Former NHLer Eddie Joyal passes away at 86
A former pro in the early years of NHL expansion has died.
On Monday, the NHL Alumni Association announced that former player Eddie Joyal passed away at the age of 86.
Joyal, a native of Edmonton, came up through the junior ranks in his home province of Alberta, spending time with both the Calgary Stampeders and Edmonton Oil Kings before turning pro with the professional Western Hockey League’s Edmonton Flyers in 1960. He helped the team win the league championship in 1961-62.
The following season, Joyal broke into the NHL with the Detroit Red Wings, where he was taken under the wing of Gordie Howe, who was still at the top of his game. Joyal would spend parts of three seasons with the Wings, splitting time with the American Hockey League’s Pittsburgh Hornets, before playing a handful of games with the Toronto Maple Leafs during the 1965-66 campaign.
Joyal finally became a full-time NHLer in 1967. As the league expanded from the Original Six to 12 teams, he was taken by the Los Angeles Kings in the fifth round, going ahead of the likes of Al Arbour, Bill Goldsworthy, and future Hall of Famers Andy Bathgate and Bryan Hextall. Joyal would play over four seasons in Hollywood, scoring a career-high 57 points in 1967-68, before being traded to the Philadelphia Flyers in the latter half of the 1971-72 campaign.
Joyal would be on the move again the following summer. With the creation of the World Hockey Association, he had the opportunity to return home, joining the Alberta Oilers (renamed the Edmonton Oilers the following year). He played four seasons in the blue and orange before hanging up his skates following the 1975-76 campaign.
In April 2016, in the final season of Rexall Place, the Oilers honored Joyal with “Eddie Joyal Day,” celebrating him and his family.
In 465 regular-season games in the NHL, Joyal scored 128 goals and 262 points, with another 19 points in 50 Stanley Cup Playoff games. In 239 WHA regular-season contests, he posted 57 goals and 112 points, with two goals in six Avco Cup postseason affairs.
