Maven's Memories: The Battles Between Smith and Gretzky

If you want to know the truth, the ongoing -- delicious, if you like that kind of stuff -- feud between Battlin' Bill Smith and The Great Gretzky started a lot before the classic 1983 Stanley Cup Final.
As a matter of fact, the Edmonton-Long Island rivalry was rooted back in the 1981 playoffs by which time the Oilers had established themselves as a cocky bunch inspired by their coach, Glen (Slats) Slater.
Led by Wonderful Wayne, the Oilers even had their own personal book writer accompanying them when they arrived on the Island for that '81 best-of-seven series.
"What's he going to write about," needled the Isles Bob Bourne. "They haven't won anything, and we've got The Cup."
But famed Canadian broadcaster and author Peter Gzowski had a book contract in the hopes that the playoffs would result in Gretzky's Oilers going all the way to their first title.
"Why not?" said Gzowski. "Look at that lineup. It's more than just Wayne."

True enough. Beyond Gretzky, there was Mark Messier, Kevin Lowe, Glenn Anderson, Jarri Kurri, and Grant Fuhr, all future Hall of Famers.

No problem there. Islanders' defenseman Denis Potvin allowed that he and his teammates respected Gretzky and friends. There would be no taking any team lightly, especially the fleet Oilers.
"We can't let them skate and handle the puck," warned the captain.
But the Isles believed that respect also should be given to the defending Cup champions from Uniondale. But the Oilers were giving no respect at all; it almost sounded like a Rodney Dangerfield routine, in reverse.
What mattered was that then and there were the feud seeds planted and they would grow into a wild meadow of fury.
Addressing the media before Game One was to be played at Nassau Veterans' Memorial Coliseum, Gretzky took what the Islanders interpreted as a demeaning verbal whack at them.
"The Canadiens are the greatest team in hockey," The Great One told the throng. He offered no niceties about the defending champion Islanders.
Whatever Wayne really meant by that really didn't matter. What did matter is that Gretzky's published comments wound up on the Islanders dressing room wall. Not surprisingly, Bill Smith, among others, took a dim view of Wayne's compact filibuster.
"What's he talking about?" Battlin' Bill wondered. "Montreal went out of the playoffs in three straight. We're still in it."
MAVEN'S MEMORIES
WRITTEN COVERAGE
From Long Island Arena to UBS Arena
Isles-Rangers Feud: Heating Up Into the 1990s
Isles Sweep Rangers in 1981
Road to 1981 Cup, Round 2
First Steps Towards 1981 Cup
From Viking to Uniondale, the Sutter Bros
Bob Bourne's End to End Rush
Mikko Makela: The Flying Finn
Stan's 17 Birthday Memories
Jason Blake Played Big
Shirley Fischler Breaks Gender Barriers
Jim Devellano, The Other Architect
The 2003-04 Season
Mike Bossy's Road to the Islanders
Maven's Haven
And so they were; big-time.
As author Gzowski would discover, his Oilers were not going to win any Cup that 1981 postseason. Not even close.
Over the first two playoff games in Uniondale, the Isles triumphed for an aggregate, 14-5 (8-2 and 6-3). For all intents and purposes, the Oilers looked drained; but not completely.
"Gretzky inspired us," said Potvin. "And the way we stopped him was by using a 'zone.' We concentrated on covering his wings and getting to him quickly to get him off the puck."
But the Oilers rebounded at home, winning Game Three. 5-3. Nonplussed, the Isles captured Game Four at Northlands Coliseum on defenseman Ken Morrow's overtime goal. (OT winners were getting to be a habit with Kenny.)
Author Gzowski's hopes were rekindled back at Nassau when the Oilers won 4-3. But Game Six was all Isles. They KO'd the Oilers 5-2 and that was the end of that.
"Who's the 'greatest team in hockey,'?" Smitty chortled on returning to the Isles clubhouse where the Gretzky clippings still were evident on the lockers.
In retrospect, as the feud would inflame, that was small potatoes compared to what would follow two years later in the spring of 1983. By now, the Islanders had climbed to the Dynasty level having won three consecutive Stanley Cups.
Edmonton still had none.
None of this had eluded Al Arbour's skaters when they visited Edmonton for the 1983 Cup Final. Game One could have been a demonstration of just how good a motivated Smitty could be in the clutch.
To understate his performance, one could say it was the best of his goaltending life through that point in time. Even the enemy conceded that.
"Smitty was out of his mind," said Oilers' defenseman Kevin Lowe when the game was over.
Battlin' Bill had stopped Gretzky cold and totaled 35 saves in the 2-0 victory. "I played my heart out," Smith confessed in the Visitors dressing room.
He also infuriated Gretzky & Company. By now the feuding had reached the white heat level. And it all started midway through the first period. was Smitty must have read the Oilers battle plan.
"We knew we had to get to Smith," Lowe later revealed. "We weren't plotting to run him over but we did discuss the possibility of distracting him. We were talking about an inadvertent stick behind the leg.
"Or, if an Islanders defenseman was carrying one of our guys to the net, our guy would just keep going through. 'Let the defenseman push you into Smith; fall on top of him and take your time getting up.'"
Edmonton's fleet Glenn Anderson authored the first assault. He tried to circle in front of Smith from behind the net with the puck. At that moment Smitty slashed Anderson's ankles, sending Glenn sprawling to the ice.
The Isles goalie took a minor penalty for tripping. Sather suggested that Smith be suspended, and the Edmonton media agreed with the Oilers coach.
There was no question who the villain was. The Edmonton Sun printed the headline: PUBLIC ENEMY NUMBER ONE. Smitty was pictured over a bullseye.

