 pounds, he led the U.S. team in scoring through their 61-game pre-Olympic schedule with 33 goals and 47 assists, then added five goals and eight assists in the seven Olympic contests. To keep from affecting Johnson's amateur status, Bastien waited until Johnson hired an agent before starting talks.
"I talked with his dad Friday," said the GM, "and we had a good discussion. ... His father was happy at the things I said. We aren't that far apart, really."
If the two sides couldn't reach agreement in 30 days, they would have to go to arbitration.
Of course, there was interest in other Olympians as well. Goalie Jim Craig signed with the Atlanta Flames. Steve Christoff signed with the North Stars, as did backup goaltender Steve Janaszak. Silk went to the Rangers. Ken Morrow became an Islander. Dave Christian scored on his first shift with Winnipeg. And Buzz Schneider had been to camp with the Penguins in 1974, but the club had long since relinquished his rights.
The Penguins had picked up 12 points in their last 23 games and were dealing with several injuries when the Jets, who were in their first year in the NHL, came to the Igloo on Feb. 27. In front of 8,977, Pittsburgh took 51 shots at Pierre Hamel, but needed three goals in the last 9 minutes, including a George Ferguson goal with 37 seconds left, to beat the worst team in the league, 3-2.
The next day, the team reached an agreement with Johnson. Penguin vice president Paul Martha became involved in the negotiations because of Johnson's box office potential. "People, we hope, will want to come out and watch him play hockey."
Johnson signed a three-year contract on Feb. 29. At the press conference, he said, "Outside of a signing bonus there really wasn't that much of a change in things. I'm sure this is going to be a big change for me. It will take some adjustment. But I'm really looking forward to it."
"I'm not real concerned about his size right now," said Bastien. "I think he proved to be pretty durable when he played in the Olympics. But we'll just have to wait and see about the NHL."
"I anticipate there being more holding and grabbing in the NHL than I saw in college and with the Olympic team," said Johnson.
At the rink in Mt. Lebanon, Johnson had to make his way through a clump of TV cameras to introduce himself to his new teammates before heading to New York to shoot a segment about the Olympic victory for Wide World of Sports.
"See," said Penguins equipment manager John Doolan, "you shouldn't have won the gold medal."
"This would be a lot easier if I hadn't," Johnson replied.
His first NHL game would be at the Civic Arena on Sunday afternoon, March 2, against the Islanders.
Glenn Resch started in goal for New York, while backup Rob Holland was Pittsburgh coach Johnny Wilson's choice. Both recorded shutouts in a 0-0 tie. Resch stopped 24 Penguin shots, while Holland made 22 saves.
Holland stopped Anders Kallur on a first-period breakaway by kicking Kallur's shot off the post. He also took away the angle on a Mike Bossy attempt in the third.
Johnson, of course, was the main attraction for the crowd of 14,879. He skated 13 shifts on a line with Gary McAdam and Pat Hughes, and didn't have a shot on goal. On his first shift, Johnson checked Islander defenseman Bob Lorimer into the boards. Later in the period, he was unable to put home a bouncing rebound of a shot by defenseman Dale Tallon.
Johnson's playmaking skills were evident. Late in the first, he sent Hughes and McAdam in on a 2-on-1, and Resch had to make a nice save on Hughes' 30-footer. In the third period, Johnson set Hughes up for three more shots.
Fans' eyes were also on Olympic defenseman Ken Morrow, who had made his debut on Long Island the previous night. There were chants of "U-S-A! U-S-A!" Organist Vince Lascheid played the Olympic theme during breaks. And, at one point, Channel 11 blinded fans with their lights when they decided to interview a spectator while the game was going on.
"I was tense coming in here, but the players were terrific and they eased things for me," Johnson said after the game. "I hope it will all cool down. I'm not comfortable with all the attention.
"I'm a rookie. I have to work hard to make this club. This isn't comfortable."
"He handled himself like he'd been around for years," said Wilson. "He was all keyed-up, feeling his way around. It'll take a few practices before he becomes more effective offensively.
"He knows the game and he's a threat. Every time he's out there, he's dangerous."
When Johnson was asked about Morrow, he said, "It's funny but the only time I thought about playing against him was during the faceoffs. But I enjoyed knowing someone else was going through what I was going through. It eased a lot of tension."
McAdam was impressed. "The kid was coming off a big high. He didn't know what to expect. For a young kid with that kind of pressure on him, I thought he was very smart, very cool. Most players who come in new and haven't seen the team run all over the place out there. But he held his position pretty well."
McAdam added, "I enjoyed playing with him today. Not because he's an Olympic superstar ... but because he's a helluva hockey player."
"I think he'll make it," said Islanders general manager Bill Torrey. "He's intelligent on the ice."
"I might've been off a stride or two early," concluded Johnson, "but as the game went on, I felt more comfortable."
But he wasn't thrilled to be surrounded by reporters afterward.
"Yeah, the attention makes me really uncomfortable. I don't consider myself very special."
Penguin captain Orest Kindrachuk was helpful. "You want to go get a bite to eat with us, then get your butt in gear."
On Monday, March 3, the Pens went to St. Louis, where they lost, 5-1. Before the game, the Blues held a ceremony to honor Johnson and his parents.
He lasted until March 2, 1982 with the Penguins, putting up 23 goals and 39 assists in 136 games. Pittsburgh traded him to the North Stars for a second-round draft choice. He played for Minnesota, Hartford and St. Louis before spending his last five NHL seasons in New Jersey. Johnson ended up with 203 goals and 305 assists in 669 games. In 1990, he went to Europe to play for a couple years before retiring. He went into coaching, and became the head coach of the women's team at Wisconsin in 2002, a position he still holds.
A couple of other people from the 1980 Olympic team had roles in Penguin history. Defenseman Mike Ramsey came over from Buffalo in March, 1993 in exchange for Bob Errey, then left as a free agent in the summer of 1994.
More importantly, Olympic assistant coach Craig Patrick was hired as general manager on Dec. 5, 1989. He held the position until 2006. In 1995, he hired his Olympic boss, Herb Brooks, as a scout, and with the exception of coaching the team in the 1999-2000 season, Brooks was in the Penguins' player personnel department until his death in an auto accident Aug. 11, 2003.
In 1990, Patrick hired two highly respected hockey men. One was Scotty Bowman, who was named Director of Player Personnel. The other was Mark Johnson's father. Badger Bob Johnson only coached the Penguins for one year, but that was when the team won its first Stanley Cup in 1990-91.
No doubt, Badger Bob said March 2, 1980 was a great day for hockey.
(All quotes are from the original newspaper coverage.)
