Though the Islanders boasted some big, tough hombres like Clark Gillies and Bob Nystrom, it was felt that a more intense hitter was needed. The man targeted was Gord Lane, a defenseman with the Washington Capitals.
Lane admitted to author Greg Prato for “Dynasty: The Oral History of the New York Islanders, 1972-1984” that he was hoping for such a trade. The Capitals sent him to the Islanders for forward Mike Kaszycki on Dec. 7, 1979.
“I knew the Islanders were struggling a bit,” Lane said, “and I knew I could help them.”
With the first piece of the puzzle in place, Torrey and Devellano began searching for another defenseman because they expected that their trading partner would be interested in Dave Lewis, a young, reliable defensive defenseman. With that in mind, they scouted Team USA in the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics.
“The fellow we wanted was our property, Ken Morrow,” Torrey said. “What we didn’t know was whether he could make the jump directly from the Olympics — amateur players — right into the NHL, but Ken’s performances helping the Americans win was good enough for me. As soon as Morrow got his gold, we had him fly in and join the roster.”
With two pieces in place, the Islanders shopped Billy Harris, their first-ever NHL Draft pick when they took him No. 1 in the 1972 NHL Draft, to Los Angeles. As expected, the Kings wanted more and that’s where New York added Lewis and the deal for Goring was sealed just under the deadline March 10, 1980.
“When Butch arrived, we suddenly got hot,” Morrow told author Allan Kreda for his autobiography, “Miracle Gold: Four Stanley Cups and a Lifetime of Islanders Hockey.”
“We won our last dozen games right up to the start of the playoffs.”
Arbour could now form a big second line so the opposition couldn’t concentrate on the first line. Goring instantly adapted to his new team as if he had been there for a decade.
“The Islanders were a good team when I arrived,” Morrow said. “The whole League knew they were good. There was an attitude of what expectations were. It was, we’re supposed to win. That’s it. I could feel that right away. That air of expectation was there from my opening time as an Islander.”
Goring returned the favor with the best hockey of his life and won the Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player of the 1981 playoffs. The Islanders’ reign ended after reaching the Stanley Cup Final for the fifth consecutive year, a five-game loss to the Edmonton Oilers.
“We couldn’t have done it without that Goring deal at the Trade Deadline,” Devallano said. “Come to think of it, we couldn’t have pulled it off had we not landed Gord Lane and Kenny Morrow before that.”