| Billy Smith | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Hockey Hall of Fame, 1993 | |||
 Smith in 2008 | |||
| Born | (1950-12-12)December 12, 1950 (age 75) Perth, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | ||
| Weight | 175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb) | ||
| Position | Goaltender | ||
| Caught | Left | ||
| Played for | Los Angeles Kings New York Islanders | ||
| National team |  Canada | ||
| NHL draft | 59th overall,1970 Los Angeles Kings | ||
| Playing career | 1970–1989 | ||
William John Smith (born December 12, 1950) is a Canadian former professionalice hockeygoaltender.
Drafted by theLos Angeles Kings in 1970, Smith went through the minor leagues for two years before making his professional debut in 1972, where he won one of his five starts. In June of that year, he was drafted in theNHL Expansion Draft by theNew York Islanders, where he would share duties for his first two seasons before becoming the primary goaltender in 1974, which would be the first of thirteen consecutive seasons where they would play theStanley Cup playoffs. In 1979, he was the first goaltender credited with scoring a goal. In 1980, Smith was the goaltender for 20 playoff games and won 15 of them as the Islanders won the first of four consecutiveStanley Cups. The 1981-82 season saw him win theVezina Trophy in the first season where the trophy was given to the best all-around goaltender while the following season saw him win theWilliam M. Jennings Trophy (alongside teammateRoland Melanson) in allowing the least amount of goals for the season. He then won theConn Smythe Trophy for his performance that year where he went 13–3 with three shutouts and a 2.68 goals against average (GAA) as the Islanders won their fourth and final Cup. In the 1987-88 season, Smith won his 300th career game to become only the 9th goaltender with 300 wins in NHL history; he retired in the following season.[1]
In 132 combined starts in the Stanley Cup playoffs, Smith won 88 of them; upon his retirement, his 88 wins were the all-time leader in wins for a goaltender in the Stanley Cup playoffs.[2] In 1993, he had his number retired by the Islanders and was inducted into theHockey Hall of Fame. In, 2017 Smith was named one of the100 Greatest NHL Players in history.[3]
Smith was drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the fifth round of the1970 NHL Amateur Draft from theCornwall Royals of theQMJHL on June 11, 1970. He played two seasons with the Kings'minor league affiliate, theSpringfield Kings of the American Hockey League, and won theCalder Cup with Springfield in 1970-71. He made his NHL debut with the Los Angeles Kings on February 12, 1972, at the Montreal Forum. The Kings lost 6-5 to the Canadiens. Smith faced 48 shots that afternoon, yielding the winning goal toGuy Lafleur with 22 seconds remaining in the game.
Smith was drafted in the1972 NHL Expansion Draft by theNew York Islanders on June 6, 1972; he was the second player picked by the team. After sharing goaltending duties withGerry Desjardins for two years, he got the starting job all to himself in1974–75 when Desjardins bolted to theWorld Hockey Association. That season, he led the Islanders to their first playoff appearance.
Smith played in the1978 All-Star Game, of which he was named Most Valuable Player. For the next two seasons, he shared netminding duties withChico Resch, with whom he formed perhaps the top goaltending duo in the NHL at the time. In the 1980 playoffs, however, Smith played most of the games and helped the Islanders win the first of four consecutive Stanley Cups, firmly establishing him as the team's starting goaltender. Resch was dealt to theColorado Rockies the following season on March 10, 1981. In 1981-82 he was named a First Team All-Star and won theVezina Trophy. In 1982-83 he andRoland Melanson won theWilliam M. Jennings Trophy for fewest goals allowed. He was chosen to play forCanada in the1981 Canada Cup, but was unable to play due to an injury sustained in a pre-tournament game.
Described as unappreciated for his achievements in 1984, Smith's regular season success was surpassed by his performances in the playoffs, as he helped the Islanders win four straightStanley Cups (1980 to 1983), reach the finals five straight times (1980 to 1984), and win a record 19 consecutive playoff series from 1980 to 1984.[4]
Smith was the first goalie to win the Stanley Cup wearing the helmet-and-cage combinationmask, rather than the fiberglass mask which had been the standard since 1959. He switched to the helmet-and-cage in1978.
