He couldn’t help a pretty talented Los Angeles Kings team over the top in the late 1970’s but Butch Goring is considered the missing piece of the puzzle that led to the New York Islanders four year Stanley Cup dynasty. Goring had a successful career, both on the ice and behind the bench. In my opinion, Butch sits in that ‘honourable mention’ group perched on the outside steps of the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Junior and Minor Pro
Hockey Card Collection
NHL Career
Coaching Career
Rookie Card
Career Stats
Butch Goring – Junior and Minor Pro
Goring caught the attention of the Los Angeles Kings in his final season of junior hockey in the WCHL (now WHL). In 1968-69 with the Winnipeg Jets, he scored 42 and assisted on 33 for 75 points over just 39 games. Butch tied for fourth in the league for goals with Gregg Sheppard of the Estevan Bruins. His point total was good for tenth in the WCHL. Of course, the league was dominated by Bobby Clarke of the Flin Flon Bombers.
Butch Goring Collection
His first two years of pro hockey were split between the NHL Kings and the AHL’s Springfield Kings. In 1970-71, Goring showed early signs of the playoff hero that the Islanders would covet a decade later.
That year, Butch played 19 games in the National Hockey League. The rest of the season was spent in Springfield where he played 40 regular season games, scoring 23 and totalling 55 points. Goring was second on the team in scoring, despite playing a little more than half the schedule.
Springfield finished third in the four team Eastern Division with just 29 wins and 66 points over the 72 game schedule. The Kings squeaked into the Calder Cup playoffs, winning a tiebreaker game over the Quebec Aces. The game needed overtime to decide a winner with the 4-3 score going in favour of Springfield.
Goring then exploded in those 1970-71 Calder Cup playoffs. He scored eleven and assisted on 14 for 25 points over 12 games. Springfield swept the Montreal Voyageurs and took out the Cleveland Barons to earn a berth in the finals. However, the Providence Reds took control and swept the series for the championship.
Butch Goring – NHL Career
By 1971-72, Goring was fulltime with the NHL Kings. From that season until being traded to the Islanders 69 games into the 1979-80 season, Butch had at least 20 goals per season with Los Angeles. In that 1979-80 season, he scored exactly 20 before moving to the opposite coast. For four straight seasons from 1975-76 to 1978-79, Butch topped the 30 goal mark. All this was done while only accumulating more than ten penalty minutes in three of his NHL seasons.
In 1976-77 with the Kings, Butch tied for tenth in the NHL with 55 assists. It was a bit of log jam with Denis Potvin of the Islanders, Dennis Kearns of the Vancouver Canucks and Brad Park of the Boston Bruins all finishing with the same total. The following year, his 37 goals with L.A. turned out to be a career high. Taking just one minor penalty over the full 80 game schedule, Goring was honoured with the Lady Byng Trophy. He was also handed the Bill Masterton Trophy for perseverance.
In 1978-79, his last full season with the Kings, the makings of what should have been a contender were coming together. Charlie Simmer joined the team midseason and the Triple Crown Line was formed. Goring had his best offensive season in the NHL with 36 goals and 87 points over 80 games. Yet, the Bob Berry coached Kings finished under .500 and lost in the preliminary round.
On March 10, 1980, Butch was traded to the Islanders for Billy Harris and Dave Lewis. Goring was the catalyst needed for New York to win their first Stanley Cup championship in 1980-81. He played just 12 regular season games for the Islanders after the trade but over 21 playoff games, he added 19 points.
1980-81 would probably be the season that stands out above all others for Goring. Numbers were decent with 23 goals and 60 points but the offensive leadership roles belonged to Mike Bossy and Bryan Trottier. Interestingly, over 78 games, Butch did not receive a single minor penalty. Yet, the Lady Byng went to Rick Kehoe of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Kehoe sat three minors over the full 80 game schedule but also produced 55 goals.
That year, the Islanders swept Toronto in the opening round and took out the Edmonton Oilers in six in the quarter-finals. After sweeping the Rangers in the semis, it took just five games to beat the Minnesota North Stars in the finals to once again capture the Stanley Cup. Going totalled 20 points over 18 playoff games and was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
With the dynasty over in 1984-85, Butch was dealt to the Boston Bruins 29 games into the season. He finished out the season with Boston before retiring and taking over the head coaching job with the Bruins.
