Gary Smith (hockey)
Encyclopedia
Gary "Suitcase" Smith a former professional ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 goaltender
Goaltender
In ice hockey, the goaltender is the player who defends his team's goal net by stopping shots of the puck from entering his team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring...

. Gary is a son of Des Smith
Des Smith (ice hockey)
Desmond Patrick Smith was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman in the National Hockey League . He was the father of two sons Brian and Gary who also played in the NHL.-Pre-NHL career:...

 and brother of Brian Smith, both former National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

 (NHL) players. Gary played for numerous clubs, including the Chicago Black Hawks
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They have won four Stanley Cup championships since their founding in 1926, most recently coming in 2009-10...

, Oakland Seals, Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...

, Vancouver Canucks
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver, :British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Canucks play their home games at Rogers Arena, formerly known as General Motors Place,...

, Washington Capitals
Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Since their founding in 1974, "The Caps" have won one conference championship to reach the 1998 Stanley Cup...

 and Winnipeg Jets. He was the co-winner of the Vezina Trophy
Vezina Trophy
The Vezina Trophy is awarded annually to the National Hockey League's goaltender who is "adjudged to be the best at this position". At the end of each season, the 30 General Managers of the teams in the National Hockey League vote to determine the goaltender who was the most valuable to his team...

 in the 1971–72 NHL season.

Playing career

Gary Smith played his junior hockey with the Toronto St. Michael's Majors
Toronto St. Michael's Majors
The Toronto St. Michael's Majors, was a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The hockey program was founded and operated by St. Michael's College School in 1906, and adopted the name "Majors" in 1934, and was commonly referred to as St. Mike's...

, Toronto Neil McNeil Maroons
Toronto Neil McNeil Maroons
The Toronto Neil McNeil Maroons were a junior ice hockey team in the Metro Junior A League for one season in 1962-63. The Maroons were operated by Neil McNeil Catholic Secondary School in Scarborough, Ontario. When St. Michael's College discontinued its hockey program after the 1961-62 season, the...

 and the Toronto Marlboros
Toronto Marlboros
The Toronto Marlborough Athletic Club, commonly known as the Toronto Marlboros, was founded in 1903. It operated a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association and Ontario Hockey League from 1904 to 1989...

. He won a Memorial Cup
Memorial Cup
The Memorial Cup is a junior ice hockey club championship trophy awarded annually to the Canadian Hockey League champion. It is awarded following a four-team, round robin tournament between a host team and the champions of the CHL's three member leagues: the Ontario Hockey League , Quebec Major...

 with the junior Toronto Marlboros
Toronto Marlboros
The Toronto Marlborough Athletic Club, commonly known as the Toronto Marlboros, was founded in 1903. It operated a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association and Ontario Hockey League from 1904 to 1989...

 in 1964. In 1965
1964-65 NHL season
-NHL awards:-All-Star teams:-Scoring leaders:Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, PTS = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes-Leading goaltenders:...

, Gary Smith entered the NHL
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

 with the Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...

, and was one of five goalies who played for the Maple Leafs during the 1966–67 regular season, their last Stanley Cup season.

He eventually earned the nickname "Suitcase" Smith because of the large number of teams he played for. After playing with the dismal California Golden Seals
California Golden Seals
The California Golden Seals were a team in the National Hockey League from 1967–76. Initially named California Seals, the team was renamed Oakland Seals part-way through the 1967–68 season, and then to California Golden Seals in 1970. The Seals were one of six teams added to the league as part of...

 from 1967–71, where 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
Vezina Trophy
The Vezina Trophy is awarded annually to the National Hockey League's goaltender who is "adjudged to be the best at this position". At the end of each season, the 30 General Managers of the teams in the National Hockey League vote to determine the goaltender who was the most valuable to his team...

 with Tony Esposito
Tony Esposito
For the Italian musician, please see Tony Esposito .Anthony James "Tony O" Esposito is a retired Canadian-American professional ice hockey goaltender, who played in the National Hockey League, most notably for the Chicago Black Hawks. He was one of the pioneers of the now popular butterfly style....

 while with the Chicago Black Hawks
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They have won four Stanley Cup championships since their founding in 1926, most recently coming in 2009-10...

. One year later, Smith and Esposito would help the Black Hawks to the Stanley Cup final where they would lose to the Montreal Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...

 in 6 games.

In 1974–75, he also had a fine season with the Vancouver Canucks
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver, :British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Canucks play their home games at Rogers Arena, formerly known as General Motors Place,...

