Legendary New York Islanders Hall Of Famer And Four-Time Stanley Cup Winner Clark Gillies Dies At 67

Rear Admiral1/22/2022 11:50 AM

Denis Brodeur. Getty Images.

Clark Gillies, the tough and skilled behemoth on skates who was the heart-and-soul of the New York Islanders dynasty of the early 80's, died yesterday at 67 years old. The Islanders announced the loss of perhaps the most beloved Islander of all time last night on Twitter. GM Lou Lamoriello also said the following…

"The entire Islanders community is devastated by the loss of Clark Gillies. He epitomized what it means to be a New York Islander. The pride he felt wearing the Islanders sweater on the ice was evident by his willingness to do anything to win.
Off the ice, he was just as big of a presence, always taking the time to give back to the local community. The New York Islanders have four Stanley Cups because of the sacrifices he and the members of those dynasty teams made for the franchise.
On behalf of the entire organization, we send our deepest condolences to the entire Gillies family.”

Almost immediately, the accolades and condolences poured in to remember the six-time 30+ goal scorer who made the playoffs in each of his twelve years on Long Island, winning the Stanley Cup 33% of the time. He could beat you with his play and his fists and his fight card's worth of bouts vs. Boston's Terry O'Reilly are legendary from that era.

When he wasn't scoring on an all-HHOF line with Mike Bossy and Brian Trottier, he was doing whatever it took to win…

And in retirement, he did whatever he needed to do to get his team and the fans fired up…

Which meant so much more than just doing his Bluto imitation…

It's because Gillies became and remained a Long Islander and was a beloved fixture in the community since he arrived. And like Trotz said, he's still did whatever it took to help the Isles.

He was a big-game player and a huge part of Isles history as these stats point out.

The burly forward who hails from, if I could read the card here, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2002 and had his #9 retired by the Isles in 1996. I always enjoyed watching the guy play his ass off even if he knocked out my Bs on a way to a pair of those Cups. And it's nice to know he was, by all accounts, a fantastic person off the ice. My sympathies to his family, friends, teammates, and the New York Islanders family.