Voices from the Past: Johnny Gagnon

Legendary hockey reporter and analyst Stan Fischler writes a weekly scrapbook for NHL.com. Fischler, known as "The Hockey Maven," shares his humor and insight with readers each Wednesday.
This week's edition features "Voices from the Past." The subject is Johnny "Black Cat" Gagnon, who starred for a Stanley Cup-winning Montreal Canadiens team as well as the Boston Bruins and New York Americans during the 1930s. With the Canadiens, the 5-foot-5, 140-pound forward was to his Hall of Fame linemate Howie Morenz what Leon Draisaitl is to Connor McDavid these days with the Edmonton Oilers. Stan, then covering the New York Rangers, interviewed Gagnon several times at Madison Square Garden while Gagnon, a legendary storyteller, was scouting for the Rangers.

How did you get into hockey?
"I was a kid growing up in Chicoutimi, Quebec -- same town as Hall of Fame goalie
Georges Vezina
-- and there were 11 kids in our family. In the winters there was plenty of ice all around; and I loved to play hockey. We were too poor to buy hockey equipment. To make a hockey stick, I'd walk around town picking up all the broken sticks I could find and then nail the pieces together to make some good ones. I couldn't afford shin pads either, so I'd stuff old magazines into my stockings and pretend they were pads. On top of that my father didn't like hockey because I was breaking too many windows in the neighborhood practicing my shot. When my father saw me with hockey equipment, he'd chase me -- and if he caught me he'd break my stick in half."
How did you escape your father's dislike of your playing hockey?
"I had to hide my skates and stuff in the house. There were so many kids in our family that my father kept wishing somebody would leave home and go to work. I was the first to say, 'I'm going,' but I didn't know where. All I knew was that I was a good hockey player, so I figured I could get myself a job doing that. I heard that there was a lot of hockey in the town of Trois Rivieres (Quebec), so I went to the railroad station and bought a ticket."
Who hired you to play hockey in Trois Rivieres?
"When I found the boss of the arena there I asked him for a job playing hockey. 'We don't know you,' he said. That didn't bother me. 'Listen,' I told him, 'you may not know me now but you'll know me later.' He liked that confidence of mine and put me on a team in what was called the Bank League. Every bank in town had a team and the competition was good for me because I knew that the big Trois Rivieres team kept an eye on Bank League teams for prospects."
When did you get your big break?
"The big team in town saw I had talent and invited me to play in an exhibition against the Montreal Victorias in 1923-24. I was only brought along as a spare but got my chance when one of our players broke his skate. The coach turned to me and said, 'Johnny, you'd better go on the ice and take his place.' That's when I got my big break. The score was 1-1 and I went out and got the winning goal. After the game the coach said, 'Johnny , I think you're gonna make the club next year.'"

How did you progress up the hockey ladder?
"I went home to Chicoutimi after the season. If I wanted to make money, I'd have to work at the local paper mill with my father. I didn't want to do that kind of work, I wanted to play hockey. I kept telling my mother, 'Someday I'll be playing for the Montreal Canadiens.' But she wasn't impressed. When fall came, there was an opening for me on the Trois Rivieres team. The coach said, 'Johnny, you're going to play right wing on the first line.' In our first game against a Montreal team, I scored twice and we won 4-2. I was on my way.
How did the Canadiens discover you?
"It was strange. When our hero from Chicoutimi, the great goalie Georges Vezina, died, the funeral was held near my home. After the funeral, Leo Dandurand, the president of the Canadiens, noticed me and we started talking hockey. 'Johnny,' he said, 'I hear you're a pretty good hockey player but you're too small for the NHL.' That made me mad, so I had to think of something fast before he left and I got an idea. I said, 'Mr. Dandurand, why don't you see for yourself how heavy I am. Before you leave for Montreal come to my house and I'll get on a scale and you can judge for yourself.' Later that day he came around and I suppose he expected me to weigh in at 135 or 140 pounds. I got on the scale and weighed 150 pounds. 'That's not bad at all,' he said. 'You come to training camp in the fall.' After Leo said goodbye I took the 10 pounds of rocks out of my pockets and threw them away!"
When did you make it to the Canadiens?
"Not until late in the 1929-30 season. After playing for Quebec City, the manager of the Providence team wanted me and I wound up in Rhode Island waiting for the call from the Canadiens -- and that took a while. But from the hockey grapevine, I learned that four NHL clubs were after me -- the Bruins, Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers and the New York Americans. Then the Canadiens heard about it and jumped in and offered my owner at Providence $10,000 for me. I was the first hockey player bought for that sum of money. The Canadiens wanted me so bad they insisted that I finish the 1929-30 season with them. Providence said no, because we had a shot at winning the championship -- and we did. Meanwhile, the Canadiens won the Stanley Cup that same year."
What was it like to become a Canadiens regular in your rookie year?
"Very good. Before I knew it they put me on a line with two of the greatest players in NHL history --
Aurel Joliat
and
Howie Morenz
. Man, that made me very nervous, but I soon settled down and found that I belonged in the NHL. I scored 18 goals and wound up being named one of the NHL's best rookies. I was all excited getting ready for the playoffs when my mother phoned me with the news that my father was very sick. 'He's dying,' she said. 'Don't come and see him; just call him on the phone.' I did, although I didn't know that he had cancer at the time. But I did phone him before we left for Chicago to play the Black Hawks in the playoffs. My father said, 'Johnny, never mind coming back here to see me. Keep going in the playoffs because you won't be helping me at all by coming home now.' He felt that I would be more useful to the Canadiens than to him. 'Go to Chicago' were the last words he said to me, so I got on the train with my teammates."

