Gary Smith (ice hockey)
Gary Smith | |||
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | February 4, 1944||
Height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) | ||
Weight | 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb) | ||
Position | Goaltender | ||
Caught | Left | ||
Played for |
Winnipeg Jets | ||
Playing career | 1965–1980 |
Gary Edward Smith
Playing career
Smith played his junior hockey with the
In his first season with Toronto, Smith left his crease in a game against the Montreal Canadiens in an attempt to be the first NHL goalie to score a goal. He reached the Canadiens' blueline before J. C. Tremblay issued a heavy bodycheck.[3] The NHL subsequently introduced a rule prohibiting the goaltender from being involved in play after crossing the center red line.[4] On occasion, Smith continued to attempt to score from within his side of the red line.[5]
He was eventually given the nickname "Suitcase" Smith by Toronto Star journalist Red Burnett due to the large number of teams for which he played.[6] After playing with the dismal California Golden Seals from 1967–68 to 1970–71, with whom he set records in 1970–71 for both the most games played in a single season and most losses in a single season, his first success was sharing the 1971–72 Vezina Trophy with Tony Esposito while with the Chicago Black Hawks. One year later, Smith and Esposito helped lead the Black Hawks to the Stanley Cup Finals, which they lost to the Montreal Canadiens in six games.
In 1974–75, he had a fine season with the Vancouver Canucks, with 72 games played and six shutouts. Smith finished fifth place in balloting for the 1975 Hart Memorial Trophy, awarded to the player judged most valuable to his team. The ultimate winner, Bobby Clarke, said in his acceptance speech that Smith was more deserving of the award. The following season, after giving up five goals to the Pittsburgh Penguins, Smith was pulled from the game but rather than stay on the bench he left the Pacific Coliseum and drove home still wearing his equipment.[7][6] He was suspended indefinitely by the team,[8] later reduced to five games, and later said "It's tough driving in your skates."[7]
Smith later played in the
Smith's last coach in Winnipeg was Tom McVie, who coached Smith the previous season while both were with the Washington Capitals.[12]
Smith was noted for his ritual of removing his entire uniform and goaltending gear between periods and putting it all back on again. He claimed his skate boots would stretch in size, forcing him to wear as many as 13 pairs of socks at times. He performed his undressing routine throughout his career as an active player, even after resolving his skate boot issues.[13]
Smith was also known for punting the puck down the ice,[14] allegedly in at attempt to hit the scoreclock.[6]
Personal life
His brother
Gary currently resides in Del Mar, California and continues to manage his horses.[citation needed]
Awards and achievements
- 1964
- 1966
- 1972 (shared with Tony Esposito).
- Played in 1975 NHL All-Star Game
- 1979
- Holds 1971)
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
Regular season
|
Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | T | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | GP | W | L | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | ||
1961–62
|
Toronto St. Michael's Majors | OHA-Jr. | 31 | 24 | 6 | 1 | 1860 | 83 | 3 | 2.68 | — | 12 | — | — | 720 | 36 | 0 | 3.00 | — | ||
1961–62 | Toronto St. Michael's Majors | M-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | 3 | 182 | 20 | 0 | 6.59 | — | ||
1962–63
|
Neil McNeil Maroons
|
MetJHL | 28 | — | — | — | 1660 | 65 | 3 | 2.25 | — | 10 | — | — | 600 | 40 | 0 | 4.00 | — | ||
1962–63 | Neil McNeil Maroons | M-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | 2 | 4 | 360 | 27 | 0 | 4.50 | — | ||
1963–64
|
Toronto Marlboros | OHA-Jr. | 55 | 40 | 8 | 7 | 3270 | 186 | 3 | 3.41 | — | 9 | — | — | 540 | 26 | 1 | 2.89 | — | ||
1963–64 | Toronto Marlboros | M-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 12 | 11 | 1 | 720 | 38 | 0 | 3.17 | — | ||
1964–65 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1964–65 | Tulsa Oilers
|
CPHL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 60 | 5 | 0 | 5.00 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1964–65 | Victoria Maple Leafs | WHL
|
8 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 411 | 30 | 0 | 4.38 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1965–66 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 37 | 20 | 11 | 4 | 2038 | 97 | 2 | 2.86 | — | 4 | 2 | 2 | 188 | 12 | 0 | 3.83 | — | ||
1965–66 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 118 | 7 | 0 | 3.56 | .896 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1966–67 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 17 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 871 | 38 | 1 | 2.62 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1966–67 | Victoria Maple Leafs | WHL | 17 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 1029 | 51 | 2 | 2.97 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1966–67 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 115 | 7 | 0 | 3.65 | .892 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1967–68 | Oakland Seals
|
