Butch Goring

Los Angeles Kings organization (1969–1980)

Following the draft, Goring was assigned to the Kings' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Springfield Kings, for the 1969–70 season.^[15] Goring found immediate success in the AHL while playing alongside Mike Corrigan and Randy Miller, and the trio combined to become Springfield's highest scoring line.^[16] As a result of his early success, Goring was considered an early candidate for the Rookie of the Year.^[17] By the end of November 1969, Goring had scored 13 goals and seven assists through 19 games.^[16] Due to the Los Angeles Kings' offensive struggles, Goring and Corrigan were recalled to the NHL level on November 26,^[18] and placed on a line with veteran Eddie Shack.^[19] While on this line, Goring scored his first NHL goal on November 30, against the Detroit Red Wings.^[20][21] Goring continued to play alongside Shack through the remainer of the season, although Corrigan was eventually replaced by Ross Lonsberry.^[14]

Goring returned to the Kings' training camp ahead of the 1970–71 season, but struggled to keep up with his teammates.^[22] He also arrived at camp eight pounds underweight and complained of feeling lathargic. Following a series of tests, Goring was admitted to Daniel Freeman Memorial Hospital with mononucleosis and mild hepatitis.^[23] In November 1970, Goring was reassigned to the Springfield Kings and moved in with the team's physician while he rebuilt his strength.^[22] Upon returning to Springfield's lineup, Goring scored eight goals and 15 assists before being recalled to the NHL level in early January 1971 as a replacement for an injured player.^[24] He recorded two goals and five assists through 19 games but was reassigned to Springfield once Bob Pulford returned to the lineup.^[25] Goring finished the 1970–71 season with the Springfield Kings and scored the game-winning goal to help them qualify for the 1971 Calder Cup playoffs.^[26] During the final round, Goring tied Jean-Guy Gendron's record for most points in the playoffs after recording a hat-trick in game 3.^[27] He finished the Calder Cup playoffs with a record-setting 11 goals and 25 points to lead the Kings to the Calder Cup championship.^[28]

As he was fully recovered from mononucleosis, Goring returned to the Los Angeles Kings for the 1971–72 NHL season.^[29] However, he was often sidelined in favour of team veterans by new head coach Fred Glover. At the end of November 1971, Glover put Goring on a line between Lucien Grenier and Mike Corrigan and the team won two of their next three games.^[30] Goring had previously played alongside Corrigan in Springfield.^[31] As the three continued to play together through December, they earned the moniker of the "Light Brigade" because their heaviest member weighed 175 pounds.^[32] Grenier was later replaced by Bob Berry and the three became the Kings' top scoring line.^[33] On February 5, 1972, Goring set a franchise record by recording two goals and four assists in the Kings' 8–1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.^[34][35] Through the final 11 games in February, Goring's line combined for 15 goals and 23 assists.^[36] Goring scored his first NHL hat-trick in the Kings' final game of the season on April 1, against the California Golden Seals to finish the season with 21 goals.^[37]

In the 1976 Stanley Cup playoff quarterfinals series against the Boston Bruins, Goring scored the overtime game-winning goal in games 2 and 6. He won both the Bill Masterton Trophy and the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy in 1977–78, becoming the first player to win both trophies the same year.^[38] Prior to the 1978–79 season, he was offered a five-year, $1 million contract by the World Hockey Association's Edmonton Oilers.^[39] However, Goring re-signed with the Kings after they countered with an offer of $1.25-million over the same term.^[40][41]

New York Islanders (1980–1985)

In the 1979–80 season, Goring was traded on March 10, 1980, to the New York Islanders in exchange for Billy Harris and Dave Lewis, and was widely regarded as being the "final piece of the puzzle".^[42][43] After Goring joined the team, the Islanders went unbeaten for the rest of the season, and finished second in the Patrick Division.^{[citation needed]} The acquisition of Goring made splitting up the Trio Grande line more workable, as Clark Gillies went with him, while Mike Bossy and Bryan Trottier were joined on the second line by Bob Bourne, and the Islanders' attack became more balanced.^[44] Goring then scored 19 points in 21 playoff games to help the Islanders to the first of four consecutive Stanley Cups.

The next season, he improved upon his previous playoff run, recording 10 goals and 10 assists in 20 playoff games, and was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff most valuable player, as the Islanders won their second Cup.^[45]

Goring played 78 games and did not receive a single penalty, but did not win the Lady Byng Trophy that year.^[46]

Final years (1985–1987)

Goring's final NHL season was in 1984–85. After his release by the Islanders, he played effectively for half a season with the Boston Bruins, before retiring and becoming the Bruins' head coach for a season and a half.^[47][48] After he was fired as the Bruins' coach in 1986–87,^[49] he played briefly for the Nova Scotia Oilers of the AHL before retiring for good.^[50][51]

Goring retired having played 1107 games, with 375 goals and 513 assists for 888 points. He recorded only 102 penalty minutes, the lowest total in NHL history for a player appearing in more than a 1,000 games. He was a very effective penalty-killer throughout his career as he finished in the top 10 for short-handed goals nine seasons in his career amassing a career total of 40 short-handed goals, the fifth most of all-time.