Desjardins enjoys chance to coach against Johnston

Saturday’s meeting between the Vancouver and Pittsburgh Penguins was more than just another game to Willie Desjardins.
The game offered Desjardins a chance to coach against his “real good friend” Mike Johnston after they both took several decades to become NHL head coaches. Desjardins and Johnston, both 57 and rookie NHL bench bosses, initially coached together in the mid-to-late 1980s at the University of Calgary under the guidance of George Kingston. From there, they wound their way to the NHL.
“He’s super-competitive and, for both of us, it was a long time to coach at this level,” said Desjardins. “So whenever we get a chance to coach at this level, I think it’s significant.”
Desjardins began his coaching career at the U of C while completing a master’s degree in social work. He then moved on to the Seibu Bears in Japan, briefly coached the Saskatoon Blades in the WHL as a mid-season replacement, and served as an assistant with the Canadian men’s national team under Johnston before moving to the Medicine Hat Tigers.
Serving as both general manager and coach over the years, Desjardins guided the Tigers to a pair of WHL titles as well as a Memorial Cup final berth before moving to the Dallas Stars organization, where he spent two seasons as an assistant with the NHL club and two more as head coach of their Texas farm club. After guiding Texas to the AHL championship last season, and earning coach of the year honours in the process, he took on his first NHL head coaching position with the Canucks.
Johnston, a Dartmouth, N.S., native, initially served as a head coach at the Augustana University College in Alberta and then worked with Desjardins as a U of C assistant while completing a master’s in coaching science. After leaving the U of C, Johnston took the helm at the University of New Brunswick, served as general manager and coach with the Canadian men’s national team, and then held assistant and associate positions with the Canucks and Los Angeles Kings before becoming GM and coach of the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks – a team he built into a powerhouse.
Along the way, both Desjardins and Johnston also coached Canadian squads in a number of junior and senior world championships. Ironically, Johnston received his first head coaching job last summer when Desjardins rejected an offer from the Penguins and joined the Canucks instead.
So did Desjardins put in a good word for Johnston with the Pens?
“No, he did everything on his own,” said Desjardins with a chuckle. “He’s good and he’s real capable.”