Islanders legend and four-time Stanley Cup champion Clark Gillies died Friday evening at age 67, the group introduced. No reason for loss of life was given.
Gillies performed the primary 12 of his 14 NHL seasons with the Islanders (1974-86) and have become synonymous with success when the group went to the playoffs in each certainly one of his seasons and received their legendary 4 straight Cups from 1980-83. Gillies performed on the Trio Grande line with Mike Bossy and Bryan Trottier and scored greater than 30 targets in a season six instances with the franchise.
Head coach Barry Trotz realized of the information as he got here off the ice Friday evening following the Islanders’ win over the Coyotes, and knowledgeable the group upon its return to the dressing room.
“He was larger than life,” Trotz mentioned. “You noticed Clark Gillies, you thought Islander.”
Gillies’ title is everywhere in the franchise’s file books: fourth in targets (304), fifth in assists (359), fourth in factors (663) and fifth in video games performed (872). Gilles was inducted into the NHL Corridor of Fame in 2002, and his No. 9 was retired by the group in 1996. He performed two seasons with the Sabres after leaving Lengthy Island earlier than retiring following the 1987-88 marketing campaign.
“There’s little doubt, there’s no grey space,” Trotz mentioned. “Charismatic, he performed the precise means. He was a part of the group. Every little thing that you concentrate on being an Islander, being a very good teammate, incredible individual, all of these issues. My coronary heart dropped once I was informed.”
After retirement, Gillies maintained a presence across the group and the Lengthy Island group with charitable endeavors. His basis was dedicated to serving to kids who're bodily, developmentally or financially challenged. A local of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Gillies made Lengthy Island his residence.
The Islanders had been visibly shocked by the information in postgame press conferences that hardly touched on the sport itself.
“I feel he epitomizes all the things that being a New York Islander is,” Matt Martin mentioned. “He walks right into a room, he’s charismatic. He carried a room.
“I keep in mind once I met him for the primary time and I all the time thought, ‘That’s who I need to be once I develop up.’ He’s simply an incredible human being.”
Anders Lee recounted a morning throughout which he, Gillies and two associates had a golf spherical rained out. They sat within the clubhouse as a substitute, swapping tales — a reminiscence he’ll cherish.
“Nothing mattered concerning the spherical that day,” Lee mentioned. “We simply acquired to sit down round a desk and spend time with him.”
The Islanders have a means of preserving their alumni round. The names within the rafters of UBS Area are extra than simply distant reminiscences for the franchise — and that’s by design. The end result, on an evening like Friday, is devastation that touches present members of the group.
“These guys are the inspiration of what the group and the group is all about,” Brock Nelson mentioned.
Gillies was actually amongst that group. Through the group’s run to the Stanley Cup semifinals final summer time, he was within the stands at Nassau Coliseum, going viral for smashing a beer over his head.
“That one will stick with me for a very long time,” Trotz mentioned.
“Your complete Islanders group is devastated by the lack of Clark Gillies,” normal supervisor Lou Lamoriello mentioned in a press release. “He epitomized what it means to be a New York Islander. The satisfaction he felt carrying the Islanders sweater on the ice was evident by his willingness to do something to win.
“Off the ice, he was simply as large of a presence, all the time taking the time to present again to the local people. The New York Islanders have 4 Stanley Cups due to the sacrifices he and the members of these dynasty groups made for the franchise. On behalf of your complete group, we ship our deepest condolences to your complete Gillies household.”
Post a Comment