Billy Harris

William Edward Harris (born January 29, 1952) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player in the National Hockey League who played from 1972 to 1984. He helped the New York Islanders reach the NHL playoff semi-finals four times in five seasons from 1975 to 1979.

Playing career As a youth, Harris played in the 1964 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Toronto Shopsy's minor ice hockey team.

Harris was drafted first overall in the 1972 NHL Amateur Draft by the expansion New York Islanders. He is known for being the first New York Islander. He played on Long Island until he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings on March 10, 1980, along with Dave Lewis for Butch Goring. Later that year, the Islanders won their first Stanley Cup of four in a row. Harris was never part of a winning Cup team, but he is remembered for helping the Islanders grow from their initial days as an expansion franchise to a dominant team in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Harris played more than 500 consecutive games for the Islanders before he was traded. He finished off the last few seasons of his career with the Los Angeles Kings and Toronto Maple Leafs before retiring after the 1983–84 season.

Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1968–69 Toronto Marlboros OHA-Jr. 41 9 18 27 14 6 2 2 4 — 1969–70 Toronto Marlboros OHA-Jr. 46 13 17 30 75 18 4 9 13 26 1970–71 Toronto Marlboros OHA-Jr. 48 34 48 82 61 13 8 9 17 14 1971–72 Toronto Marlboros OHA-Jr. 63 57 72 129 87 10 13 10 23 26 1972–73 New York Islanders NHL 78 28 22 50 35 — — — — — 1973–74 New York Islanders NHL 78 23 27 50 34 — — — — — 1974–75 New York Islanders NHL 80 25 37 62 34 17 3 7 10 12 1975–76 New York Islanders NHL 80 32 38 70 54 13 5 2 7 10 1976–77 New York Islanders NHL 80 24 43 67 44 12 7 7 14 8 1977–78 New York Islanders NHL 80 22 38 60 40 7 0 0 0 4 1978–79 New York Islanders NHL 80 15 39 54 18 10 2 1 3 10 1979–80 New York Islanders NHL 67 15 15 30 37 — — — — — 1979–80 Los Angeles Kings NHL 11 4 3 7 6 4 0 0 0 2 1980–81 Los Angeles Kings NHL 80 20 29 49 36 4 2 1 3 0 1981–82 Los Angeles Kings NHL 16 1 3 4 6 — — — — — 1981–82 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 20 2 0 2 4 — — — — — 1982–83 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 76 11 19 30 26 4 0 1 1 2 1983–84 St. Catharines Saints AHL 2 0 1 1 0 — — — — — 1983–84 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 50 7 10 17 14 — — — — — 1983–84 Los Angeles Kings NHL 21 2 4 6 6 — — — — — NHL totals 897 231 327 558 394 71 19 19 38 48