Eddie Joyal, who was a former NHL forward and played nine seasons for four teams, died Monday at age 86. 

The Alberta-born center entered the league with the Detroit Red Wings in 1962-63. He later played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Los Angeles Kings and Philadelphia Flyers.

He first arrived in Detroit as a rookie and found himself skating next to elite players. Gordie Howe took the Albertan under his wing and mentored him. As a result, Joyal picked up quickly, scoring 10 points in his first 14 NHL games.

The NHL released an article announcing his death; tributes started pouring in from fans and all the teams who remembered Joyal.

In his early seasons, during the 1963 Stanley Cup Final, Joyal scored a goal in Game 4 against Toronto, with Howe making the assist.

And again on Jan. 18, 1964, Joyal scored the insurance goal in Terry Sawchuk's 2-0 win over Montreal. That win was Sawchuk's 95th career shutout; the record stood for 45 years until Martin Brodeur broke it.

Later in Game 5 of the 1964 Stanley Cup Final, he beat goaltender Johnny Bower for the game-winning goal that gave Detroit a 3-2 series lead over Toronto.

"We beat Toronto 2-1 in Toronto, and that was a pretty big deal for me, but we didn't win the series," Joyal told the St. Albert Gazette in 2016. "We should've won that series, but we blew it."

Despite trailing 3-2, the Maple Leafs still won Games 6 and 7. They went on to claim the Cup, taking it away from Detroit and Joyal.

In 1965, Detroit traded Joyal to Toronto as part of a large deal. The Red Wings also sent Marcel Pronovost and Lowell MacDonald to the Maple Leafs. Joyal still played sparingly with the Leafs before his career took a new turn.

Joyal’s legacy on the ice

The Los Angeles Kings picked Joyal in the fifth round, 25th overall, of the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft. He soon became one of the more favoured players there. 

According to a Bleacher Report article from 2018 that compiled the 60 Best Nicknames in NHL History, Kings owner Jack Kent Cooke nicknamed him "The Jet" to refer to his speed on the ice. Still, Joyal later joked he never finished better than fourth in training camp races.

Joyal set his NHL career highs with the Kings, scoring 57 points in 1967-68 and 33 goals in 1968-69. He spent four and a half seasons in Los Angeles and scored 105 goals and totaled 204 points in 319 games.

In total, Joyal finished his NHL career with 128 goals and 134 assists for 262 points across 465 regular-season games. He also added 19 points in 50 Stanley Cup playoff games. After a brief period with Philadelphia in 1971-72, he joined the WHA's Alberta Oilers, which was later renamed the Edmonton Oilers, and closed out his playing days there.

Edmonton honored Joyal with "Eddie Joyal Day" in April 2016, during the final season at Rexall Place. A road in St. Albert, in an Edmonton suburb, is named the Joyal Way. In a way, it’s a lasting tribute to his career that spanned over two leagues and four decades.

What's your favorite memory of Eddie Joyal's career? Let us know in the comments below.

Read more at NHL Fan Central.

Written by

Aadhya Nalla

Edited by

Soheli Tarafdar