Career Vitals

Career NHL Statistics

Teams: N.Y. Islanders, Los Angeles, Toronto
Years: 1972-1984. Playoffs: 1975-1983

Pre-Draft Highlights

Named to OHA All-Star Second Team with Toronto in 1970-71. ... Served as Toronto (OHA) captain for 1971-72 season. ... Shared Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy (with linemate Dave Gardner) as OHA's leading scorer with 129 points for Toronto in 1971-72.. ... Won OHA Jim Mahon Memorial Trophy as major-junior league's highest-scoring right wing with 129 points for Toronto in 1971-72. Harris was the inaugural winner of the annual award, which the league introduced to honor the memory of James Edmund Mahon, a high-scoring Peterborough right wing who was accidentally electrocuted at age 19 while attempting to repair a faulty electric water pump at his uncle's home in Maidstone, Ontario, on Aug. 17, 1971. ... Named to OHA All-Star First Team with Toronto in 1971-72.
 

Career Highlights

Also played center and left wing during his pro career. ... Participated in Team Canada's training camp prior to the 1972 Summit Series vs. Soviet Union, but was not on the Canadian roster for the tournament. He was able to take part in the camp because his agent, R. Alan Eagleson, was one of the event's organizers. ... Played on first New York Islanders team in franchise's inaugural 1972-73 season and scored his first NHL goal in the Islanders' first game on Oct. 7, 1972 vs. Atlanta. Harris' goal came at 16:51 of the third period to close out the scoring in a 3-2 loss to the Flames. ... Took the first penalty shot in N.Y. Islanders history on Oct. 12, 1972, vs. Los Angeles, but was unable to score against Kings goaltender Rogie Vachon. ... Scored 10 goals in the final 15 games of his rookie season from Feb. 24 to April 1, 1973. ... Led N.Y. Islanders in goals (28) and points (50) as a rookie in 1972-73. ... Finished third in voting for 1972-73 Calder Trophy as NHL Rookie of year, trailing only Steve Vickers and Bill Barber. ... Scored all three goals for his first NHL hat trick during N.Y. Islanders' 4-3 loss at Buffalo on March 3, 1974. ... Scored three goals in N.Y. Islanders 4-2 win vs. Minnesota on April 6, 1974. ... Tied for N.Y. Islanders lead with 23 goals in 1973-74. ... Led N.Y. Islanders with five game-winning goals in 1974-75. ... Represented N.Y. Islanders in NHL All-Star Game at Philadelphia on Jan. 20, 1976. Playing on a line with Bryan Trottier and Dennis Ververgaert, he had two assists for Campbell Conference in third period of a 7-5 loss. ... Became first player in N.Y. Islanders history to score 30 goals in a season when he scored No. 30 on March 20, 1976 in a 4-2 home win over Chicago. His 30th goal, the game-winner, broke a 2-2 tie at 18:27 of the second period. ... Scored the first playoff hat trick in N.Y. Islanders history in opening game of Stanley Cup semifinal series on April 23, 1977, at Montreal. Harris scored all three goals in a 4-3 loss. ... Led N.Y. Islanders in playoff goals (7) and points (14) in 1977. ... Left N.Y. Islanders in 1980 with team record (since broken) for career games played (623). ... Also played left wing during his years in Los Angeles, and filled in for both an injured Dave Taylor at right wing and an injured Charlie Simmer at left wing on team's Triple Crown Line during the 1980-81 season. ... Led Los Angeles with four shorthanded goals in 1980-81.
 

Missing Out on a Dynasty

Although he was a fixture with the Islanders from the team's first game through its emergence as a Stanley Cup contender, Harris missed his chance to be part of the team's Cup dynasty that began in the spring of 1980. Both he and fellow longtime Islander Dave Lewis were sacrificed by the Isles in the trade that landed Butch Goring from Los Angeles. Goring was widely considered the missing piece in making the Islanders into champions, and the deal is remembered as one of the best ever made at the trade deadline. But it was not a fun time for either Harris or Lewis, who lost their chance to be part of history. "It was a trade I would rather have not had to make," said Islanders general manager Bill Torrey. "It wasn't easy. I go back a long way with Billy and Dave. And by this trade, I'm not pointing a finger at them. Our problems weren't their fault." Torrey would later give Harris a full player's share of the team's 1980 Stanley Cup playoff money. Nevertheless, Harris was angry about the trade for many years and said he refused to watch his former Islanders teammates in playoff games on TV.

Team Records

Transaction History

June 1972 -- WHA rights sold by New York Raiders to Philadelphia. March 11, 1980 -- Traded by N.Y. Islanders with Dave Lewis to Los Angeles in exchange for Butch Goring. Nov. 11, 1981 -- Traded by Los Angeles with John Gibson to Toronto in exchange for Ian Turnbull. Feb. 15, 1984 -- Rights sold by Toronto to Los Angeles. Aug. 16, 1984 -- Released by Los Angeles.
 

Life Outside the NHL

Full Name: William Edward Harris
Nicknames: "Harry O", "Harry"
Also Known as: Bill Harris

Other Post-Draft Teams: St. Catharines (AHL)

Career Beyond Hockey: Went into real estate and restaurant business after retirement, running Harry O's restaurant in Manhattan Beach, Calif. He then founded a lapel-pin manufacturing company in Toronto before returning to Long Island to work in the automotive business and then run a marina where he kept his own boat. A serial entrepreneur, he later becoming a partner in True North Hospitality, a restaurant management company that opened the showcase restaurant, Black & Blue, in Columbus' Nationwide Arena. In 2003, he went into the candle-manufacturing business as the founder and owner of Muskoka Candle Co. in Rosseau, Ontario, where he had owned a summer home since his early NHL playing days. The company makes 100 percent soy-bean-wax candles.
• Harris on LinkedIn

Significant Injuries

Missed part of 1979-80 season with foot injury, suffered during N.Y. Islanders' Nov. 30, 1979, game at Edmonton. The injury, which coincided with head coach Al Arbour's decision to bench him for one game anyway, ended his team record consecutive-games streak, as he had played in all of the Islanders' first 576 regular-season games and first 59 playoff games. At the time the streak ended, it was the second-longest active streak in the NHL, trailing only Garry Unger. He did not return until Dec. 4, 1979, game vs. Vancouver. ... Missed part of 1981-82 season with separated shoulder, an injury suffered during Toronto's Nov. 28, 1981, game vs. Buffalo. He did not return until Toronto's March 4, 1982, game at N.Y. Islanders.

Miscellaneous:

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