Pre-Draft Highlights

Scored 150 goals in 40 minor-hockey games as 12-year-old with the Glenwood Bears. ... Started the 1965-66 season with West Kildonan (MJHL) before joining the Winnipeg Rangers (MJHL). ... Played on Canadian National B Team in 1967-68 and competed in Russia's Izvestia Tournament as part of his season with the Hull Nationals of the Quebec senior league. ... Played 12 games for the St. Boniface Mohawks (Manitoba senior league) in the 1968 Allan Cup tournament. ... Left the Winnipeg Jets team after 39 games of the 1968-69 season when he was leading WCHL in scoring. He made the move so he could play with the Canadian National Team for the balance of its 1968-69 season. ... Joined Dauphin for the tail end of the 1968-69 MJHL regular season and playoffs, winning the Turnbull Cup with the team. He then played for Dauphin in the 1969 Memorial Cup tournament and later joined Regina (SJHL) for two more games  after Dauphin was eliminated, finishing with 21 points in total 14 games.

Career Vitals

Career NHL Statistics

Teams: Los Angeles, N.Y. Islanders, Boston
Years: 1969-1985. Playoffs: 1974-1985

NHL Awards and Honors

Team Awards and Honors

Milestones

Team Records

Life Outside the NHL

Full Name: Robert Thomas Goring
Nicknames: "Butch", "Butchie"

Other Post-Draft Teams: Springfield (AHL); Nova Scotia (AHL)

Family: Son of former Los Angeles Kings amateur scout Robert Goring. ... Older brother of former major-junior player Dave Goring.

Transaction History

March 10, 1980 -- Traded by Los Angeles to N.Y. Islanders in exchange for Billy Harris and Dave Lewis. Jan. 8, 1985 -- Claimed by Boston off waivers from N.Y. Islanders.

The Key to a Dynasty

When it comes to trade-deadline deals that changed the fate of a team, few trades compare to the one that brought Goring to the Islanders in March 1980. Although the Islanders had been on the verge of a championship for at least two years, the addition of Goring put them over the top. The price for Goring was high, indeed. The Islanders gave up their first-ever draft choice, Bllly Harris, who had been with the team since Day 1. They also gave up Dave Lewis, who had joined the team in its second NHL season. An outstanding player and one of the league's hardest workers, Goring had been playing in the shadow of Hall of Famer Marcel Dionne in Los Angeles, but when he came East, he suddenly had a chance to showcase his own impact on an even more talented team that needed his spark and work-ethic to reach the next level. He scored six goals and 11 points in 12 games after joining the Islanders -- helping the team to an 8-0-4 finish -- and then had a huge impact in the team's first Stanley Cup run with seven goals and 12 assists in 21 games. Having Goring, a star in his own right, as a No. 2 center on the team behind Bryan Trottier gave the Islanders the depth they had been lacking at a crucial position, as Goring was able to use his speed to make wingers  that more dangerous in the run to the 1980 Stanley Cup and what proved to be the first of four straight championships. Goring was part of the "Core of the Four" -- one of 13 Islanders who played on the team for all four years. At a ceremony for the Core of the Four, Hall of Famer Mike Bossy called Goring "the last piece of the puzzle who made us who we are."