Shown the front page and his image, Smitty was outraged.
Smith: "This is ridiculous. It's the first time I hit anyone on the arm -- that's where I hit Anderson -- and hurt his knee. If his arm and kneecap are connected, that boy is in some trouble."
But Battlin' Bill wasn't through battling. When Anderson suited up and played in Game Two, the Islanders goaltender snapped. "Wasn't Anderson hurting? I thought his funeral was today."
Anderson still was fuming but Gretzky was frustrated. Game Two had ended with a 5-2 Islanders decision and The Great One had yet to fire one puck past Smith.
But late in the third period, Smitty took aim at Wayne as Number 99 circled behind the New York cage. Using his goalie stick like an Irish shillelagh, Bill swung his lumber and tapped Gretzky on the leg.
"From the way Gretzky collapsed," Mike Bossy chuckled. "you'd have thought Smitty had used an axe. It was some dive."
"Dive?" interrupted Smith, "Yeah, all I gave him was a love tap."
It was a costly "tap," considering that Bill received a five-minute major penalty. Of course, writers for the Edmonton Journal and Sun believed that the major penalty was like a slap on the wrist.
SLASHER BILLY DOES IT AGAIN blared another inciting headline. Sather went along with the verbal assaults. This time he snapped that Smitty was "a vicious attacker."
To his credit, the NHL's Director of Officiating Scotty Morrison took a dim view of the anti-New York editorializing.
"I couldn't believe some of the things in the papers," said Morrison. Scotty was particularly perturbed after reading an Edmonton editorial that called Smith and the Islanders "Bozos from New York."
As Kevin Lowe mentioned in his book, "Champions" -- which, by the way, I ghosted -- the Oilers were not prepared to turn their cheeks on Smitty.
On the last shift of Game Two, Edmonton's toughie Dave Lumley speared Smitty in the chest, denting a gold necklace that was shaped into the numeral "1" and was a gift from a Long Island friend.
"Sather sent Lumley out to get me," Smith shrugged. "That's his style."
Down two games to none and with the series now moving to Uniondale, the Oilers were more concerned about beating Smith with a puck and not their sticks. But Battlin' Bill would have none of it.
His war with Gretzky was all in the Islander's favor and continued into Game Three, a one-sided 5-1 Isles victory. The Great One's efforts resulted in another Smith goose egg against Gretz.
Game Four provided more of the same. While Gretzky struck out, Anderson tried to strike Smith in the helmet with his stick.
Bill dropped to the ice as if he was felled by a lightning bolt. Anderson was given a major penalty. After the Islanders had won the game -- and The Stanley Cup -- Smitty explained what was behind his dive.

"When I hit Gretzky, he rolled around and cried like he was dying," Battlin' Bill protested. "So that's what I did. I threw myself and I squirmed. I showed that two can play that game."
After NHL President John Ziegler presented the Cup to the Islanders, he then handed Bill Smith the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs MVP.
A half-hour later Ziegler appeared with Smith in the interview room of Hockey Night In Canada. When the NHL boss asked the goaltender how he felt about winning the coveted Smythe, Smitty thought for a second.
Then, he grinned and offered the perfect squelch that ended The Great Smitty-Gretzky feud: "I couldn't show this around some parts of Canada. I'd be shot."
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Postscript: Despite the battles, Gretzky and teammates maintained a professional admiration for the four-time champion Islanders and, specifically Smith.
In his autobiography, Lowe offered this unexpected view of Battlin' Bill:
"I remember seeing Smitty after the stick-swinging and he hardly was the hateful guy I had clashed with an hour earlier. He was completely relaxed and as he walked past us, he turned and said, 'Hi, fellas, how are ya doing?' as if he was our buddy.
"As he left, I said to myself, 'This can't be the same guy who was just on the ice. But it was!"