Clark Gillies Embodied Islanders Ethos

Clark Gillies was an Islander in every sense of the word.
Professionally, he was a New York Islander. And one of the best hockey players to ever put on the jersey, which hangs in the rafters at UBS Arena. A Hockey Hall of Fame member.
Geographically, he was a Long Islander, setting up shop on the north shore instead of heading home to Saskatchewan after wrapping up a 14-year NHL career.

He was both an architect of the Islanders identity and an ambassador for it. The hands that scored and fought their way to four-straight Stanley Cups were the same ones that shook the hands of new players, tossed softballs with neighbors and, on special occasions, smashed beer cans.
"He was bigger than life," Islanders Head Coach Barry Trotz said
after receiving the tragic news of Gillies' passing
. "When you saw Clark Gillies, you thought Islander. There was no doubt. He played the right way, he was part of the community. Everything you think about being an Islander."

Gillies blend of size, skill and willingness to drop the gloves was his trademark as a player - a reliable goal scorer who scored 30-plus goals six times in his first eight seasons. He's credited with helping define the term power forward, a role that's considerably easier to say or write than it is to live out every day.
"If he's going down the boards he's going through the defender," Chico Resch said. "He'd go to the corners and he just loved being part of the Trio Grande
with Mike Bossy and Bryan Trottier. He had about as many three-point games (48) as he did fights (around 50), but despite all of those offensive accolades,
his four bouts with Terry O'Reilly in Games 2 and 3 in the 1980
playoffs, as the Islanders stood up to the Big, Bad Bruins en route to winning their first Stanley Cup, will be remembered as one of his most impactful on-ice contributions.
Gillies certainly looked - and was - imposing at 6'3, 215 lbs., and especially with a scruffy beard, but the irony was that despite being gifted a novelty gold boxing glove during his jersey retirement in 1996, he didn't favor fighting the way some people with his natural toughness would. Gillies needed to be provoked, and God help whoever did the provoking.
"I don't think he ever prompted a fight, or started one that I could recall, but he sure finished it," Jiggs McDonald said. "If you got him upset and he got into it, he was by far the toughest I have ever seen, the best."
Remembering Clark Gillies
ARTICLES
Islanders Honor Gillies With Patch
The Reluctant Warrior
Bourne Remembers Gillies
Hockey World Mourns Gillies
Photos: Clark Gillies Through the Years
Clark Gillies Passes Away
VIDEO
Clark Gillies Tribute Video
Fans Pay Tribute to Gillies
Clark Gillies Moment of Silence
PODCAST
Gillies on Talkin' