Butch Goring


Robert Thomas "Butch" Goring is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and coach. He played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Los Angeles Kings, New York Islanders and Boston Bruins. A four-time Stanley Cup winner with the Islanders, he has been cited as a key figure of the Islanders dynasty.
Since retiring as a player, he has served as head coach of both the Bruins and Islanders. He currently serves as the Islanders' television color commentator on MSG Network and select games for TNT alongside play-by-play announcer Brendan Burke. In addition, ice-level reporter Darren Pang joins the pair for select games.

Early life

Goring was born on October 22, 1949, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada to parents Bob and Audree. He was raised in St. Boniface, Winnipeg alongside his twin sister and two brothers. Goring is of Scottish and British descent through his parents. His father Bob was a welder for the Canadian National Railway. Growing up, Goring was a fan of the Detroit Red Wings and wore the jersey number 9 in honour of Gordie Howe.

Playing career

Junior

Growing up in Winnipeg, Goring played junior ice hockey with the Winnipeg Rangers and Winnipeg Jets of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. In his rookie season with the Rangers, Goring scored 66 points and received the 1967 Lorne "Windy" Lyndon Memorial trophy as the MJHL's most sportsmanlike player. He also had a one game trial with Canada's National hockey team against the Manitoba Senior League All-Stars. The following season, Goring played on the Hull Nationals in the Quebec Provincial Senior Hockey League with future NHLer Bob Berry. He finished the 1968–69 leading the team in scoring before being recruited to join the WCHL's Winnipeg Jets. While it was rumoured that the Jets offered Goring a car in exchange for his signing, team owner Benny Hatskin denied it. By December, Goring ranked third in league scoring with 33 points and second in goals. He left the team in February 1969 to join the Dauphin Kings of the MJHL due to his unhappiness with the team's operations. After finishing his junior career, Goring was drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the fifth round of the 1969 NHL amateur draft.

Professional career

Los Angeles Kings organization (1969–1980)

Following the draft, Goring was assigned to the Kings' American Hockey League affiliate, the Springfield Kings, for the 1969–70 season. 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. As a result of his early success, Goring was considered an early candidate for the Rookie of the Year. By the end of November, Goring had scored 13 goals and seven assists through 19 games. Due to the Los Angeles Kings' offensive struggles, Goring and Corrigan were recalled to the NHL level on November 26 and placed on a line with veteran Eddie Shack. While on this line, Goring scored his first NHL goal on November 30 against the Detroit Red Wings. Goring continued to play alongside Shack through the remainer of the season, although Corrigan was eventually replaced by Ross Lonsberry.
Goring returned to the Kings' training camp ahead of the 1970-71 season but struggled to keep up with his teammates. 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. In November, Goring was reassigned to the Springfield Kings and moved in with the team's physician while he rebuilt his strength. Upon returning to Springfield's lineup, Goring scored eight goals and 15 assists before being recalled to the NHL level in early January as a replacement for an injured player. He scored two goals and five assists through 19 games but was reassigned to Springfield once Bob Pulford returned to the lineup. 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. 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. He finished the Calder Cup playoffs with a record-setting 11 goals and 25 points to lead the Kings to the Calder Cup championship.
As he was fully recovered from mononucleosis, Goring returned to the Los Angeles Kings for the 1971–72 NHL season. However, he was often sidelined in favour of team veterans by new head coach Fred Glover. At the end of November, Glover put Goring on a line between Lucien Grenier and Mike Corrigan and the team won two of their next three games. Goring had previously played alongside Corrigan in Springfield. As the three continued to play together through December, they earned the monikor of the "Light Brigade" because their heaviest member weighed 175 pounds. Grenier was later replaced by Bob Berry and the three became the Kings' top scoring line. On February 5, 1972, Goring set a franchise record by scoring two goals and four assists in the Kings' 8–1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Through the final 11 games in February, Goring's line combined for 15 goals and 23 assists. 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.
In the 1975–76 playoff quarterfinal series against the Boston Bruins, Goring scored the overtime game-winning goal in game 2 and game 6. He won both the Bill Masterton Trophy and the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy in 1978, becoming the first player to win both trophies the same year. Prior to the 1978–79 season, he was offered a five-year, $1-million contract by the World Hockey Association's Edmonton Oilers. However, Goring re-signed with the Kings after they countered with an offer of $1.25-million over the same term.

New York Islanders (1980–1985)

In the 1980 season, Goring was traded in March 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". That season, he 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, scoring 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. Goring played 78 games and did not receive a single penalty, but did not win the Lady Byng Trophy that year.

Final years (1985–1987)

Goring's final NHL season was 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. After he was fired as the Bruins' coach in 1986–87, he played briefly for the Nova Scotia Oilers of the AHL before retiring for good.
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.

Legacy

Goring was most recognizable on the ice for the Sven Tumba-endorsed Spaps brand helmet that he had worn since childhood and continued to wear throughout his entire professional career.
Former Islanders' teammate Mike Bossy stated on a 2010 episode of Off 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". Other former Islanders, including Dave Lewis and Clark Gillies, point to the tradition starting in the mid-1970s, before Goring's time with the team, although Goring certainly participated in the tradition once he joined the Islanders.
Goring's No. 91 was retired by the Islanders on February 29, 2020, ahead of a game against the Boston Bruins.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Coaching career

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; he also coached the New York Islanders in the 1999–2000 season and most of the following season – he was fired by the Islanders on March 4, 2001. He also served as the head coach for several minor league teams, including the Spokane Chiefs Capital District Islanders, Las Vegas Thunder, Denver Grizzlies, Utah Grizzlies, and Anchorage Aces, winning two championships. In 2002–2003, after a short stint as head coach of the Frankfurt Lions of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga where he replaced Doug Bradley, he took over the Krefeld Penguins and led them to their first championship since 1952. In 2004–2005, he was the coach of the DEG Metro Stars hockey team in Germany.

Coaching record

Career achievements