Remembering Tom Johnson (1928-2007)
Baldur's Tom Johnson was a six-time Stanley Cup champion, Norris Trophy winner and Hockey Hall of Famer.
Cigars and bow ties. If you didn't know Tom Johnson for his hockey prowess you might have known him for his slight addiction to cigars and bow ties.
Following in Frank Frederickson and Slim Halderson's footsteps, when the six foot, one hundred and eighty pound Tom Johnson broke into the NHL he was the only player in the league at the time that was of Icelandic descent. "I was classified as a defensive defenseman. I stayed back and minded the store," Johnson said. "With the high powered scoring teams I was with, I just had to get them the puck and let them do the rest."
“If we all are allowed an ultimate friend, mentor, confidant and teacher, Tom Johnson was all of those to me," said Harry Sinden, Boston's former coach and general manager.
Overshadowed on the Habs blueline by the legendary Doug Harvey, Tom quietly went about his business and had an exceptional career that won him six Stanley Cup's as a stalwart defender on the Canadiens blueline. And here's a crazy stat for you: Tom's the only true Manitoban that has ever won the Norris Trophy as the league's top defensemen.
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