| Butch Goring | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Goring with theNew York Islanders in the 1980s | |||
| Born | (1949-10-22)October 22, 1949 (age 75) Winnipeg,Manitoba, Canada | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | ||
| Weight | 165 lb (75 kg; 11 st 11 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | Los Angeles Kings New York Islanders Boston Bruins | ||
| National team |  Canada | ||
| NHL draft | 51st overall,1969 Los Angeles Kings | ||
| Playing career | 1969–1987 | ||
Robert Thomas "Butch"Goring[1] (born October 22, 1949) is aCanadian former professionalice hockey player and coach. He played 16 seasons in theNational Hockey League (NHL) for theLos Angeles Kings,New York Islanders andBoston Bruins. A four-timeStanley Cup winner with the Islanders, he has been cited as a key figure of the Islanders dynasty.[2]
Since retiring as a player he has served as head coach of both the Bruins and Islanders. He currently serves as the Islanders' televisioncolor commentator onMSG Network and select games forTNT alongside lead team and #2 TNT play-by-play announcerBrendan Burke.[3] In addition, ice-level reporterDarren Pang joins the pair for select games.[4][5]
Butch Goring worked as a Color commentator for the NHL on TNT from 2022-2023.
After finishing his junior career with theDauphin Kings of theManitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL), Goring was drafted by theLos Angeles Kings in the fifth round (51st overall) of the1969 NHL Entry Draft. He played parts of two seasons for the Kings in1970 and1971, bouncing back and forth between Los Angeles and theirAmerican Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, theSpringfield Kings. He had a very successful season in Springfield in1971, leading the league in playoff goals, assists and points in helping his team (along with futureHall of Fame goaltender and future Islanders' teammateBilly Smith) win theCalder Cup championship.
The nextseason Goring was promoted for good to the NHL, and starred for nine seasons for the Los Angeles Kings, developing into one of the most complete players in the league. In the1975–76 playoff quarterfinal series against theBoston Bruins, Goring scored the overtime game-winning goal in game 2 and game 6. He won both theBill Masterton Trophy and theLady Byng Memorial Trophy in1978, becoming the first player to win both trophies the same year.[6] Prior to the1978–79 season he was offered a five-year, $1-million contract by theWorld Hockey Association'sEdmonton Oilers;[1] Goring re-signed with the Kings after they countered with an offer of $1.25-million over the same term.[7][8]
In the1980 season, Goring was traded in March to theNew York Islanders in exchange forBilly Harris andDave Lewis, and was widely regarded as being the "final piece of the puzzle".[9][10] That season, he scored 19 points in 21 playoff games to help the Islanders to the first of four consecutiveStanley Cups. The next season (1980–81), he improved upon his previous playoff run, scoring 10 goals and 10 assists in 20 playoff games, and was awarded theConn Smythe Trophy as the playoff most valuable player, as the Islanders won their second Cup.[6] Goring played 78 games and did not receive a single penalty, but did not win the Lady Byng Trophy that year.[11]
Goring's final NHL season was1984-85. 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.[12][13] After he was fired as the Bruins' coach in1986–87,[14] he played briefly for theNova Scotia Oilers of the AHL before retiring for good.[15][16]
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 thousand games. He was a very effective penalty-killer throughout his career as he finished in the top ten for short-handed goals nine seasons in his career amassing a career total of 40 short-handed goals, the fifth most of all-time.
