Ivan Wilfred Johnson - Post-NHL Career

Post-NHL Career

At age 40, Johnson returned to the Minneapolis Millers as a player-coach for the 1938–39 season. He quickly became the American Hockey Association's most popular star as large crowds attended games he participated in, and was named an AHA all-star in 1939. He served in the dual role for two years before resigning in 1940. Johnson then coached for a time in California, before returning east to coach the Washington Lions of the American Hockey League. He also served as an official in the Eastern Hockey League. During one game in 1944 where he was working as a linesman, Johnson forgot he was no longer playing and threw a bodycheck on a player. When asked after the game about the incident, he stated it was "instinct" that led him to throw the hit.

In recognition of his career, Johnson was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a player in 1958. He was also inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in 1994, and is an honoured member of the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame. The latter hall named him to province's all-century second all-star team.

After leaving hockey, Johnson worked construction in Washington, D.C., and later retired to the nearby community of Silver Spring, Maryland. He and his wife Ellen had two children: Geraldine and James. He had four grandchildren and one great-grandchild at the time of his death in 1979.