, with 72 games played and six shutouts. Smith finished 5th place in balloting for the 1975 Hart Trophy, which goes to the player judged most valuable to his team in the NHL. The 1975 Hart Trophy winner, Bobby Clarke, said in his acceptance speech that Smith was more deserving of the award.

Smith later played in the World Hockey Association
World Hockey Association
The World Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major competition for the National Hockey League since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926...

, and was a teammate of Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Douglas Gretzky, CC is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. Nicknamed "The Great One", he is generally regarded as the best player in the history of the National Hockey League , and has been called "the greatest hockey player ever" by many sportswriters,...

 while playing for the Indianapolis Racers
Indianapolis Racers
The Indianapolis Racers were a franchise in the former World Hockey Association from 1974 to 1978. They competed in five seasons, folding 25 games into the 1978–79 season. They played at Market Square Arena...

. He would be part of the Winnipeg Jets' 1979 Avco World Trophy
Avco World Trophy
The Avco World Trophy, also known as the Avco Cup, was the championship trophy of the original World Hockey Association . The trophy's naming rights were sold to the former Avco Corporation , a defense contractor who bought the rights to advertise their consumer finance division...

 championship.

Gary Smith’s last coach in Winnipeg was Tom McVie
Tom McVie
Tom McVie was a coach in the National Hockey League. He coached the Washington Capitals from the 1975–76 season to the middle of the 1978–79 season. He moved to the Winnipeg Jets, then in the World Hockey Association, and coached the team with Bill Sutherland in its first two NHL seasons, 1979–80...

, who coached Smith the previous season while both were with the Washington Capitals
Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Since their founding in 1974, "The Caps" have won one conference championship to reach the 1998 Stanley Cup...

.

The Jets played the Edmonton Oilers, led by Wayne Gretzky. Ironically, when Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Douglas Gretzky, CC is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. Nicknamed "The Great One", he is generally regarded as the best player in the history of the National Hockey League , and has been called "the greatest hockey player ever" by many sportswriters,...

 went to his first game at Maple Leaf Gardens
Maple Leaf Gardens
Maple Leaf Gardens is an indoor arena that was converted into a Loblawssupermarket and Ryerson University athletic centre in Toronto, on the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto's Garden District.One of the temples of hockey, it was home to the Toronto Maple Leafs of the...

, Gary Smith was one of the goalie’s in the game. The Maple Leafs played the California Seals and Smith was the Seals goalie.

Gary Smith gave up the last goal in WHA history to Dave Semenko
Dave Semenko
David John Semenko is a retired hockey player who played for the Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers, and Toronto Maple Leafs of the NHL...

.

Miscellaneous

Smith's had many other claims to fame, according to an interview in the Vancouver Province in 1997. In his first NHL game, Smith left his crease in an attempt to score a goal. He got to the Canadiens' blueline but then JC Tremblay came along. "He nailed me," said Smith.

In another game Smith punted the puck in Maple Leaf Gardens, almost hitting the clock.

Amother time he left the Vancouver Pacific Coliseum still wearing his goaltender uniform. "It's tough driving in your skates," he said in the same 1997 interview.

As of 1997 he was living in Vancouver and managing the racehorses he owned, including one named Broadcaster, named after his brother Brian, an Ottawa broadcaster who was murdered.

Awards and achievements

  • Memorial Cup
    Memorial Cup
    The Memorial Cup is a junior ice hockey club championship trophy awarded annually to the Canadian Hockey League champion. It is awarded following a four-team, round robin tournament between a host team and the champions of the CHL's three member leagues: the Ontario Hockey League , Quebec Major...

     championship in 1964.
  • Vezina Trophy
    Vezina Trophy
    The Vezina Trophy is awarded annually to the National Hockey League's goaltender who is "adjudged to be the best at this position". At the end of each season, the 30 General Managers of the teams in the National Hockey League vote to determine the goaltender who was the most valuable to his team...

     winner in 1972
    1971-72 NHL season
    -Final:New York Rangers vs. Boston BruinsBoston Bruins win the best-of-seven series 4 games to 2 for the Stanley Cup-NHL awards:-All-Star teams:-Scoring leaders:-Leading goaltenders:...

     (shared with Tony Esposito
    Tony Esposito
    For the Italian musician, please see Tony Esposito .Anthony James "Tony O" Esposito is a retired Canadian-American professional ice hockey goaltender, who played in the National Hockey League, most notably for the Chicago Black Hawks. He was one of the pioneers of the now popular butterfly style....