Career Highlights

Won AHL Calder Cup with Springfield in 1971. ... Scored three hat tricks for Springfield (AHL) during 1971 Calder Cup playoff run, including one in the Cup-clinching game to complete sweep of Providence on May 1, 1971. ... Set AHL record (since broken) for points in one playoff year with 25 for Springfield in 1971. ... Led AHL playoffs in goals (11), assists (14), and points (25) with Springfield in 1971. ... Set Los Angeles record (since broken) for points in one game with six (2 goals, 4 assists) in Feb. 5, 1972, game vs. Pittsburgh. ... Set Los Angeles record (since broken) with 10-game point-scoring streak in 1972-73. ... Set Los Angeles record (since broken) for hat tricks in one season with two in 1973-74. ... Set Los Angeles record (since broken) with five-game goal scoring streak in March 1974. ... Tied Los Angeles single-season record for shorthanded goals with three in 1973-74. ... Became second Los Angeles player to score four goals in a game when he scored four in a 7-5 win over Minnesota on March 1, 1975. He also became the first Kings player to score four goals in a home game. ... Became first Los Angeles player to average a point per game for an entire season when he scored 60 points in 60 games during 1974-75 season. ... Tied Los Angeles single-season record for game-winning goals with seven in 1974-75. ... Became first Los Angeles player to score 20 or more goals in four straight seasons when he did it from 1971-72 to 1974-75. ... Set Los Angeles single-season record (since broken) with five shorthanded goals in 1975-76. ... Scored two overtime goals in Los Angeles' 1976 second-round playoff series vs. Boston (series won by Bruins). He won Game 2 on April 13, 1976, with a goal at 0:27 of OT at Boston. He later forced Game 7 by scoring at 18:28 of overtime to win Game 6 for Los Angeles on April 22, 1976, at the Great Western Forum. ... Scored two shorthanded goals for N.Y. Islanders during 1981 Stanley Cup playoffs semifinal series vs. N.Y. Rangers -- one shy of NHL record. ... Became first Los Angeles player to score 20 or more goals in five straight seasons in 1975-76. ... Became first Los Angeles player to score 20 or more goals in six straight seasons in 1976-77. ... Became first Los Angeles player to score 20 or more goals in seven straight seasons in 1977-78.  ... Became first player in NHL history to win Masterton and Lady Byng Trophies in same season when he did it in 1977-78. ...  Became first Los Angeles player to score 20 or more goals in eight straight seasons in 1978-79.  ... Finished 12th in NHL scoring race with craeer-high 87 points for Los Angeles in 1978-79. ... Became first Los Angeles player to score 20 or more goals in nine straight seasons in 1979-80.  ... Left Los Angeles in 1980 with team records (all since broken) for most career games played (736), most career points (659), most career goals (275), most career assists (384), most 30-goal seasons (4), most shorthanded goals in one season (5), most points in one game (6), most playoff overtime goals (2), most playoff game-winning goals (4), most goals in one playoff year (7 in 1977), and most goals in one playoff game (3). ... Played 81 games in an 80-game regular season in 1979-80 due to trade to Islanders, who had played fewer games than Los Angeles at the time of the deal. ... Was only NHL regular who did not have a single penalty minute assessed to him during 1980-81 season. ... Scored the second playoff hat trick of his career in Game 3 of 1981 Stanley Cup Finals vs. Minnesota on May 17, 1981. He scored twice in the second period and once in the third. ... Named Manitoba Athlete of the Year for 1981. ... Finished third in NHL with five shorthanded goals for N.Y. Islanders in 1981-82. ... Finished second in NHL with five shorthanded goals for N.Y. Islanders in 1982-83. ... Played on 1983-84 N.Y. Islanders team that lost to Edmonton in 1984 Stanley Cup Finals. ... Came out of retirement to play 10 games on a tryout basis for Nova Scotia (AHL, Edmonton affiliate) during 1986-87 season after losing job as Boston head coach. ... Inducted into Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame in 1989. ... Inducted into Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame in 1992. ... Was head coach of 1993-94 Las Vegas team that won IHL regular-season title. ... Was head coach of 1994-95 Denver team that won IHL regular-season title. ... Won IHL Turner Cup as head coach of Denver in 1995. ... Won IHL Commissioners' Trophy as Coach of the Year in 1994-95 with Denver and 1995-96 with Utah. ... Won IHL Turner Cup as head coach of Utah in 1996. ... Inducted into the Los Angeles Kings Hall of Fame in 1997. ... Won German DEL championship as head coach of Krefeld in 2003.

Goring's Helmet

If Butch Goring had a trademark, it was undoubtedly his unique helmet. He began wearing the Snaps helmet as a 12-year-old in Manitoba after his father bought it for him (when it was a hot item). At some point, he decided he would continue to use it for his whole career. As the years went by, not only did Goring's helmet appear wildly outdated, but it also appeared tight on his head (as if he had outgrown it) and offered little protection -- although that didn't seem to matter in an era when most players didn't wear helmets. Goring said he wore the helmet for comfort, and because he got used to having it on his head in minor hockey, rather than protection. He was intensely loyal to his Snaps helmet. He had two of the helmets -- one for home games and one for the road. Each time he changed teams, he had the equipment managers repaint his prized helmets in the appropriate colors rather than switch to a new helmet.

International Tournaments

Significant Injuries

Missed part of 1970-71 season with mild case of mononucleosis. ... Missed 11 games of the 1972-73 season with severe laceration on right knee that required 50 stitches to close. ... Missed part of 1973-74 season with separated shoulder. ... Missed first 20 games of 1974-75 season with dislocated left shoulder, an injury suffered when Gary Sargent fell on him during 1974 training-camp scrimmage. ... Missed remainder of 1974-75 regular season with eye injury, suffered in March 4, 1975, collision with N.Y. Islanders Hall of Famer Denis Potvin. The plastic tip on the heel of Potvin's skate blade came up and caught Goring just above the left eye, fracturing his orbital bone. He did not return until the 1975 playoffs. ... Had off-season surgery to repair separated left shoulder in May 1975 after having worn a brace all season. It was the third shoulder operation of his career, and the second on his left shoulder. ... Did not miss game of 1981 Stanley Cup Finals despite having a 40-stitch cut in chin and tongue, suffered in Game 1 of Finals series vs. Minnesota on May 12, 1981.

Non-Playing Career

Miscellaneous:

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