Islanders icon Billy Smith was a superb goalie and four-time Stanley Cup winner. But he was also a fantastic interview. And in this story Smith wrote for THN, he was in peak form.
Hockey Hall-of-Famer Billy Smith not only was a spectacular NHL goaltender -- a four-time Stanley Cup-winner with the New York Islanders, a Vezina Trophy winner and Conn Smythe Trophy winner -- but he was also an incredible interview.
This exclusive 1985 interview legendary reporter and THN correspondent Stan Fischler put together with Smith touches on a terrific array of topics, including his ferocious on-ice attitude, the one thing that scares him, the Islanders' three-goalie system, his hairpiece, the word,"hatchetry", and the phrase "I'd kick his living pants off him". You really need to take it all in here, with Smith at his most confident and accomplished. You don't need to be an Isles fan to know this was an interview for the ages.
THE INTERVIEW: BILLY SMITH
By Billy Smith, with Stan Fischler
For the past decade, the National Hockey League has been graced with a spate of superb goaltenders, yet only one has etched a permanent imprint on the game with both personality and performance.
William John (Bill) Smith leads the NHL in sheer controversy and Stanley Cup rings. He has variously been accused of hatchetry and acclaimed as the best clutch goalie of the modern era, if not of all time.
But the 34-year-old New York Islander net-minder has never been accused of ducking an issue. Whether it be a seething commen tary on the Edmonton media or a very personal observation on his one-year-old hairpiece, Smitty faces the issues with the same steely-eyed stare he reserves for pucks that invade his air space.
An original Islander—he broke in during the 1972-73 season—Smith sat down for this interview with THE HOCKEY NEWS contributing editor Stan Fischler following a practice session at Cantiague Park rink not far from Nassau Coliseum.
Smith ascended to the pinnacle during the Islanders’ growing years in the ’70s, sipped the Stanley Cup champagne for four consecutive years in the early ’80s and then marched to the finals last season, only to be denied a fifth consecutive championship by a vigorous Edmonton Oiler team. In the following editing transcripts, Smith addresses issues such as officiating, his future and the chances of the Islanders winning yet another Stanley Cup.
The Hockey News: How do you feel about Bill Smith at this stage of your career?
Billy Smith: My goaltending hasn’t suffered. I’ve played consistently, year in and year out. Al (coach Arbour) knows what to expect of me. I’m going to play another four years and I hope I feel as good then as I do now—and that I can keep my level of play where it is.
THN: If you were hurt, how long do you feel the team could go on, competitively, without you?
SMITH: I don’t really know. I’m not the greatest thing on earth, that’s for sure. The thing is: they don’t really know what to expect from Kelly (Hrudey, Isles’ other goalie) yet. Kelly has played very well in the farm system so, who knows? Maybe he could carry the load, maybe he could do the same thing, but, you don’t know. I think that’s one of the reasons why they didn’t get rid of me.
THN: Did you think that at any point this year the club might have traded you instead of Rollie Melanson?
SMITH: Hockey is a business. If they got an offer they couldn’t refuse, there was a possibility that I could have been gone. But it would have had to have been a team right on the borderline of making the playoffs. They weren’t going to trade me to a team too high in the standings and if a team’s in the basement, I wouldn’t have made that much difference.
THN: The “expert” opinion was that you simply were not going to be traded because you have saved the team in so many playoffs and you might do it again this year.
SMITH: I feel that way, too. If I hadn’t had a good string of series last spring then there would have been a possibility that I would have been traded. Hey, you go year by year. But I think last year my performances were more or less like the first Cup year (1980). Because of that I really didn’t feel they were going to trade me.
THN: What about last year’s loss to the Oilers in the final?
SMITH: We played well until two-and-a-half periods had gone by in the third game (with the series tied at one apiece). That’s when I got hurt but nobody really knew about it until the end of the series. I hit my wrist behind the net. After I got hurt it was almost as if the Oilers knew what was wrong. They started getting in close on me and there was nothing I could do. I had played well up until then, and they (management) thought, hey, we’re going to go with you anyway. I said, “Sure, I’ll do my best.”
THN: Do you believe that this is the last chance for this current edition of Islanders to win the Stanley Cup?
SMITH: There are two ways to answer this question. This is a very strong team and it’s always going to be a strong hockey team because (general manager Bill) Torrey keeps bringing in youth and we still have a lot of veterans and we still have a lot of talent. This team is always going to be a contender. On the other hand, people have to understand that there are a lot of other teams out there getting just as strong.
The NHL is getting back to what it was like in the old days. One team isn’t going to run over everybody. You might even see some upsets in the playoffs this year. Playoffs are going to get harder and harder every year. You’re not going to see many teams win it four in a row anymore. The Cup is going to be passed around a little more.
