All The Kings' Men: Butch Goring

So synonymous is the nickname Butch with the name Goring that we actually had to look up Goring's first name in the history books to write this biography on Robert Thomas Goring.

When a player is nicknamed "Butch" usually he is known for three things: Incredible hustle; unmatchable work ethic; and high penalty minute totals. Goring earned the nickname Butch because of his hustle and work ethic, but he was the epitome of clean textbook hockey. In fact, Goring, the 1978 Lady Byng winner, only accumulated 102 career penalty minutes in 1107 NHL games!

Born in St. Boniface Manitoba, Goring had a great junior career split between a number of teams. He split his junior eligibility with the Winnipeg Rangers (Manitoba Junior League), Hull Volants (Quebec Senior League), Winnipeg Jets (West Coast Junior League), the Dauphin Kings (Manitoba Junior League) and the Regina Pats (Saskatchewan Junior League). It was in his junior days where he garnered much attention from NHL scouts for his work ethic and clean style of play. In a total of 4 seasons of junior hockey, Goring took only 3 minor penalties.

Los Angeles took the chance on the 5'9" 170lb Goring with their 51st overall pick in the 1969 Amateur Draft. After splitting his first two pro seasons in Los Angeles and in Springfield with the King's AHL farm team. Goring made the Kings full time in 1971-72 when he scored his first of 11 consecutive 20+ goal seasons. Included in that streak were 4 consecutive 30 goal seasons.

1978 proved to be Goring's 15 minutes of fame. Goring's work ethic and clean play were rewarded with the Lady Byng and the Bill Masterton Memorial trophies. He scored a career high 37 goals and added 36 assists while taking only one minor penalty all season. Four times in his career Goring took only one minor penalty in a full NHL campaign.