Marshall Johnston
Lawrence Johnston | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 6, 1941 Birch Hills, Saskatchewan, Canada |
| Occupation(s) | Ice hockey player, coach, executive |
| Years active | 1967–1999 |
| Known for | NHL defenceman for Minnesota North Stars and California Golden Seals; coach of California Golden Seals and Colorado Rockies; general manager of Ottawa Senators; IIHF Hall of Fame inductee |
Lawrence Marshall Johnston (born June 6, 1941) is a retired Canadian professional involved in ice hockey as a player, coach, and executive. He played the position of defenceman for the Minnesota North Stars and California Golden Seals within the National Hockey League (NHL). Johnston also held coaching roles with the California Golden Seals and Colorado Rockies, later becoming general manager of the Ottawa Senators. In 1998, he was honored with induction into the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame.
Career
Prior to his NHL tenure, Johnston earned All-American honors at the University of Denver and subsequently coached the Pioneers from 1977 through 1981. He competed for Canada in the Winter Olympics of 1964 and 1968, serving as team captain in the latter year.
During the 1964 Winter Olympics, Canada concluded with a 5–2 record, tying with Czechoslovakia and Sweden. Although initially believed to have secured the bronze medal based on head-to-head goal differential, a last-minute ruling by IIHF president Bunny Ahearne shifted the criteria to overall goal differential, placing Canada fourth. This decision provoked controversy and criticism from Canadian officials and players.
Johnston made his NHL debut during the league's 1967–68 expansion season, spending parts of four seasons with Minnesota before transferring to California in 1971–72. Following his playing career, he coached the Golden Seals between 1973 and 1975. He then devoted six seasons to coaching at the University of Denver, including serving as head coach from 1977 to 1981.
In 1981, Johnston joined the Colorado Rockies organization as assistant general manager and assistant coach before advancing to head coach. When the team relocated to New Jersey as the Devils, he maintained his role as Director of Player Personnel for a decade.
Johnston became part of the Ottawa Senators' management team in 1996 as Director of Player Personnel and was elevated to general manager in 1999, succeeding Rick Dudley. After three productive seasons at the helm of the Senators, he stepped down to prioritize family commitments.
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||||||||||||
| 1957–58 | Prince Albert Mintos | SJHL | 49 | 20 | 29 | 49 | 21 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 1958–59 | Prince Albert Mintos | SJHL | 48 | 31 | 24 | 55 | 17 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 1959–60 | University of Denver | WCHA | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| 1960–61 | University of Denver | WCHA | 32 | 11 | 19 | 30 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| 1961–62 | University of Denver | WCHA | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| 1962–63 | University of Denver | WCHA | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| 1963–64 | Canadian National Team | Intl | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| 1964–65 | Winnipeg Monarchs | SSHL | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| 1965–66 | Canadian National Team | Intl | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| 1966–67 | Canadian National Team | Intl | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| 1967–68 | Winnipeg Nationals | WCSHL | — | 5 | 13 | 18 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| 1967–68 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| 1968–69 | Cleveland Barons | AHL | 53 | 6 | 20 | 26 | 31 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 1968–69 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| 1969–70 | Iowa Stars | CHL | 50 | 1 | 25 | 26 | 42 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| 1969–70 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 28 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 1970–71 | Cleveland Barons | AHL | 69 | 11 | 45 | 56 | 45 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 1970–71 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — |
- |
1971–72 | California Golden Seals | NHL | 74 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 4 | — | — | — | — |
| 1972–73 | California Golden Seals | NHL | 78 | 10 | 20 | 30 | 14 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1973–74 NHL season#1973-74 | California Golden Seals | NHL | 50 | 2 | 16 | 18 | 24 | |||||||||||||||||
| NHL totals | 250 | 14 | 52 | 66 | 58 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||||||||||||||
International
| Year | Team | Competition | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | Canada | OLY | 7 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | |
| 1966 | Canada | WC | 7 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 | |
| 1967 | Canada | WC | 7 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | |
| 1968 | Canada | OLY | 7 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 4 | |
| Career senior totals | 28 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 14 | |||
NHL
| Team | Season | GP | W | L | T | Pts | Standing | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California Golden Seals | 1973–74 | 21 | 2 | 17 | 2 | (36) | 8th in West | Did not qualify |
| California Golden Seals | 1974–75 | 48 | 11 | 28 | 9 | (51) | 4th in Adams | (dismissed) |
| Colorado Rockies | 1981–82 | 56 | 15 | 32 | 9 | (49) | 5th in Smythe | Did not qualify |
| Aggregate totals | 125 | 28 | 77 | 20 | — | — | ||
Awards and achievements
- Recipient of the Eddie Shore Award, 1971
- Inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame, 1998
- Stanley Cup winner with the New Jersey Devils, 1995
External links
- Pages with script errors
- Articles with short description
- Articles with hCards
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- 1941 births
- Living people
- 20th-century Canadian sportsmen
- California Golden Seals coaches
- California Golden Seals players
- Canada men's national ice hockey team coaches
- Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States
- Canadian ice hockey coaches
- Canadian ice hockey defencemen
- Canadian people of Norwegian descent
- Carolina Hurricanes scouts
- Chicago Blackhawks executives
- Chicago Blackhawks scouts
- Cleveland Barons (1937–1973) players
- Colorado Rockies (NHL) coaches
- Denver Pioneers men's ice hockey coaches
- Denver Pioneers men's ice hockey players
- Ice hockey people from Saskatchewan
- Ice hockey players at the 1964 Winter Olympics
- Ice hockey players at the 1968 Winter Olympics
- IIHF Hall of Fame inductees
- Medalists at the 1968 Winter Olympics
- Minnesota North Stars players
- National Hockey League general managers
- NCAA men's ice hockey national champions
- New Jersey Devils coaches
- New Jersey Devils executives
- Olympic bronze medalists for Canada
- Olympic ice hockey players for Canada
- Olympic medalists in ice hockey
- Ottawa Senators executives
- Ottawa Senators general managers
- People from Birch Hills
- Stanley Cup champions