As an NHL coach, Eddie Johnston was known to drop a four-letter word or two behind the bench.
As a GM, he said the language could get even more colorful, especially when dealing with deceitful agents.
As a player, EJ acknowledged that he was tough — not wearing a mask for a majority of his 22-year career and becoming the last goaltender to play every minute of every game in a season proved that — but joked that his single-digit jersey number was simply a reflection of his IQ.
I sat down with Johnston earlier this week inside an Italian restaurant outside Mt. Lebanon. Still loaded with wit and humor — and plenty of piss and vinegar — the 82-year-old shared memories of more than a half-century in professional hockey. Sitting over a half-eaten salmon salad, Johnston’s smile was on full display when discussing his superstar designated driver in Boston, the five times he has held the Stanley Cup over his head and, of course, that 1984 summer day when he announced that Mario Lemieux was the top selection of the Penguins. He wasn’t shy, either, about sharing his feelings when it came to the question of whether he “tanked” to get Lemieux, if he and the organization are responsible for the draft lottery or if he should share in any of the blame for the Hartford Whalers now calling Raleigh, N.C. home.
Johnston still resides in the Pittsburgh area since his semi-retirement after the Penguins claimed the cup in 2009. He golfs, drinks beer and watches hockey. He is a regular at PPG Paints Arena. He said he loves to give Sidney Crosby “knuckles” and still very much will lend his opinion to management, coaches and players — if they ask for it.
I asked for it quite a bit:
Cody: EJ, how did this glorious 53-year NHL career begin?
EJ: For me, there were no indoor rinks in Montreal. I was brought up in Depression. I had five brothers and I was the middle one. My oldest two brothers played forward and I was the dummy they put in the net. It was freezing cold all the time. That’s how I got started. I never got a chance to skate out, but I got the love of goaltending.
Cody: Did you know pretty quickly that you had what it took to play in the NHL?
EJ: Not a chance, nope. Once a year, the Catholic schools played in the Montreal Forum. We happened to win it and I got invited to play for the Montreal Jr. Canadiens. They had an A and a B team. I played for the B team. It was unreal. I was fortunate. Mr. Frank Selke was the GM — and I played in three different leagues, all minor teams, and won championships in back-to-back-to-back seasons — so he called me in and gave me a chance to play in the NHL.
Cody: Did you have a welcome-to-the-NHL moment?
EJ: When I played in the minors, I practiced with Henri Richard. The Canadiens won the Stanley Cup all the time, and we played for $1 a day. If I was on Rocket’s team — and we won —he would come over to me and say I could come over and have one beer (with the Canadiens players). If we lost, he’d get right in my face and say, “EJ, don’t bother (expletive) coming today.” He was a great guy. During my first year in the NHL, we would laugh about that.
Eddie Johnston enjoyed a career night when he stopped 38 shots and then drank 39 Budweisers after the game. pic.twitter.com/mWbYdUJYw9
— Super 70s Sports (@Super70sSports) October 3, 2017
Cody: In 1962, you were in net for the Bruins. In 1970 and '72, you won Stanley Cups, playing with Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito. What are your fondest memories of that time, on or off the ice?
EJ: I’ll tell you a funny story about Bobby Orr. He came to training camp his first year (1966) and his dad came with him. He came up to me and said he would like to have his son stay with me. I said, ‘Are you sure you got the right guy?’ (laughs) I had a name downtown. I used to go to the bar all the time. He said he was told I was the guy that would take care of him. Orr never drank until he was 21, but he used to take me downtown and drop me off at the bar and pick me up after. After about two or three weeks, I bought him a chauffeur’s hat. I would come out of the bar and get in the back seat and he’d drive me home. Here he was, the best player in the world at the time, and he’s driving me home.
Cody: You also owned a bar called “EJ’s” in Boston, correct?
EJ: Oh yeah, it was terrific. After we won both Cups, we stayed open for 48 hours straight. After the first Cup, my door guys told me they made $10,000 each. They made $15,000 each at the door after the second one. There was a line outside for two straight days. I slept down there, hammered. (laughs). It was a big bar. I had known bands in all the time, like Chicago. They used to come to the games when I coached in Chicago. They ended up being a big band and put out a lot of good records. We were all about entertainment. We would get 1,000 people a night on the weekends.
Cody: I have to ask: What is it like playing goalie in the NHL without a mask?
EJ: That number on my back matched my IQ — a one. (laughs) We didn’t have backups or anything when I played, either. The first guy to wear a mask was Jacques Plante (who Toronto traded to Boston in exchange for Johnston in 1973). The guy upstairs is taking care of me. I was in a coma for six weeks once. Orr let it go in warmups and boom. Lights out. (EJ now has a metal plate on the right side of his forehead.) I got my nose broke a couple of times. I would do anything to stay in the game. Trainers would plug things up your nose so you could go back out and play. One night, they even put leeches on my eyes to help with the swelling. I played the next night and beat Chicago, 2-0. It was crazy. I was the last guy to play every minute of every game. You were afraid if you couldn’t play for a week, and a guy came in and did the job, it was [expletive] you! You’re going to the minors. I never gave them an opportunity.
