Gary Edward Smith (born February 4, 1944) is a Canadian former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...

. Gary is a son of Des Smith and brother of Brian Smith, both former

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL) players. Smith played for numerous clubs, including the

Chicago Black Hawks (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Oakland Seals The California Golden Seals were a professional ice hockey club that competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1967 to 1976. Based in Oakland, California, they played their home games at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena. The ...

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, a ...

and

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, p ...

. He was the co-winner of the

Vezina Trophy The Vezina Trophy is awarded annually to the National Hockey League's (NHL) goaltender who is "adjudged to be the best at this position". At the end of each season, the thirty-two NHL general managers vote to determine the winner. It is named in ...

in the 1971–72 NHL season.

Playing career

Smith played his junior hockey with the Toronto St. Michael's Majors, Toronto Neil McNeil Maroons and the

Toronto Marlboros The Toronto Marlborough Athletic Club, commonly known as the Toronto Marlboros, was founded in 1903. It operated junior ice hockey and senior ice hockey teams in the Ontario Hockey Association and later the Ontario Hockey League. The Marlboros ...

. He won a

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League, a consortium of three major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tournament played between t ...

with the Toronto Marlboros in 1964. In 1965, Gary Smith entered the NHL with the

, and was one of five goalies who played for the Maple Leafs during the 1966–67 regular season, their most recent 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 The California Golden Seals were a professional ice hockey club that competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1967 to 1976. Based in Oakland, California, they played their home games at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena. The ...

from 1967–68 to 1970–71, with whom 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

with

Tony Esposito Anthony James "Tony O" Esposito (April 23, 1943 – August 10, 2021) was a Canadian-American professional ice hockey goaltender, who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), 15 of those for the Chicago Black Hawks. He was one of t ...

while with the

. One year later, Smith and Esposito helped lead the Black Hawks to the Stanley Cup final, which they lost to the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

in six games. In 1974–75, he had a fine season with the

, with 72 games played and six shutouts. Smith finished fifth place in balloting for the 1975

Hart Memorial Trophy The Hart Memorial Trophy, originally known as the Hart Trophy, is an annual award for the most valuable player in the National Hockey League (NHL), voted by the members of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association. The original trophy was dona ...

, awarded to the player judged most valuable to his team. The ultimate winner, Bobby Clarke, said in his acceptance speech that Smith was more deserving of the award. Smith later played in the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

(WHA), and was a teammate of

Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...

while playing for the

Indianapolis Racers The Indianapolis Racers were a major league hockey team in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1974 to 1978. They competed in four full seasons before folding 25 games into the 1978–79 season. They played at Market Square Arena. They are ...

. He was part of the

' 1979

Avco World Trophy The Avco World Trophy, also known as the Avco Cup, is the playoff championship trophy of the defunct World Hockey Association ( 1972–1979). The trophy's naming rights were sold to the former Avco Corporation (a name originally derived from "Avia ...

championship, won against the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

, led by

. Coincidentally, when Gretzky attended his first NHL game at

Maple Leaf Gardens Maple Leaf Gardens is a historic building located at the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building was initially constructed in 1931 as an arena to host ice hockey games, though it has sinc ...

, Smith played for the California Golden Seals against the Maple Leafs. illes pg. 241 Smith's last coach in Winnipeg was

Tom McVie Thomas McVie (born June 6, 1935) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey coach in the National Hockey League. McVie grew up in a poor family, and, upon signing his first junior league contract, is said to have left home with a single used st ...

, who coached Smith the previous season while both were with the

. illes pg.240 Smith gave up the last goal in WHA history to

Dave Semenko David John Semenko (July 12, 1957 – June 29, 2017) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player, coach, scout and colour commentator. During his National Hockey League (NHL) career, Semenko played for the Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers and ...

Miscellaneous

Smith was noted for his between periods ritual of removing his entire uniform and goaltending gear and putting it all back on again. His explanation was the need to tighten his skate boots which stretched in size, forcing him to wear as many as 13 pairs of socks at times. He performed his undressing routine throughout his career as an active player, even after resolving his skate boot issues.Kirshenbaum, Jerry. "Reincarnation and 13 Pairs of Socks," ''Sports Illustrated'', March 28, 1977.
Retrieved November 17, 2020 Smith has had many other claims to fame, according to an interview in ''

The Province ''The Province'' is a daily newspaper published in tabloid format in British Columbia by Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network, alongside the '' Vancouver Sun'' broadsheet newspaper. Together, they are British Columbia's on ...

'' 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. As a result of his tendency to skate past the blue line the NHL introduced a rule preventing the goaltender from being involved in play after crossing the center red line. In another game Smith punted the puck in Maple Leaf Gardens, almost hitting the clock. Another 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 Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish and Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. It is possible that the name is derived from an Old Celtic word me ...

, an Ottawa broadcaster who was murdered. Gary currently resides in Del Mar, California and continues to manage his horses.

Awards and achievements

championship in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

. *

winner in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...

(shared with

). * Played in 1975 NHL All-Star Game. *

championship in

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

. * Holds

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

record for most losses in a season (48 in 1971).

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Citations

References

* * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Gary 1944 births Living people California Golden Seals players Canadian ice hockey goaltenders Chicago Blackhawks players Fort Worth Texans players Hershey Bears players Ice hockey people from Ottawa Indianapolis Racers players Memorial Cup winners Minnesota North Stars players National Hockey League All-Stars Oakland Seals players Rochester Americans players Toronto Maple Leafs players Toronto Marlboros players Toronto St. Michael's Majors players Tulsa Oilers (1964–1984) players Vancouver Canucks players Vezina Trophy winners Victoria Maple Leafs players Washington Capitals players Winnipeg Jets (1979–1996) players Winnipeg Jets (WHA) players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States