    ).
  • Played in 1975 NHL All-Star Game.
  • Avco World Trophy
    Avco World Trophy
    The Avco World Trophy, also known as the Avco Cup, was the championship trophy of the original World Hockey Association . The trophy's naming rights were sold to the former Avco Corporation , a defense contractor who bought the rights to advertise their consumer finance division...

     championship in 1979
    1978-79 WHA season
    The 1978–79 WHA season was the seventh and final season of the World Hockey Association . Prior to the start of the season, the Houston Aeros folded leaving seven teams to start the season. Only six would finish, however, as the Indianapolis Racers folded after 25 games on the December 15, 1978...

    .
  • Holds NHL
    National Hockey League
    The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

     record for most losses in a season (48 in 1971
    1970-71 NHL season
    The 1970–71 NHL season was the 54th season of the National Hockey League. Two new teams, the Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks made their debuts and were both put into the East Division. The Chicago Black Hawks were moved to the West Division...

    ).

Regular Season

Season
Season (sports)
In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1 through October 1; in Association football, it is generally from August until May In an...

Team League GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA
Goals against average
Goals Against Average is a statistic used in ice hockey, water polo, lacrosse, and soccer that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender....

1961–62 Toronto St. Michael's Majors
Toronto St. Michael's Majors
The Toronto St. Michael's Majors, was a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The hockey program was founded and operated by St. Michael's College School in 1906, and adopted the name "Majors" in 1934, and was commonly referred to as St. Mike's...

OHA-Jr.
Ontario Hockey Association
The Ontario Hockey Association is the governing body for the majority of Junior and Senior level ice hockey teams in the Province of Ontario. The OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern Ontario Hockey Association. Other Ontario sanctioning bodies along with the...

31 24 6 1 1860 83 3 2.68
1962–63 Toronto Neil McNeil Maroons
Toronto Neil McNeil Maroons
The Toronto Neil McNeil Maroons were a junior ice hockey team in the Metro Junior A League for one season in 1962-63. The Maroons were operated by Neil McNeil Catholic Secondary School in Scarborough, Ontario. When St. Michael's College discontinued its hockey program after the 1961-62 season, the...

MTJHL
Metro Junior A League
The Metro Junior A League was a junior ice hockey league created in 1961 by Toronto Maple Leafs owner Stafford Smythe in an attempt to rival the OHA, and act as a farm system for his NHL team. The league operated for two seasons from 1961 to 1963...

28 1660 65 3 2.25
1963–64 Toronto Marlboros
Toronto Marlboros
The Toronto Marlborough Athletic Club, commonly known as the Toronto Marlboros, was founded in 1903. It operated a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association and Ontario Hockey League from 1904 to 1989...

OHA-Jr. 55 40 8 7 3270 186 3 3.41
1964–65
1964–65 AHL season
The 1964–65 AHL season was the 29th season of the American Hockey League. The league inaugurates the James H. Ellery Memorial Award for outstanding media coverage of the AHL.Nine teams played 72 games each in the schedule...

Rochester Americans
Rochester Americans
The Rochester Americans are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, and a top affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, at the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial...

AHL
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...

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
Victoria Maple Leafs
The Victoria Maple Leafs were a minor pro ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League that played three seasons in Victoria, British Columbia, beginning in 1964. The previous season they had played as the Invaders in Denver, Colorado, winning the regular season with the best record in the Western...

WHL
Western Hockey League
The Western Hockey League is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League as the highest level of junior hockey in Canada...

8 1 5 0 411 30 0 4.38
1965–66
1965–66 AHL season
The 1965–66 AHL season was the 30th season of the American Hockey League. Nine teams played 72 games each in the schedule. The league played a limited interlocking schedule with the Western Hockey League which was repeated two seasons later. The Quebec Aces finished first overall in the regular...

Rochester Americans
Rochester Americans
The Rochester Americans are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, and a top affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, at the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial...

AHL 37 20 11 4 2038 97 2 2.86
1965–66 Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...

NHL 3 0 2 0 118 7 0 3.56
1966–67 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 2 0 2 0 115 7 0 3.65
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
1967–68 Oakland Seals NHL 21 2 13 4 1129 60 1 3.19
1968–69 Oakland Seals NHL 54 21 24 7 2993 148 4 2.97
1969–70 Oakland Seals NHL 65 19 34 12 3762 195 2 3.11
1970–71 California Golden Seals
California Golden Seals
The California Golden Seals were a team in the National Hockey League from 1967–76. Initially named California Seals, the team was renamed Oakland Seals part-way through the 1967–68 season, and then to California Golden Seals in 1970. The Seals were one of six teams added to the league as part of...

NHL 71 19 48 4 3975 256 2 3.86
1971–72 Chicago Black Hawks
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They have won four Stanley Cup championships since their founding in 1926, most recently coming in 2009-10...

