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So yesterday was my birthday and long story short, my family outdid themselves and picked up a new piece for my museum for me, one of the biggest pieces to ever enter my collection. But before I begin, don't forget to "LIKE" Bruce C. Goaltending Museum on Facebook and "FOLLOW" us on Twitter!

Ed Johnston was born on November 24, 1935 in Montreal, Quebec. After playing in the Memorial Cup with the Montreal Jr. Canadiens in 1955-56, being an EHL all-star in 1959-60, and also being a WHL all-star in 1961-62, Johnston was taken by the Boston Bruins in an Inter-League Draft in 1962. He wasted no time. In his first NHL season, in 1962-63, he took over the starting role in Boston and played in 50 games for the team. Though the team did not make the playoffs Johnston played respectably enough to stay on as the team's started in 1963-64. That season, despite not making the playoffs, he was the final goalie to accomplish a feat that is unlikely that any other future goalie will match. Johnston became the final goalie in NHL history to play every minute of every game for a team in a full NHL season. Glenn Hall alone had an iron man steak of 502 consecutive games played. Though solid, the team around him struggled for several season as Johnston was kept in as the number one or shared numbered one until the 1967-68 season when he fell below Gerry Cheevers in the depth chart. With the rebuild of the team working well, though with Johnston as a back-up, the team won the Stanley Cup in 1970. In 1972, he shared playoff responsibilities with Cheevers and won the Stanley Cup while leading the NHL in playoff wins and GAA that season. That strong performance got Johnston the role of the #3 goalie in the infamous 1972 Summit Series behind Tony Esposito and Ken Dryden. As a 37 year old, and with Cheevers having left to the rival WHA Johnstone played one final year as the Bruins' starter, appearing in 45 games, though falling to the Rangers in the first round of the playoffs. After that season, Johnston was sent to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the deal that saw Jacques Plante join the Bruins. NHL deals being different back in the day saw Plante already join the Bruins the previous season for a handful of regular season and playoff games while Johnston still on the team and only shipped out after the team's season was over. Johnston played one uneventful season in Toronto as part of a three goalie tandem of Doug Favell (32 games), Johnston (26 games), and Dunc Wilson (24 games) before being moved on to the St. Louis Blues for the 1974-75 campaign. For three seasons, despite playing in only appearing in 106 games for the team, he became the clear #1 goalie by his second season, taking over for John Davidson. By 1977-78, being 42 years old, his age was showing and his numbers weakened. After 12 uncharacteristically weak games with the Blues, he was acquired by the Chicago Blackhawks and after another four games, he ended up retiring from play. However, he did not leave the game. In 1979-80, he was the head coach of the Blackhawks, then the head coach of the Penguins the following year until 1983 when he became the team's GM, being the guy who chose Mario Lemieux for the club. In 1988, he took over the GM role in Hartford and was not as successful there as he had been in Pittsburgh. In 1993-94, he was once again a head coach for the Penguins until he was let go during the 1996-97 season. He was then an assistant GM, advisor, etc. for the Penguins and even got his name on the Stanley Cup once more in 2009. He has coached over 500 games for the Penguins (1st all time), and remains one of the coaching leaders for the team in both wins (2nd all time) and losses (1st all time).

In his NHL career, Ed Johnson appeared in 592 games, recording a 237-256-78 record with 32 shutouts, 10 assists, a 3.25GAA and a 0.895% save average. On top of that, he appeared in 18 playoff games, recording a 7-10 record with a 3.34GAA, one shutout and a 0.894% save average. A true legend of the game of hockey.

What you are looking at right now is a 1975-77 era St. Louis Blues game worn sweater used by Eddie Johnston. It is convincingly photomatched to game action based on the numbers on the sleeves. It features multiple blood stains stains on the front, piling, as well as a stunning team repair on the side of the sweater. A brilliant piece from a bygone era of hockey.

Acquired from: Global Vintage Sports

Dates of Game Use: Exact dates not specifically known at this time

Photomatched: Yes