The Islanders yesterday took another step toward restoring hockey pride to Long Island.
As first reported in Sunday’s Post, Billy Smith was officially announced as the team’s new goaltenders coach, replacing Mike Palmateer.
Smith, one of the greatest money goalies of all time, won four Stanley Cups with the Islanders from 1980-83 during the franchise’s glory years. Smith was also the Isles’ goalie coach from 1989-93.
“We are so happy that Bill became available to us,” said general manager Mike Milbury. “He is the greatest clutch goalie in the history of the NHL, a legendary Islander and a special person who is going to be a great teacher for our goaltenders.”
An Islander lifer, Smith played his entire 18-year career in blue and orange, save for five games with the Kings during the 1971-72 season before Long Island was awarded an expansion team. During his Hall of Fame career from 1971-89, Smith won the Vezina Trophy as the league’s outstanding goalie in 1982 and the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP in 1983 when the Islanders swept the Oilers in four games to win their fourth Cup in as many years.
Smith’s retired No. 31 jersey hangs from the rafters at Nassau Coliseum with other Islander greats Mike Bossy, Bobby Nystrom, Denis Potvin, Clark Gillies and the coach of those championship teams, Al Arbour.
In his role with the Isles, Smith, 50, will act as a consultant to goalies throughout the organization from the Islanders, to the AHL Bridgeport (Conn.) Sound Tigers all the way down to the Canadian Juniors.
The centerpiece of the Islander goalie class is second-year Rick DiPietro, whom Milbury selected with the first pick in the 2000 draft as the only goaltender ever picked No.1 overall.
“DiPietro handles the puck better than I ever did,” Smith said. “And having Garth Snow in there gives us a guy that’s been around and someone we can count on.”
Smith spent the last eight seasons as a goaltenders and assistant coach with the Panthers where he tutored Roberto Luongo, whom Milbury chose with the fourth pick in the 1997 draft before trading to Florida. But now Smith returns home to the place where he became a legend.