- Eddie Joyal, an original Los Angeles King and 1964 Cup Final hero, died Monday at 86
- The Edmonton native scored the Game 5 winner for Detroit in the 1964 Final and later led the expansion Kings in scoring
- Read below for his career, the Gordie Howe connection and the tribute from the NHL Alumni
Eddie Joyal, an undrafted forward who carved out nine NHL seasons and became one of the original Los Angeles Kings, has died at the age of 86.
The Edmonton native, known around the league as “The Jet,” broke in with the Detroit Red Wings in 1963 and learned the game from Gordie Howe himself. The NHL Alumni Association shared word of his passing on Monday.
Here is the tribute from the alumni:
Joyal’s biggest moment came in the 1964 Stanley Cup Final. He scored the game-winner in a 2-1 Game 5 victory over Toronto, pushing Detroit to a 3-2 series lead. The Maple Leafs answered by taking Games 6 and 7 and lifting the Cup.
He looked back on that series in a 2016 interview with the St. Albert Gazette, and it clearly still stung.
“We beat Toronto 2-1 in Toronto and that was a pretty big deal for me, but we didn’t win the series. We should’ve won that series, but we blew it.”
Detroit traded him to the Maple Leafs in 1965, and the Kings grabbed him in the 1967 expansion draft. That is where Joyal did his best work. He led the brand-new Kings in scoring with 57 points in their first season and set a career high with 33 goals in 1968-69.
He wrapped up his NHL run with 26 games for the Flyers in 1971-72 before joining Alberta of the WHA, the club that would grow into the Edmonton Oilers. All told, Joyal finished with 262 points in 465 regular-season games and another 19 points across 50 playoff contests.
His hometown never forgot him. Northlands Coliseum held “Eddie Joyal Day” in April of 2016, and a stretch of road in the Edmonton suburb of St. Albert carries the name Joyal Way.
Gino Hard sends its condolences to Joyal’s family, friends and former teammates.