His single most famous game may be his 2–0 victory in the first game of the 1983 Stanley Cup finals against theEdmonton Oilers, shutting out the likes ofMark Messier,Wayne Gretzky,Jari Kurri, andPaul Coffey. The Islanders swept the Oilers in four games, with Smith allowing the Oilers only six goals and winning theConn Smythe Trophy as Most Valuable Player in the playoffs. In 1984, Smith broke the record for the most playoff victories in a career: between 1980 and 1984 he led all goaltenders in playoff victories. In1985 he led the Islanders to three straight victories after being down 0–2 to theWashington Capitals.[5] He attained his 300th win on March 20, 1988, with a 6-0 shutout road win over theWinnipeg Jets at theWinnipeg Arena inWinnipeg,Manitoba.[6]
Smith was thefirst NHL goaltender to be credited with scoring a goal.[7] On November 28, 1979, in a game between the Islanders and theColorado Rockies, the Rockies took their goaltender off the ice for anextra attacker after adelayed penalty call was called on the Islanders. The puck deflected off Smith's chest protector into the corner. Rockies rookieRob Ramage picked up the puck and accidentally made a blind pass from the corner boards in the opposing zone to the blue line. Nobody was there to receive the pass, and so the puck sailed all the way down the length of the ice and into the Rockies' net. As Smith had been the last Islanders player to touch the puck, he was credited with the goal.
Smith retired on June 5, 1989; he was the last original Islander still on the team. After four years as the Islanders' goaltending coach, he followed longtime Islandergeneral managerBill Torrey to the expansionFlorida Panthers in the same role, serving there until his retirement in 2000. He had spent 30 years at ice level in the NHL, the last 28 of them alongside Torrey with the Islanders (1972-1993) and the Panthers (1993-2000).
The Islanders retired his jersey number 31 on February 20, 1993. Later that year, he was inducted into theHockey Hall of Fame. In 1998, he was ranked number 80 onThe Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.
He was nicknamed "Battlin' Billy" or "Hatchet Man" for his fiery temper and unabashed use of the stick or blocker on players crowding his crease; as such, forwards needed ankle guards to protect themselves.
Smith was also noted for his displays of feigned injuries that would often lead to penalties against opponents, for whom he carried an undisguised enmity. In Game Four of the 1983 Stanley Cup Finals,Glenn Anderson of theEdmonton Oilers collided with Smith and Smith dove upon the ice, resulting in refereeAndy Van Hellemond handing a five-minute penalty to Anderson. Later Van Hellemond said that this was "making a bit of a fool of me", and when he officiated Game One of the 1984 Finals, a rematch of the Islanders and Oilers, he called no penalty when Smith and Anderson collided again.[8]
Smith refused to participate in the traditional handshakes between teams at the end of a playoff series.
During one practice, teammateMike Bossy fired a shot at Smith to which Smith took offence. Smith charged after Bossy with his stick but was tackled by teammates before Smith could take his frustrations out on Bossy. Bossy has noted that Smith never liked being talked to in the locker room, and kept an intense focus before and after games and practices, but was much more laid-back off the ice.[9]
Smith has an older brother who also played in the NHL,Gord Smith.
| Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | T | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | GP | W | L | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | ||
| 1968–69 | Smiths Falls Bears | CCHL | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1968–69 | Hull Castors | M-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | — | — | 130 | 16 | 0 | 7.38 | — | ||
| 1969–70 | Cornwall Royals | QMJHL | 55 | — | — | — | 2946 | 249 | 1 | 4.52 | .887 | 6 | — | — | 360 | 14 | 1 | 2.33 | .935 | ||
| 1970–71 | Springfield Kings | AHL | 49 | 19 | 20 | 6 | 2728 | 160 | 2 | 3.51 | — | 11 | 9 | 1 | 682 | 29 | 1 | 2.56 | — | ||
| 1971–72 | Springfield Kings | AHL | 28 | 24 | 3 | 1 | 1649 | 77 | 4 | 2.80 | .882 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 192 | 13 | 0 | 4.06 | — | ||
| 1971–72 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 300 | 23 | 0 | 4.60 | .871 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1972–73 | New York Islanders | NHL | 37 | 7 | 24 | 3 | 2122 | 147 | 3 | 4.16 | .878 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1973–74 | New York Islanders | NHL | 46 | 9 | 23 | 12 | 2615 | 134 | 3 | 3.07 | .897 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1974–75 | New York Islanders | NHL | 58 | 21 | 18 | 17 | 3368 | 156 | 3 | 2.78 | .904 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 333 | 23 | 0 | 4.14 | .883 | ||
| 1975–76 | New York Islanders | NHL | 39 | 19 | 10 | 9 | 2254 | 98 | 3 | 2.61 | .908 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 437 | 21 | 0 | 2.88 | .892 | ||
| 1976–77 | New York Islanders | NHL | 36 | 21 | 8 | 6 | 2089 | 87 | 2 | 2.50 | .916 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 580 | 27 | 0 | 2.79 | .912 | ||
| 1977–78 | New York Islanders | NHL | 38 | 20 | 8 | 8 | 2154 | 85 | 2 | 2.65 | .909 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 1 | 0 | 1.28 | .929 | ||
| 1978–79 | New York Islanders | NHL | 40 | 25 | 8 | 4 | 2261 | 108 | 1 | 2.87 | .899 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 315 | 10 | 1 | 1.90 | .932 | ||
| 1979–80 | New York Islanders | NHL | 38 | 15 | 14 | 7 | 2114 | 104 | 2 | 2.95 | .898 | 20 | 15 | 4 | 1198 | 56 | 1 | 2.80 | .902 | ||
| 1980–81 | New York Islanders | NHL | 41 | 22 | 10 | 8 | 2363 | 129 | 2 | 3.28 | .895 | 17 | 14 | 3 | 994 | 42 | 0 | 2.54 | .904 | ||
| 1981–82 | New York Islanders | NHL | 46 | 32 | 9 | 4 | 2685 | 133 | 0 | 2.97 | .900 | 18 | 15 | 3 | 1120 | 47 | 1 | 2.52 | .906 | ||
| 1982–83 | New York Islanders | NHL | 41 | 18 | 14 | 7 | 2340 | 112 | 1 | 2.87 | .906 | 17 | 13 | 3 | 962 | 43 | 3 | 2.68 | .912 | ||
| 1983–84 | New York Islanders | NHL | 42 | 23 | 13 | 2 | 2279 | 130 | 2 | 3.42 | .896 | 21 | 12 | 8 | 1190 | 54 | 0 | 2.72 | .905 | ||
| 1984–85 | New York Islanders | NHL | 37 | 18 | 14 | 3 | 2090 | 133 | 0 | 3.82 | .879 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 342 | 19 | 0 | 3.33 | .896 | ||
| 1985–86 | New York Islanders | NHL | 41 | 20 | 14 | 4 | 2308 | 143 | 1 | 3.72 | .881 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 60 | 4 | 0 | 4.00 | .882 | ||
| 1986–87 | New York Islanders | NHL | 40 | 14 | 18 | 5 | 2252 | 132 | 1 | 3.52 | .869 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 67 | 1 | 0 | 0.90 | .955 | ||
| 1987–88 | New York Islanders | NHL | 38 | 17 | 14 | 5 | 2107 | 113 | 2 | 3.22 | .893 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1988–89 | New York Islanders | NHL | 17 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 730 | 54 | 0 | 3.22 | .851 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 680 | 305 | 233 | 105 | 38,431 | 2,031 | 22 | 3.17 | .894 | 132 | 88 | 36 | 7,645 | 348 | 6 | 2.73 | .905 | ||||
| Preceded by | Winner of theConn Smythe Trophy 1983 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Winner of theWilliam M. Jennings Trophy (with Roland Melanson) 1983 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Winner of theVezina Trophy 1982 | Succeeded by |