Professional career
Following the draft, Goring was assigned to the Kings' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Springfield Kings, for the 1969–70 season. [15] 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. [16] As a result of his early success, Goring was considered an early candidate for the Rookie of the Year. [17] By the end of November, Goring had scored 13 goals and seven assists through 19 games. [16] Due to the Los Angeles Kings' offensive struggles, Goring and Corrigan were recalled to the NHL level on November 26 [18] and placed on a line with veteran Eddie Shack. [19] While on this line, Goring scored his first NHL goal on November 30 against the Detroit Red Wings. [20] [21] Goring continued to play alongside Shack through the remainer of the season, although Corrigan was eventually replaced by Ross Lonsberry. [14]
Goring returned to the Kings' training camp ahead of the 1970-71 season but struggled to keep up with his teammates. [22] 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 mid-October. [23] In November, Goring was reassigned to the Springfield Kings and moved in with the team's physician while he rebuilt his strength. [22] Upon returning to Springfield's lineup, Goring led the league in playoff goals, assists and points in helping his team (along with future Hall of Fame goaltender and future Islanders' teammate Billy Smith) win the Calder Cup championship.
The next season Goring was promoted for good to the NHL, and starred for nine seasons for the Los Angeles Kings, developing into one of the most complete players in the league. 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. [24] Prior to the 1978–79 season he was offered a five-year, $1-million contract by the World Hockey Association's Edmonton Oilers; [1] Goring re-signed with the Kings after they countered with an offer of $1.25-million over the same term. [25] [26]
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". [27] [28] 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 (1980–81), 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. [24] Goring played 78 games and did not receive a single penalty, but did not win the Lady Byng Trophy that year. [29]
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. [30] [31] After he was fired as the Bruins' coach in 1986–87, [32] he played briefly for the Nova Scotia Oilers of the AHL before retiring for good. [33] [34]
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.
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