Were you good?
"No, I didn't even get on the ice. A minute into the first period, I was set to go on the ice when I got called back and they wouldn't let me on for the rest of the game; and never told me why. I found out after the game that my father had died and that was the reason they didn't put me in the game. 'Look,' I told them, 'my father was the one who told me to come here to play.' The coach, Cecil Hart, apologized and said, 'Oh, we didn't know that.' Soon as I could I caught a train to Montreal and then Chicoutimi for my father's funeral. Once that was done, I headed to Montreal, where the series was continuing."
Did you make it in time?
"Yeah. It was a best-of-5 series and Chicago was ahead two games to one. We were losing Game 4 and, just in time, I got hot, scored twice and tied the game. Next, I gave
Pit Lepine
a perfect pass and he scored to put us ahead to stay. We wound up winning 4-2, forcing a fifth game. In the clincher Aurel Joliat fed me a perfect pass putting me in the clear. I took my time, took my shot and we were up 1-0. With two minutes left in the third period, I scored again and we won the championship."
What was your confidence level like by that time?
"It was very high because I knew I had made the team and my linemates were Morenz and Joliat, who were in their primes. Morenz was extremely fast. Sometimes he'd skate so fast that you'd think he was going to go right through the end boards. I considered Howie the 'Babe Ruth of Hockey.' Of course, you'd never think it because he never acted like a big shot. I liked to say that Howie was the best guy in the world because that's the way he treated people. Joliat, also a good guy, was more of a stickhandler; he always made beautiful passes. My style was speed, stickhandling and shooting. On account of my being so small, I had to have guts, otherwise I'd get run out of the League. Lots of times I'd come to the bench with my mouth bleeding and my teeth loose because somebody put an elbow in my face. Not much I could do about it because if I wanted to stay in the NHL I had to forget the pain."
How did you get along with your coaches?
"When we won the Cup in 1931, Cecil Hart ran the bench and he was fine. But he left in 1932 and Newsy Lalonde took over. Newsy had been a great and very tough player, but he was too strict as a coach. With him in charge of the Canadiens, my career started to go downhill. He kept picking on me. Just like my father, Newsy was after me all the time. I didn't listen to my father, and I couldn't listen to him. As a result I wound up losing a few good years in the NHL. Eventually, the Canadiens sold me to Boston and Morenz wound up in Chicago."
When did you and Morenz return to the Canadiens?
"Montreal finally fired Newsy and eventually brought back Cecil Hart. They then got me and Morenz back in 1937 and it was just like old times; the three of us, me, Howie and Aurel Joliat together again. I scored 20 goals and we finished on top of the League. Everything was going great until Howie got badly hurt in a game against Chicago; Earl Siebert tripped him, sending Howie sliding into the boards. The point of his skate hit the boards and went through the wood. Siebert was right behind Morenz and fell over him onto Howie's legs. Earl was a big man, and when he fell he broke Howie's leg. Howie was taken to a hospital and word got around that he was through as a hockey player. It soon became official and his son brought him the news. It broke Howie's heart, and he never was the same after that in the hospital. One night, Cecil Hart phoned to tell me that Howie had passed away. It was as if I'd lost a brother. After Howie died my career really went downhill. The whole team fell apart and pretty soon they had nobody to replace us except for
Toe Blake
, who took Joliat's place."
How did your NHL career end?
"Early in the 1939-40 season, the Canadiens sold me to the New York Americans. By that time the Amerks had a bunch of old stars such as
Charlie Conacher
,
Busher Jackson
,
Eddie Shore
and
Nels Stewart
. Ten years earlier you couldn't have bought that collection for a fortune. Since I didn't play a whole season with the Americans, the boss, Red Dutton, said I would only get a half-share of the playoff money. I said, 'If I only get half a share I'll be losing money, I'm gonna quit.' Dutton said he'd suspend me if I quit. Then he told me that the club was flying to Detroit for the opening playoff game. I'd never been on a plane before, so I figured that getting a free plane ride alone was worth the trip. Still, I told Red that if we lost to Detroit I'd go home. Dutton said that if I went home like I said I would, he'd suspend me. We went to Detroit and lost 2-1. I packed my bag, went home to Montreal and never played in the NHL again. I figured it this way: When a man starts losing money playing hockey in the big league, he's better off quitting -- and that's just what I did."