After only one season with the Thunder Bay Flyers of the United States Hockey League, centre Greg Johnson was recruited by the National Hockey League’s Philadelphia Flyers but opted to attend the University of North Dakota first from 1989 through 1993, leading the league in assists twice. Along the way he joined the Canadian national men’s ice hockey team and won a gold medal at the 1991 World Junior Championship. Before he had a chance to suit up with the Flyers, however, he was traded to the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings and had a busy 1993-1994 season with Detroit, the American Hockey League’s Adirondack Red Wings, and Team Canada at the 1994 Winter Olympics. In the latter case he appeared in eight games and took home a silver medal. He skated with Detroit until halfway through the 1996-1997 season, when he was traded to the league’s Pittsburgh Penguins. Within a year he was sent to the Chicago Blackhawks and, from there, to the Nashville Predators in 1998, with whom he stayed until 2006 and played a full season every year except during the 2004-2005 NHL lockout. He was captain of the squad from 2002 through 2006. During his final season, he managed the strange feat of officially scoring a goal prior to the commencement of a match against the Detroit Red Wings. After landing the puck in the net in the first period, the game was postponed when the Red Wings’ Jiri Fischer collapsed of cardiac arrest. When the match was replayed over two months later, Johnson’s goal was allowed to remain on the scorecard, and thus his team entered the game in the lead. He signed with the Detroit Red Wings for the 2006-2007 season, but retired prior its commencement after an EKG test returned problematic results.
Canada