William John Smith (born December 12, 1950) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Drafted by the Los 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 the NHL Expansion Draft by the New 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 compete in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
On November 28 of the 1979–80 season, Smith became 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 consecutive Stanley Cups. The 1981–82 season saw him win the Vezina Trophy in the first season where the trophy was given to the best all-around goaltender while the following season saw him win the William M. Jennings Trophy (alongside teammate Roland Melanson) in allowing the fewest number of goals for the season. He then won the Conn Smythe Trophy for his performance that year where he went 13–3 with three shutouts and goals against average (GAA) of 2.68 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.
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. In 1993, he had his number retired by the Islanders and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. In 2017, Smith was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in history.
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Early life
Smith was born in the town of Perth, Ontario. He attended the Perth District Collegiate Institute as a youth before beginning to play organized hockey in 1968. He cited his older brother Gordie as an inspiration, even starting out playing defense. However, when the team needed a goalie one day, Smith volunteered. He soon began to like playing the whole game and the attention for having a good game. In a game in December 1969 in Drummondville, Smith was ran into the crease by an opponent and decided to fight two opposing players that started a brawl, which led to several players ejected.
He spent one year in the QMJHL with the Cornwall Royals in 1969 and was drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the 1970 NHL draft. He spent the next two seasons with the minor league affiliate with the Springfield Kings, where he had six combined shutouts and won the Calder Cup in 1971.
Playing career
NHL beginnings
Smith was drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the fifth round of the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft on June 11, 1970. After two seasons in the AHL, he made his NHL debut with the Kings on February 12, 1972, at the Montreal Forum; the Kings lost 6-5 to the Canadiens, with Smith facing 48 shots that afternoon, yielding the winning goal to Guy Lafleur with 22 seconds remaining in the game.
New York Islanders
Smith was drafted in the 1972 NHL Expansion Draft by the New York Islanders on June 6, 1972; he was the second player picked by the team. After sharing goaltending duties with Gerry Desjardins for two years, he got the starting job all to himself in the 1974–75 season when Desjardins bolted to the World Hockey Association. In that season, he led the Islanders to their first playoff appearance.
Smith played in the 1978 All-Star Game, of which he was named Most Valuable Player. For the next two seasons, he shared netminding duties with Chico Resch, with whom he formed perhaps the top goaltending duo in the NHL at the time. Smith was the first NHL goaltender to be credited with scoring a goal. On November 28, 1979, in a game between the Islanders and the Colorado Rockies, the Rockies took their goaltender off the ice for an extra attacker after a delayed penalty call was called on the Islanders. The puck deflected off Smith's chest protector into the corner. Rockies rookie Rob 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.
In the 1980 playoffs, 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 the Colorado Rockies the following season on March 10, 1981. In the 1981–82 season, he was named a First Team All-Star and won the Vezina Trophy. The following season saw him and teammate Roland Melanson win the William M. Jennings Trophy for fewest goals allowed. He was chosen to play for Canada in the 1981 Canada Cup, but he was unable to play due to suffering a cracked left hand finger in practice.
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 straight Stanley 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.
Smith was the first goalie to win the Stanley Cup wearing the helmet-and-cage combination mask, rather than the fiberglass mask which had been the standard since 1959. He switched to the helmet-and-cage in the 1978–79 season.
Post-playing career
Smith spent four seasons as the goaltending coach for the Islanders. In 1993, followed longtime Islander general manager Bill Torrey to the expansion Florida Panthers as goaltending coach. He spent eight seasons with the team, rising to assistant coach by the time he departed the team in 2001. He became goaltending coach of the Islanders from 2001 to 2003. He was hired by the Barrie Colts to serve as Director of Goaltending in 2017, where he served until 2020.
Legacy
Nicknamed "Battlin' Billy" or "Hatchet Man" for his fiery temper and unabashed use of his stick or blocker on players crowding his crease, Smith excelled as a tough "money goalie" of his era. For much of his career, there were few restrictions on contact with goaltenders or entering the crease, so Smith felt he had to resort to these measures to protect himself. 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 Final, Glenn Anderson of the Edmonton Oilers collided with Smith and Smith dove upon the ice, resulting in referee Andy 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 Final, a rematch of the Islanders and Oilers, he called no penalty when Smith and Anderson collided again. In the four Stanley Cup Final runs, he went 57–13 as a starter. In the playoff run from 1980 to 1984 where the team won nineteen consecutive playoff series, he went 68–18.
Smith refused to participate in the traditional handshakes between teams at the end of a playoff series. During one practice, teammate Mike 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.
The Islanders retired his jersey number 31 on February 20, 1993. Later that year, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. In 1998, he was ranked number 80 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players. In 2022, he was named by The Athletic as the 86th best player of the NHL modern era.
Personal life
Smith has an older brother who also played in the NHL, Gord Smith. As of 2016, Smith has been married to his wife for over 40 years.
Awards and achievements
Calder Cup championship in 1971.
Played in 1978 NHL All-Star Game.
1978 NHL All-Star Game MVP.
Selected to the NHL First All-Star Team in 1982.
Vezina Trophy winner in 1982.
Conn Smythe Trophy winner in 1983.
William M. Jennings Trophy winner in 1983 (shared with Roland Melanson).
Stanley Cup championships in 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983.
First NHL goalie to be credited with a goal in 1979.
Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1993.
His #31 jersey was retired by the New York Islanders on February 20, 1993.
In 1998, he was ranked number 80 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.
In 2016, he was inducted into his home town Perth and District Sports Hall of Fame.
In 2017, he was listed on NHL's 100 Greatest Hockey Players
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
Bold indicates led league