THN: The Islanders had won a record 19 consecutive playoff series until the Oilers finally beat you. How does the team feel about being second best?
SMITH: Second-best in whose mind? You know what I mean: We’ve accomplished something (19 series victories, four Cup wins) that is really special. We also know how hurt we were by the time we played Edmonton.
THN: You mean the injuries?
SMITH: People ask me, “What scares you the most?” and I say there’s only one thing that scares me going into the playoffs—injuries. That is the only thing that has ever petrified me. Against Edmonton we had four of our defensemen hurt and playing and when it got to the last game we were like the walking wounded. I often wonder what would have happened if we all had been healthy. On the other hand, the Oilers were always playing teams that had been injured—Minnesota, for instance.
THN: What do you think of the Oilers?
SMITH: They’re an outstanding hockey team. You can’t take anything away from them. They are very fast, they have excellent goal-scorers and their defense has come along very nicely, too. You’ve got to give them credit. No team does what they did without being an excellent hockey club.
THN: Up until this fall, the Islanders had a three-goalie system. How did it affect the team?
SMITH: It gave me a lot of holidays, that’s for sure. Seriously, it’s the type of thing that doesn’t work for a long period of time. They realized it here. You can’t play one guy every seven days and expect him to play well. It just doesn’t work that way. I wasn’t playing regularly until we got to the playoffs, I didn’t get any kind of rhythm going. Then, I played every night in the playoffs and I got the rhythm.
THN: What does this rhythm mean to a goalkeeper?
SMITH: That’s why I got hot in the playoffs. I had the rhythm going. People don’t understand that, a lot of times, the puck will hit a goalie because he’s in the right position. That’s the rhythm. When you play a lot, just the motion saves you. And when you don’t play regularly, that’s what hurts. Like in the old days, everybody raved about Jacques Plante. Yeah, but he played every game. There’s a big difference when you play every game and when you play one and sit one and you play one. There’s a big difference and people don’t realize that.
THN: Were you surprised that they traded Rollie Melanson and not Kelly Hrudey?
SMITH: No. If there was going to be anyone traded it was going to be Rollie or me.
THN: How good is Hrudey going to be?
SMITH: His style is similar to mine although he relies a little more on his glove. But he’s very quick on his feet, which is essential for a goaltender today. This kid could do just about anything. It’s just a matter of being put in the pressure spot to see what he can do.
THN: You seem to have fewer feuds. Are you mellowing?
SMITH: Let’s put it this way: I’ll do what I have to do. I’ve always been that way. Guys don’t retaliate against me that much anymore. They have this new law, suspending you if you get caught. I’m not about to do something and get suspended. The things I’ve done in the past I’ve done because they had to be done. Now that they’re putting out suspensions, well, a lot of them are not called properly.
THN: Can you explain that more precisely?
SMITH: Stefan Persson (Islander defenseman) hits a guy after being illegally hit first and Persson gets three games. Then, a guy hits Gerald Diduck (Islander defenseman) a two-hander across the back and that guy gets nothing. Well, you know I’m the guy who’s going to get 10 or 20 games even though someone else might do something three times as bad as me. This is what scares me more than anything.
THN: Some top hockey people are talking about changing the rules so that the crease is larger.
SMITH: I’ve been recommending that for 10 years but it’s like talking to the wall. The NHL officials won’t do anything until someone gets blinded or seriously hurt. Then, they’ll sit down and say, “Jesus, maybe we should make a larger crease.” I’ll tell you, if they did change the rule and make it bigger, it would stop all the cheap stuff that goes on in front of the net. Now, you get goalies being run in to, guys grabbing goalies and pushing them into the net. With a bigger crease it would be that much more difficult to do and the referees would see it more easily. But, it’s like anything else, nothing is going to change unless someone gets hurt.
THN: You’ve been critical of some members of the press.
SMITH: I get tired of guys using “half-sentences.” Like you get a writer in Edmonton quoting Duane Sutter saying “the Oilers were a better team.” But that was only half a sentence because Duane had said, “The Oilers were a better team because we were hurt. “1 don’t like it when guys use half-sentences on me and try to make me look foolish or insinuate something totally different than what I had said.
THN: What are your feelings about Edmonton fans and the way they’ve needled you?
SMITH: A lot of it has come about because of the bad press that I got and a lot of things that were said and written that I didn’t do. Because of that I won’t even talk to the Edmonton press anymore. No matter what I say, they’re going to cut me up. And it’s sad because the people in Edmonton mouth off at me and yet when I turn around and won’t acknowledge someone off the ice, they get all upset. They’ve got a lot to learn.
THN: Have fans changed over the years in terms of their behavior?