NHL 28 14 5 6 1540 62 5 2.42
1972–73 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 23 10 10 2 1340 79 0 3.54
1973–74 Vancouver Canucks
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver, :British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Canucks play their home games at Rogers Arena, formerly known as General Motors Place,...

NHL 66 20 33 8 3632 208 3 3.44
1974–75 Vancouver Canucks NHL 72 32 24 9 3823 197 6 3.09
1975–76 Vancouver Canucks NHL 51 20 24 6 2864 167 2 3.50
1976–77 Minnesota North Stars
Minnesota North Stars
The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, and the team's colors for most of its history were green, yellow, gold and white...

NHL 36 10 17 8 2090 139 1 3.99
1977–78 Minnesota North Stars NHL 3 0 2 1 180 9 0 3.00
1977-78 Hershey Bears
Hershey Bears
The Hershey Bears Hockey Club is a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League, and is currently the top affiliate of the NHL Washington Capitals. The hockey club is based in the unincorporated town of Hershey, Pennsylvania, located within Derry Township some 14 miles east of...

AHL 1 0 0 1 65 4 0 3.69
1977–78 Washington Capitals
Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Since their founding in 1974, "The Caps" have won one conference championship to reach the 1998 Stanley Cup...

NHL 17 2 12 3 980 68 2 4.16
1977-78 Fort Worth Texans
Fort Worth Texans
The Fort Worth Texans were a professional ice hockey team based in Fort Worth, Texas. They started play in 1967 as the Fort Worth Wings, a minor league affiliate for the Detroit Red Wings. They were part of the Central Hockey League and played their home games at Will Rogers Coliseum...

CHL
Central Hockey League
The Central Hockey League is a mid-level professional hockey league, owned by Global Entertainment Corporation. Its current champions are the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs, which defeated the Colorado Eagles four games to three in the 2011 playoffs....

13 8 3 1 765 38 1 2.98
1978–79 Indianapolis Racers
Indianapolis Racers
The Indianapolis Racers were a franchise in the former World Hockey Association from 1974 to 1978. They competed in five seasons, folding 25 games into the 1978–79 season. They played at Market Square Arena...

WHA
World Hockey Association
The World Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major competition for the National Hockey League since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926...

11 0 10 1 664 61 0 5.51
1978–79 Winnipeg Jets WHA 11 7 3 0 626 31 0 2.97
1979–80 Winnipeg Jets NHL 20 4 11 4 1073 73 0 4.08
1979-80 Tulsa Oilers CHL 22 7 11 4 1324 73 0 3.31
NHL totals 532 173 261 74 29,619 1675 26 3.39
WHA totals 22 7 13 3 1290 92 0 4.28

Playoffs

Season Team League GP W L MIN GA SO GAA
1961-62 Toronto St. Michael's Majors OHA-Jr. 12 720 36 0 3.00
1961-62 Toronto St. Michael's Majors M-Cup
Memorial Cup
The Memorial Cup is a junior ice hockey club championship trophy awarded annually to the Canadian Hockey League champion. It is awarded following a four-team, round robin tournament between a host team and the champions of the CHL's three member leagues: the Ontario Hockey League , Quebec Major...

4 0 3 182 20 0 6.59
1962-63 Toronto Neil McNeil Maroons MTJHL 10 600 40 0 4.00
1962-63 Toronto Neil McNeil Maroons M-Cup 6 2 4 360 27 0 4.50
1963-64 Toronto Marlboros OHA-Jr. 9 540 26 1 2.89
1963-64 Toronto Marlboros M-Cup 12 11 1 720 38 0 3.17
1965-66 Rochester Americans AHL 4 2 2 188 12 0 3.83
1968-69 Oakland Seals NHL 7 3 4 420 23 0 3.29
1969-70 Oakland Seals NHL 4 0 4 248 13 0 3.15
1971-72 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 2 1 1 120 3 1 1.50
1972-73 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 2 0 1 65 5 0 4.62
1974-75 Vancouver Canucks NHL 4 1 3 257 14 0 3.27
1976-77 Minnesota North Stars NHL 1 0 0 43 4 0 5.58
1977-78 Fort Worth Texans CHL 9 5 4 511 25 1 2.94
1978-79 Winnipeg Jets WHA 10 8 2 563 35 0 3.73
1979-80 Tulsa Oilers CHL 1 0 1 60 6 0 6.00
NHL totals 20 5 13 1153 62 1 3.23
WHA totals 10 8 2 563 35 0 3.73

External links

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