The 1979–80 Islanders were talented but incomplete. They had Bossy, Trottier, Potvin, and Gillies — a core good enough to contend. But they lacked a reliable checking center, the kind of player who could win faceoffs, shut down opposing lines, and provide clutch offense without being a first-line star.
Bill Torrey identified the solution: Butch Goring of the Los Angeles Kings. Goring was 30 years old, wore a distinctive white helmet in an era when helmets were becoming standard, and was one of the most underrated players in the league. The Kings were going nowhere. On March 10, 1980, Torrey sent forwards Billy Harris and Dave Lewis to Los Angeles for Goring.
The impact was immediate and stunning. The Islanders clicked into a different gear with Goring on the ice. He won faceoffs. He shadowed the opponent's top center. He chipped in goals and assists at key moments. The team, which had been knocked out in the playoffs in previous years despite their talent, finally felt complete.
Goring won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 1981 as the playoffs' most valuable player. He won four consecutive Stanley Cups with the Islanders. Harris and Lewis, the players sent to LA, never became stars. It was as lopsided a trade as the sport has seen.
"Butch Goring changed everything," Al Arbour said. "He was exactly what we needed, and he came in and fit right away. You can't always predict that with a trade, but this one worked perfectly." The Goring trade is a case study in what a single right move, made at the right time, can do for a franchise's legacy.