Williams was best known as an enforcer, but he was also able to score goals. He played on five different NHL teams during his career. He made his NHL debut with the Maple Leafs on January 7, 1975 against the New York Islanders. He broke many Maple Leaf and NHL records for penalty minutes and led the league twice with 338 minutes in 1976–77 and 298 in 1978–79. During his best season in Toronto, he scored 22 goals in 55 games, then on February 18, 1980 he was traded to the Vancouver Canucks for Rick Vaive and Bill Derlago. He scored 8 more goals in 23 games that season with Vancouver for a total of 30 goals.
The next season, 1980–81, in Vancouver, Williams scored a career high of 35 goals, the most among the Canucks, and 62 points. He also led the league in penalty minutes with 343, the third highest number in his career. He also earned a place in the mid-season All-Star game, in which he played on a line with Wayne Gretzky and Mike Bossy. He played a key role in the team's surprise run to the 1982 Stanley Cup Finals. Williams played in Vancouver until the end of the 1983–84 season.
After Vancouver, Williams played for the Detroit Red Wings for most of the 1984–85 NHL season, then was traded to the Los Angeles Kings. In Los Angeles, he set his career high of 358 penalty minutes for one season. He was traded to the Hartford Whalers during the 1987–88 NHL season. After 26 games the Whalers placed him on waivers and released him on February 12, 1988. He retired shortly thereafter.
Bryan Trottier, who had a long and illustrious career with the New York Islanders, credits Williams with talking him out of quitting hockey as a youngster.[1]
After the NHL
Williams with the 2008 All-Star Legends in Toronto
In 1984 Williams published his autobiography, Tiger: A Hockey Story, co-written by James Lawton. In 1987, he released a cookbook entitled Done Like Dinner: Tiger In the Kitchen, co-written with Kasey Wilson. It included many hockey-inspired recipes, including Habs Tourtière, Stanley Cup Bars, and Luc Robitaille's Lasagna Omelette.
In 1996, Canadian punk rock band The Hanson Brothers spearheaded a campaign to agitate for Williams' induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame. They included a mail-in postcard in their album Sudden Death which purchasers could send to the Hall.[citation needed]
As a guest on Tony Gallagher's phone-in radio program, Williams claimed that Canucks manager Pat Quinn attempted to have his jersey number 22 sweater retired by the team. However, rules at the time required the Canucks to ask permission from the previous player who wore it, Bob Manno. Manno refused, even, according to Williams, when the team offered him money to grant permission.[citation needed] Number 22 was later worn by (and retired in honour of) Canucks alternate captain and Art Ross trophy winner, Daniel Sedin.
On February 9, 2018, Williams was charged with sexual assault while on a military trip to Latvia.[2] These charges were withdrawn by Crown attorney Meaghan Cunningham after he issued an apology.[3]
Williams was arrested and charged with one count of uttering a threat to cause death and one count of assault stemming from an April 10, 2023 incident in Beaver Flat, Saskatchewan. Police said the other man involved did not sustain injuries or require medical attention.[4] On Sept 6, 2023, the charges were dropped.[5]
He appeared as himself in the first episode of the Canadian sitcomRent-a-Goalie.
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