NHL | 21 | 2 | 13 | 4 | 1129 | 60 | 1 | 3.19 | .907 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1968–69 | Oakland Seals | NHL | 54 | 21 | 24 | 7 | 2993 | 148 | 4 | 2.97 | .905 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 420 | 23 | 0 | 3.29 | .899 | ||
1969–70 | Oakland Seals | NHL | 65 | 19 | 34 | 12 | 3762 | 195 | 2 | 3.11 | .913 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 248 | 13 | 0 | 3.15 | .903 | ||
1970–71 | California Golden Seals | NHL | 71 | 19 | 48 | 4 | 3975 | 256 | 2 | 3.86 | .884 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1971–72 | Chicago Black Hawks
|
NHL | 28 | 14 | 5 | 6 | 1540 | 62 | 5 | 2.42 | .911 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 120 | 3 | 1 | 1.50 | .957 | ||
1972–73 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 23 | 10 | 10 | 2 | 1340 | 79 | 0 | 3.54 | .887 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 65 | 5 | 0 | 4.62 | .884 | ||
1973–74 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 66 | 20 | 33 | 8 | 3632 | 208 | 3 | 3.44 | .894 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1974–75 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 72 | 32 | 24 | 9 | 3823 | 197 | 6 | 3.09 | .895 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 257 | 14 | 0 | 3.27 | .905 | ||
1975–76 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 51 | 20 | 24 | 6 | 2864 | 167 | 2 | 3.50 | .882 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1976–77 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 36 | 10 | 17 | 8 | 2090 | 139 | 1 | 3.99 | .881 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 4 | 0 | 5.58 | .733 | ||
1977–78 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 17 | 2 | 12 | 3 | 980 | 68 | 2 | 4.16 | .864 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1977–78 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 65 | 4 | 0 | 3.69 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1977–78 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 180 | 9 | 0 | 3.00 | .907 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1977–78 | Fort Worth Texans | CHL | 13 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 765 | 38 | 1 | 2.98 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1978–79 | Indianapolis Racers | WHA | 11 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 664 | 61 | 0 | 5.51 | .848 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1978–79 | Winnipeg Jets
|
WHA | 11 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 626 | 31 | 0 | 2.97 | .889 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 563 | 35 | 0 | 3.73 | — | ||
1979–80 | Winnipeg Jets | NHL | 20 | 4 | 11 | 4 | 1073 | 73 | 0 | 4.08 | .873 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1979–80 | Tulsa Oilers | CHL | 22 | 7 | 11 | 4 | 1324 | 73 | 0 | 3.31 | — | 1 | 0 | 1 | 60 | 6 | 0 | 6.00 | — | ||
WHA totals | 22 | 7 | 13 | 4 | 1290 | 92 | 0 | 4.28 | .865 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 563 | 35 | 0 | 3.73 | .873 | ||||
NHL totals | 532 | 173 | 261 | 74 | 29619 | 1675 | 26 | 3.39 | .894 | 20 | 5 | 13 | 1153 | 62 | 1 | 3.23 | .902 |
"Smith's stats". The Goaltender Home Page. Retrieved 2017-08-07.
Citations
- ^ "Gary Edward Smith".
- ^ [Cox]
- ISBN 978-1-4962-0452-3. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
- ^ "NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Official Rules 2021-2022" (PDF). NHL.com. p. 44. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
- ^ Eskenazi, Gerald (17 January 1971). "Seal Goalie Seeks Chance to Score Goals". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
- ^ a b c Ates, Murat (28 September 2020). "How Gary 'Suitcase' Smith, unemployed and out of shape, revived his career in Winnipeg". The Athletic. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
- ^ a b Duff, Bob (26 March 2014). "Five other goalies who couldn't take it anymore". windsorstar. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
- ^ Keese, Parton (10 February 1976). "Red Wings Waive Redmond; Called 'Disruptive Influence'". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
- ^ [Cox], pg. 79
- ^ Muir, Allan (19 August 2015). "Maker of California Seals movie seeks fans' help". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
- ^ a b [Willes], pg. 241
- ^ [Willes], pg.240
- ^ Kirshenbaum, Jerry. "Reincarnation and 13 Pairs of Socks," Sports Illustrated, March 28, 1977. Retrieved November 17, 2020
- ^ Mulvoy, Mark (17 March 1975). "AN AX CAN'T DO IT ALONE, YOU NEED A HAMMER". Sports Illustrated Vault | SI.com. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
- ^ Gretz, Adam (26 November 2020). "PHT Time Machine: NHL brother vs. brother edition". ProHockeyTalk | NBC Sports. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
- ^ "Oakland Seals vs. Los Angeles Kings Box Score: December 19, 1967". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
References
- Banks, David (July 18, 1997). "A horse of a different color is Smith: Goalie Suitcase Gary takes a run at owning a race horse". The Province. Vancouver, British Columbia. p. A56.
- Cox, Damien; Stellick, Gord (2004). 67: The Maple Leafs, Their Sensational Victory, and the End of an Empire. John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 0-470-83400-5.
- Willes, Ed (2004). The Rebel League: The Short and Unruly Life of the World Hockey Association. Toronto, ON: McLelland and Stewart. ISBN 0-7710-8947-3.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database