SMITH: I don’t think today’s fan is like the fan of the old days. People no longer appreciate talent. They pay their money, come to the games and feel it’s their right to swear and curse. All of them who come out just want attention. It’s like they’re out there competing against a hockey player for people in the stands to see them. When I saw how a couple of people in Edmonton acted I said to myself that if that was my kid, I’d kick his living pants off him.
There’s no reason for people to act the way they’re acting now. But it scares me, because the way they’re acting makes them look like they’re sick. I’ve got to be conscious of fans like these because you don’t know whether it’s put-on or if they’re really that way. One of the worst things about the NHL right now is that they don’t have enough security for players going on and off the ice. And they don’t have enough security for players sitting on the bench. People can actually reach over the barrier and get at players.
THN: Is playing the game itself fun?
SMITH: It’s always been fun to play but I’ve still got my mind set to quit in four years, no matter what. I’ve got this year and three more years on the contract. My wife’s been through enough as it is. It’s been like 17 years.
THN: Some critics have suggested that after all the success, the Islanders may be getting complacent. What about that?
SMITH: I don’t think so. If we lose, everybody says we’re fat cats even though we might have been standing on our ears and playing well. Look back at the Rangers in 1974-75. They had a terrific team and we played them in the opening round. It was the first time we were in the playoffs and they had guys like Rod Gilbert, Steve Vickers and Eddie Giacomin. Well, we went into the deciding game of the opening round and then into overtime and we beat ‘em.
All of a sudden everyone’s calling them “fat cats.” Yet, they had played very well. That wasn’t fair to the Rangers. I don’t think it’s fair to call a team complacent just because it loses. After all, look at the teams today; look at the balance. You look at Philadelphia, you look at the Rangers, you look at Washington. It’s no disgrace to lose to those teams. These guys have come a long way. They’ve worked hard.
THN: Do you feel.right now, that you’re as good as any goalie in the league?
SMITH: I think my record more or less speaks for itself. I’m not going to go around saying I’m the best, but I’m certainly not the worst, that’s for sure. Everybody says, “Oh, you’re playing on a great hockey team.” Sure, I’m playing on a great hockey team, but a great hockey team’s got to have a good goalie, too, to get where they are. What I’ve done in the playoffs proves to me that I’m a capable NHL goaltender. If it doesn’t prove it to everbody also, then there’s something badly wrong.
THN: How would you describe the interaction between professional hockey players like the Islanders and yourself.
SMITH: You have companionship here. Everyone has a certain amount of respect for everyone else. It’s nice. Not everyone would be able to get 20 guys to have respect for each other. That’s what’s nice about it. When I leave I’ll miss the guys. I’ll miss playing the game. But when my time has come, I’ll be ready to retire.
THN: What are the Islanders’ prospects from here to the spring?
SMITH: We have to get a little more consistent. We’ve been very hot and cold this year but I don’t think there’s any doubt that we’ll make the playoffs. In what spot I wouldn’t dare to say. But I think we will make the playoffs and I think we will have a good playoff series. Whether we win it all or not—and I hope we do win it all—I think we will play well. This team will be very strong when we get Kenny Morrow (sidelined with knee operation, due back sometime in February) into the lineup.
He’ll add a lot to this hockey team and so will Bobby Ny (Nystrom, sidelined with hand injury, has begun skating). You can’t have guys like that sitting out. And we have to get a few more things going. We’re making a lot of mistakes now that we shouldn’t be making. But I think we’ll start playing a lot tighter hock ey and start playing a lot better.
THN: People still talk about the Islander-Ranger series last April as if it was a truly historic playoff.
SMITH: It was a great series.
Their goalie, Glen Hanlon, played extremely well. For a while it almost looked like it was a goaltenders’ end-to-end hockey series. If a goalie wasn’t on that night—bang!—you lost. One night I got pulled. I wasn’t on for one night and they blew me right outa the building. It was the kinda hockey that should have been in the Stanley Cup finals.
THN: There were many who thought Al Arbour had made a mistake coming back with you in the nets for the fourth game of that series. You had just been bombed. The club was facing the Rangers again at Madison Square Garden. Were you surprised he chose you?
SMITH: Not really. You can second-guess but, hey, it was do-or-die, so why should Al have put that on Rollie’s shoulders? I had done something for the last four years. I had always done well under pressure. They know that I had had a bad game but it was the type of thing, they weren’t going to throw Rollie in and have him get all the abuse if he had lost. It was more or less up to me either to win it or lose it.
THN: A year ago, you startled those of us who know you by donning a hairpiece, the same as your sidekick, Chico Resch, had done earlier. Do you have any regrets about that move?
SMITH: None at all. It makes me feel good. Hey, I didn’t like going bald.
THN: How does Mrs. Smith feel about it?
SMITH: She says, “You looked good without it and your look good with it!” I would never take it off.