Goring was most recognizable on the ice for theSven Tumba-endorsed Spaps brand helmet that he had worn since childhood and continued to wear throughout his entire professional career.[17] He also developed a reputation for perhaps the poorest fashion sense in the league. In the 1970s, on a road trip with the Kings, a burglar broke into his hotel room and stole everything that belonged to his roommate but left all of Goring's clothes hanging in the closet untouched.[1][17][18]
Former Islanders' teammateMike Bossy stated on a 2010 episode ofOff the Record with Michael Landsberg that Goring is quite likely the originator of the NHL's tradition of growing a beard in the Stanley Cup playoffs, commonly called a "playoff beard".[19] Other former Islanders, including Dave Lewis andClark Gillies, point to the tradition starting in the mid-1970s, before Goring's time with the team,[20] although Goring certainly participated in the tradition once he joined the Islanders.[21]
Goring's No. 91 wasretired by the Islanders on February 29, 2020, ahead of a game against the Boston Bruins.[22]
| Team | Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1965–66 | Winnipeg Rangers | MJHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1966–67 | Winnipeg Rangers | MJHL | 51 | 35 | 31 | 66 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 0 | ||
| 1967–68 | Hull Nationals | Que-Sr. | 40 | 16 | 41 | 57 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1967–68 | Winnipeg Jets | MJHL | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 1967–68 | St. Boniface Mohawks | AC | — | — | — | — | — | 12 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 2 | ||
| 1968–69 | Winnipeg Jets | WCHL | 39 | 42 | 33 | 75 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1968–69 | Dauphin Kings | MC | — | — | — | — | — | 12 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 5 | ||
| 1968–69 | Regina Pats | MC | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | ||
| 1969–70 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 59 | 13 | 23 | 36 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1969–70 | Springfield Kings | AHL | 19 | 13 | 7 | 20 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1970–71 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 19 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1970–71 | Springfield Kings | AHL | 40 | 23 | 32 | 55 | 4 | 12 | 11 | 14 | 25 | 0 | ||
| 1971–72 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 74 | 21 | 29 | 50 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1972–73 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 67 | 28 | 31 | 59 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1973–74 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 70 | 28 | 33 | 61 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1974–75 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 60 | 27 | 33 | 60 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1975–76 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 80 | 33 | 40 | 73 | 8 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | ||
| 1976–77 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 78 | 30 | 55 | 85 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 0 | ||
| 1977–78 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 80 | 37 | 36 | 73 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1978–79 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 80 | 36 | 51 | 87 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1979–80 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 69 | 20 | 48 | 68 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1979–80 | New York Islanders | NHL | 12 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 2 | 21 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 2 | ||
| 1980–81 | New York Islanders | NHL | 78 | 23 | 37 | 60 | 0 | 18 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 6 | ||
| 1981–82 | New York Islanders | NHL | 67 | 15 | 17 | 32 | 10 | 19 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 12 | ||
| 1982–83 | New York Islanders | NHL | 75 | 19 | 20 | 39 | 8 | 20 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 4 | ||
| 1983–84 | New York Islanders | NHL | 71 | 22 | 24 | 46 | 8 | 21 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 2 | ||
| 1984–85 | New York Islanders | NHL | 29 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1984–85 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 39 | 13 | 21 | 34 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1986–87 | Nova Scotia Oilers | AHL | 10 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 1,107 | 375 | 513 | 888 | 102 | 134 | 38 | 50 | 88 | 32 | ||||
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Canada | CC | 7 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 |
Goring served two stints as an NHL head coach. He coached the Bruins in the 1985–86 season and the early part of the following campaign;[14] he also coached theNew York Islanders in the 1999–2000 season[23][24][25] and most of the following season – he was fired by the Islanders on March 4, 2001.[26] He also served as the head coach for several minor league teams, including the Spokane ChiefsCapital District Islanders,Las Vegas Thunder,Denver Grizzlies,[23]Utah Grizzlies, andAnchorage Aces, winning two championships. In 2002–2003 he took over theKrefeld Penguins of theDeutsche Eishockey Liga and led them to their first championship since 1952. In 2004–2005, he was the coach of theDEG Metro Stars hockey team in Germany.
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | Finish | W | L | Win% | Result | ||
| BOS | 1985–86 | 80 | 37 | 31 | 12 | — | 86 | 3rd inAdams | 0 | 3 | .000 | Lost in Division Semifinals |
| BOS | 1986–87 | 13 | 5 | 7 | 1 | — | (11) | (fired) | — | — | — | — |
| NYI | 1999–2000 | 82 | 24 | 48 | 9 | 1 | 58 | 5th inAtlantic | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| NYI | 2000–01 | 65 | 17 | 40 | 5 | 3 | (52) | (fired) | — | — | — | — |
| Total | 240 | 83 | 126 | 27 | 4 | 193 | 0 | 3 | .000 | 1 playoff appearance | ||
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Winner of theLady Byng Trophy 1978 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Winner of theBill Masterton Trophy 1978 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Winner of theConn Smythe Trophy 1981 | Succeeded by |
| Sporting positions | ||
| Preceded by | Head coach of the Boston Bruins 1985–86 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Head coach of the New York Islanders 1999–2001 | Succeeded by |
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