Over his NHL career, Goring played 1,107 regular season games, scoring 375 and assisting on 513 for 888 points while sitting just 102 minutes in the penalty box. In the Stanley Cup playoffs, Butch added 88 points over 134 games.
Butch Goring – Coaching
Goring’s coaching career actually started while still a player. From 1982-83 to 1984-85, he served as a player / assistant coach with the Islanders. He took over the head coaching job with the Bruins in 1985-86 with the team finishing third in the Adams Division behind the Quebec Nordiques and Montreal Canadiens. Boston was swept by the Habs in the prelims. Despite a decent start to the 1986-87 season, Butch was replaced after 13 games by Terry O’Reilly.
Over his coaching career, Goring spent time in the NHL, WHL, AHL, IHL, WCHL and Germany’s Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). He returned to the NHL for the 1999-00 and 2000-01 to coach the Islanders. New York at the time was dismal.
It was in the IHL where Butch found his best success as a head coach. In 1994-95, he coached a powerful Denver Grizzlies team. The Grizzlies finished first overall with 57 wins and 120 points over 81 games. In the Turner Cup playoffs, Denver lost just two games and swept the Kansas City Blades for the championship. The team was led in net by Tommy Salo. Goring was awarded the Commissioner’s Trophy as IHL coach of the year.
The following year, 1995-96, the team moved and became the Utah Grizzlies. They finished second in the South Division with 49 wins and 102 points. Yet, the Grizzlies won the Turner Cup for the second year in a row, taking out the Orland Solar Bears in the finals with three games going to overtime.
That year, Butch was again awarded the Commissioner’s Trophy as coach of the year. The trophy existed from 1984-85 to 2000-01 and Goring is the only two-time winner. Other winners include Darryl Sutter, Bruce Boudreau and Phil Russell.
Butch Goring – Rookie Card
The Butch Goring rookie card appears as number 152 in the 1971-72 O-Pee-Chee set. Like Goring’s NHL career, his rookie card is a bit underrated and is valued as a common card. He is, of course, shown with the Los Angeles Kings. O-Pee-Chee saved some money by using the same photo on both Butch’s 1971-72 and 1972-73 cards.
Topps didn’t jump on board with Butch right away. Goring’s first Topps card appears as number 72 in the 1972-73 set.
Butch Goring Career Stats
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1968-69 | Winnipeg Jets | WCHL | 36 | 42 | 33 | 75 | 0 |
| 1969-70 | Springfield Kings | AHL | 19 | 13 | 7 | 20 | 0 |
| 1969-70 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 59 | 13 | 23 | 36 | 8 |
| 1970-71 | Springfield Kings | AHL | 40 | 23 | 32 | 55 | 4 |
| 1970-71 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 19 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 2 |
| 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 |
| 1974-75 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 60 | 27 | 33 | 60 | 6 |
| 1975-76 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 80 | 33 | 40 | 73 | 8 |
| 1976-77 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 78 | 30 | 55 | 85 | 6 |
| 1977-78 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 80 | 37 | 36 | 73 | 2 |
| 1978-79 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 80 | 36 | 51 | 87 | 16 |
| 1979-80 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 69 | 20 | 48 | 68 | 12 |
| 1979-80 | New York Islanders | NHL | 12 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 2 |
| 1980-81 | New York Islanders | NHL | 78 | 23 | 37 | 60 | 0 |
| 1981-82 | New York Islanders | NHL | 67 | 15 | 17 | 32 | 10 |
| 1982-83 | New York Islanders | NHL | 75 | 19 | 20 | 39 | 8 |
| 1983-84 | New York Islanders | NHL | 71 | 22 | 24 | 46 | 8 |
| 1984-85 | New York Islanders | NHL | 29 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 2 |
| 1984-85 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 39 | 13 | 21 | 34 | 6 |
| 1986-87 | Nova Scotia Oilers | AHL | 10 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 2 |
| NHL Totals | 1107 | 375 | 513 | 888 | 102 |