Cody: Do you remember the first time you heard the name Mario Lemieux or watched him skate?
EJ: Oh, yeah. He grew up maybe 20 miles from where I did in Montreal. I knew all about him when he was 12 years old. Everyone had a pretty good idea who he was. By the time he was 14 or 15, he was a household name. He was easily going to be the No. 1 pick. I watched him play a few games for Laval Voisins in juniors. The first game, he scored five or six points. I came back to see him a week later to make sure he was the right guy and he scored five or six again.
Cody: You were hired as the head coach of the Penguins in 1980 and then named the team’s GM before the 1983-84 season. Those were some lean times, including bottoming out at 16-58-6 in your first season upstairs. There is the narrative out there that you may have tanked that season to get Lemieux. Any truth to that?
EJ: Around Christmas time, we were 35 points out of a [expletive] playoff spot. We knew we weren’t going to the playoffs. It came down to the last couple of games on who would get the first pick. We had a brutal team. No superstars or anything. We only had a few guys in the minors, and I brought them up to take a look and see if they could [expletive] play or not. If not, they weren’t going to be on the team the next year. We were changing the face of the team.
Cody: So you’re saying you had a pretty good shot of landing him no matter what?
EJ: Not really, but our team back then — we didn’t have much of a team. In my first year in Pittsburgh, coming into camp teams typically have 30 or 40 or 50 players — we had 21 guys and everyone made the team, which is unheard of. We had no one in the minor leagues. Previously, we had given away our first-round picks all the time.
Cody: Do you think that 1984 draft is the reason we have a lottery now?
EJ: Yes, probably so.
Cody: When you knew that you had the top pick locked up, were you selecting Lemieux no matter what?
EJ: We got offered some great deals. Quebec offered the Stastny Bros. (Peter, Marian and Anton). Philly offered a few players and their first-round pick. Montreal made sure that whatever Quebec offered, they would top it. Minnesota offered me all of its picks. I was emphatic with (then Penguins owner) Mr. (Edward) DeBartolo: ‘I’m not trading this pick.’ It didn’t even cross my mind. Players like that come once in a lifetime. By picking him, the franchise is still here. If we didn’t, we wouldn’t be here right now. There’s no question about that.
Cody: Mario made you look like a genius, huh?
EJ: Oh, yeah. We played the first game in Boston, and on his very first shift, he was one-on-two against Ray Bourque and another defenseman, and he went right through and scored. His very first shift. It was phenomenal. He took over from there.
Cody: The wins in Pittsburgh didn’t follow immediately, and you served as GM in Hartford from 1989-92. While there, your teams never missed the playoffs, yet you have gotten some blowback for trading Ron Francis and Ulf Samuelsson to the Penguins in 1991. Why do you think that is?
EJ: We had no choice. The owner at the time, Richard Gordon, had a conflict with Ronnie. (Gordon) wanted him to be operated on by a certain person, and Francis refused. We just had no choice. Thank God I had four or five witnesses with me. We made the trade, and it worked out for both clubs. (Pittsburgh) won the Cup, and we had John Cullen, who scored more than 20 goals. We had a great year in Hartford.
Cody: A GM is obviously going to take a lot of heat, but what is your reaction to some who say you are part of the reason the Whalers are now the Carolina Hurricanes?
EJ: I don’t know why people would think that. When I was there, we were in the playoffs every [expletive] year. They didn’t make it for five or six years after I left. At the deadline in 1991, we were in trouble. We didn’t want to trade Francis. He was our leader. He knows the story. There was no choice and they wanted him out of there. People quit coming to the building. When you lose and don’t make the playoffs, crowds go down. We played in a very small place downtown. I don’t know if you have ever been to downtown Hartford, but it wasn’t the best place to be. The city was empty around 6 p.m. It was a tough situation.
Cody: What were your thoughts and emotions like watching Mario, Francis and the Pens lift the Cup in 1991 and '92?
EJ: They should give me a ring, too. (laughs) I helped them out. It was a good move for Hartford and for them. We didn’t have the Marios and the (Kevin Stevens), and all of those guys. We didn’t have that luxury. I was happy for them. I helped make some trades and brought a lot of those guys in. I wanted to see them do well.
Cody: You had another four-year stint as head coach of the Penguins from 1993-97, then spent the next nine years as an assistant to Craig Patrick. In 2005, there you were again, owner of the No. 1 pick in the draft and looking at a once-in-a-lifetime player in Sidney Crosby. That had to bring back some memories, huh?
EJ: It didn’t take long to decide who we were drafting. (laughs) We have been blessed, since 1984, to have the best player in the league with Mario, (Jaromir) Jagr, (Evgeni) Malkin and Crosby. That will never happen again.
Cody: How much of Mario do you see when you watch Sid play?
