The problem with running a Hall of Fame-related website is that many of the big ones we cover all have announcements within months of each other.  The backbone of what we do is list-related, resulting in a long push to revise what we already have, specifically now with our Football Hockey and Basketball Lists.

At present, we have a minor update as we have completed the next ten of the 2024 Hockey List, which you can comment on and vote on:

The new 31 to 40:

31. Pekka Rinne
32. Steve Larmer
33. Rod Brind’Amour
34. Butch Goring
35. Chris Osgoode
36. Randy Carlyle
37. Reggie Leach
38. Sergei Gonchar
39. Vladimir Konstantinov
40. Vincent LeCavalier

Rankings are impacted annually based on your comments and votes.

Thank you all for your patience. We will soon unveil more changes to the football and basketball lists.

Bouncing between the minors and the Kings through his first two seasons, Goring showed a lot of potential in this period, and in 1971, his days in the secondary league were over.

Goring scored 50 Points in 1971-72, increasing it to 59 and 61 the next two years with a 60-Point year as the follow-up.  Even in the 1970s, Goring was small, listed at 5' 9", and 170 pounds, but likely was smaller than that.  Goring took his game to a higher level with the increased ice time, alternating 70-plus and 80-plus Point years over the next five years.  The hockey writers noticed the cleanliness of his play, as it took until 1978-79 before he had double digits in Penalty Minutes.  Goring won the Lady Byng Trophy in 1978 and was also awarded the Bill Masterton Trophy, a testament to his high output despite his small frame.  

Goring was traded to the New York Islanders late in the 1979/80 Season, where he proved to be the final piece of the puzzle for the team that won four straight Stanley Cups.  

With the Kings, Goring scored 659 Points with only 66 Penalty Minutes in 736 Games.

Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB. Once that is done, we intend to look at how each team honor their past players, coaches and executives.  As such, it is news to us that the New York Islanders will be retiring the numbers of John Tonelli and Butch Goring this year.

John Tonelli played his first three seasons in pro hockey with the Houston Aeros of the World Hockey Association, and he debuted on Long Island for the 1978-79 season.  The Left Wing played there for seven and a half seasons, and was a member of all four of New York’s Stanley Cup wins, and he was named a Second Team All-Star twice. For the Islanders, Tonelli would accumulate 544 Points in 594 Games.  Currently, his number 27 is being worn by Anders Lee, the current captain of the Islanders.  Tonelli has asked that Lee continue to wear that number as long as he is in New York.  His number will go up the rafter on their February 21 home game against the Detroit Red Wings.  He is currently ranked #39 on our Notinhalloffame.com hockey list of those to consider for the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Butch Goring was traded from the Los Angeles Kings during the 1979-80 season, and he was the final piece of the puzzle that would help the Islanders win their first Stanley Cup.  He would play with New York until 1985, and like Tonelli, he was also a member of all four Stanley Cup wins.  Goring was especially valuable in the 1981 Championship, when he won the Conn Smythe Trophy.  He played 332 Games, scoring 195 Points for New York.  Goring’s number 91 will be officially retired on February 29, at their home game against the Buffalo Sabres.  He is currently ranked #38 on our Notinhalloffame.com hockey list.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Butch Goring and John Tonelli for earning this honor.

A major contributor to the Los Angeles Kings in the ’70s, Butch Goring tasted his greatest success when he was traded to the New York Islanders and became the “final piece of the puzzle”. Goring was a part of the Islander dynasty that won four consecutive Stanley Cup Championships and his performances in the first two championships were vital reasons to the Islanders' success. Goring was a multi-faceted hockey player (and one of the games more colorful characters to boot). Goring was labeled by some as a reckless player, which made it all the more impressive that he was able to remain largely injury-free throughout his career. Goring’s 888 career points were impressive, but that was only a part of what made him a special player.