1979-80 O-Pee-Chee 103 Gary Smith Hockey Card (Front)
1979-80 O-Pee-Chee 103 Gary Smith Hockey Card (Back)
1979-80 O-Pee-Chee NHL Checklist
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Card Notes
Gary has several Canucks’ records including 32 wins & 6 shutouts in 1974-75.
En Français
Gary détient plusieurs records chez les Canucks, y compris 32 victoires et 6 blanchissages durant 1974-75.
Details
The records mentioned have been broken, and not surprising considering the Vancouver Canucks were just in their fifth year of existence in 1974-75. However, Gary Smith has not been completely erased from the leaderboard. His 32 wins still rank 12th all-time, 15 behind leader Roberto Luongo.
In the shutout department, Smith’s six in 74-75 still tie him for third in franchise history. The leader again is Luongo with his nine blanks in 2008-09. The 72 games Gary played that year was also a team record but, of course, was eclipsed by Luongo.
1979-80 was a return to the NHL for “Suitcase” after playing 1978-79 in the WHA. During the regular season, he appeared in just 11 games each with the Indianapolis Racers and Winnipeg Jets. However, in the playoffs, he played in all ten for the Jets as they captured the Avco World Trophy championship, beating Wayne Gretzky and the Edmonton Oilers in the final.
In his return to the NHL, Smith played 20 games for Winnipeg putting up a 4.09 goals against average. This was his final action in the league, retiring after the 1979-80 campaign concluded. The Jets were the seventh NHL team Gary played for, thus the nickname “Suitcase”.
Between 1965-66 and 1979-80, Gary Smith appeared in 532 regular season and 20 playoff games in the National Hockey League with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Oakland Seals, Chicago Blackhawks, Vancouver Canucks, Minnesota North Stars, Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets.