SMART, FAST AND UNPREDICTABLE, JOHNNY GAGNON DIDN’T EARN THE NICKNAME “BLACK CAT” FOR NOTHING.

Johnny Gagnon was the fastest thing on skates in his hometown of Chicoutimi, Quebec. His dazzling performances as an amateur thrilled local crowds and news of his exciting play reached Montreal General Manager Leo Dandurand, who first laid eyes on Gagnon when he attended Georges Vézina’s funeral in the spring of 1926.

Rebuffed by the visiting executive, who said the 5-foot-5 right winger was far too light and small to make it in the brutal world of pro hockey, Gagnon swore he was heavier than he appeared to be and asked the visiting executive to weigh him the next day to prove his claim.

Tipping the scales at 150 pounds, the youngster left with the promise of a tryout the next fall, stopping along the way to remove the ten pounds of rocks he had placed in his pockets before making the weight.

Gagnon led the Quebec Beavers and the Canadian-American Hockey League in scoring in his rookie pro campaign. He then spent three seasons with the Providence Reds before cracking the line-up of the defending Stanley Cup Champion Montreal Canadiens to start the 1930-31 season.

Assigned veterans Aurèle Joliat and Howie Morenz as linemates, Gagnon found himself on the NHL’s top line and hit the ground running, scoring 18 goals in his rookie year. When the playoffs came, he lifted his game to another level. Leading all NHLers with six postseason markers, Gagnon capped his year by scoring both goals in the 2-0 final game against Chicago, making the 1930-31 Canadiens the first Habs squad to repeat as Stanley Cup Champions.

Smart, fast and shifty, Gagnon became known as “Black Cat” for his lightning-fast reflexes, as he thrilled Montreal fans for the first years of his career. His speed and playmaking kept his linemates on the score sheet as he piled up the assists. Playing at a time when assists were even harder to come by than goals, Gagnon piled up 63 helpers in his first four years to go along with his 58 goals.

Traded to Boston following the 1933-34 season, Gagnon’s stay in Beantown was not a long one. He was reacquired by Montreal halfway through the next season and resumed his slot on the Habs’ first line. Morenz, who had been traded away the same summer as Gagnon, returned to the fold three years later and was reunited with his old linemates.

A rejuvenated Gagnon scored 20 goals, a career high, as he stepped up when Morenz suffered his career-ending broken leg. Traded a second time in 1939-40, this time to the New York Americans, he ended his NHL career at the end of the season.

After post-NHL stops in Shawinigan and North Sydney, Nova Scotia, Gagnon ended his playing days with three years in Providence, the site of many of his early successes. He spent 17 years as a scout in the Reds organization before shifting his allegiance to the New York Rangers organization, where he spent another 17 years in the same function.

Johnny Gagnon passed away in 1984 at the age of 78.