EJ: I see a lot. They are both leaders. Sid is the first guy on, last guy off. Mario was basically the same way. They both put in extra time with other guys. They both have great leadership. They both see the ice so well. They know how to anticipate. Certain guys have blinders on and don’t see guys coming behind them. Mario made plays that I would think, ‘How the hell did he see that?’ Mario scored in every single way, whether it was on the power play, short-handed, whatever. They are two great players. We've been blessed here. To say the least.
Cody: In 2009, for the first time as a front-office member, you were a part of a championship. What is the biggest difference between winning it is a player compared to a decision-maker?
EJ: As a player, you dream about that when you are a kid. But when you come here as a manager and everything develops, it’s unbelievable. You get sky high. You never lose that feeling. Especially when a guy like Mario hands you the cup on the ice. You would think it would be heavy, but you are so charged up. It was like a feather. It’s like walking on water. You are just so excited.
Cody: You retired on top?
EJ: Yeah, I guess so. I’ve just been really fortunate.
Eddie Johnston the ? ?https://t.co/32k84tHh4c pic.twitter.com/wag74EIbBr
— Taylor Haase (@TaylorHaasePGH) June 12, 2017
Cody: Your name is on that Cup five times. Can you even process that?
EJ: I’m blessed. And Washington deserved it this year, too. Alex Ovechkin elevated his game. He was backchecking and blocking shots, things he never does.
Cody: What are your thoughts on the way the game is played today?
EJ: I think the speed and skill is terrific. A lot of guys playing in the league weigh 150 or 160 pounds. Years ago, you could never do that. You would go in the corner and the little guys wouldn’t come out. When I was coaching, we had a few free-for-alls. You always needed really tough guys. At least one or two. If a guy ran Mario, my tough guys would never fight their tough guy. He ran their best player, too. He would smack their [expletive] best player in the mouth. That [expletive] stops real quick. I did that a few times.
Cody: Have you ever seen a superstar get hit the way Crosby has?
EJ: No. We had a kid a year ago, (Ryan Reaves). You’d be surprised, when he was there, not a [expletive] guy would go near him or they would have to pay the penalty. He was tough. You need that. Some of the [expletive] hits he has taken, I blame on the league. When guys do stuff like that, they didn’t give out a 10-game suspension. He’s the best player in the game — the face of the league — and you let guys do stupid [expletive]. You need a tough guy.
Cody: As a former coach, GM and goalie, what are your thoughts on the job Mike Sullivan, Jim Rutherford and, of course, Matt Murray have done?
EJ: Sully has done terrific. He did a good job in Boston. I’m glad they let him go. Jimmy has made some terrific deals. He is really, really good. It’s a whole new ballgame with the salary cap. As far as Murray, we have been very blessed. We had Marc-Andre Fleury for a long time, but the two cups we won, Murray was in the net. He had an unfortunate year last year because his dad died. They were very close and his dad was young. I went in the dressing room a couple of times after that. People would say, ‘I’m sorry to hear about your dad,’ and the tears came. He’s a good one. And a good kid.
Cody: Some are starting to whisper about the Penguins’ window possibly closing with a number of guys on the wrong side of 30 years old. What are your thoughts on this team and what they still have left in the tank?
EJ: (Laughs) We can win it again. No doubt in my mind. Anytime you’ve got Sid or Malkin, two of the top centermen in the NHL. Kris Letang will come back and have a have a big year. He was hurt last year. Jimmy’s addition of Jack Johnson was big, too. Here’s a guy who played 25 to 30 minutes a night and is good with Sid. You know he is going to be in there. If we need anything, that’s what makes Jimmy so good -- he will get a guy here and there and fill some holes. The window is not going to be closed for another few years.
Cody: You can have one of these guys on your team: Mario Lemieux, Wayne Gretzky or Bobby Orr?
EJ: All three. (laughs) Wow, that’s a tough call. Orr (who was Johnston’s best man and the godfather to one of his sons) was by far the best player in the league when I played. He won the scoring title, and for a defenseman, changed the outlook of the game. He controlled the pace. Gretzky and Mario are two of the greatest to ever play. I’d say 1 and 1A. You won’t lose with any of them.
Cody: At 82, what keeps you going?
EJ: I enjoy hockey. It gets me out of the house. Otherwise, you just sit around. Mario has a fantasy camp, so I coach at that at the end of January. I go to all the home games and some of the away ones.
Yesterday Eddie Johnston turned 80. Today, he celebrated with the #Pens post-game and received this framed photo. pic.twitter.com/1d1bLAXxeJ
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) November 26, 2015
Cody: What is the value of the near lifelong friendship you have shared with Mario?
EJ: It’s been terrific. I couldn’t have asked for a better guy than him. The only reason that I am with the club is him. He’s like that with everyone. It’s the way he was brought up. Kevin Stevens, now he is fine, so, Mario put him back on the payroll to do scouting. That’s the way he is. He doesn’t give up on anybody.
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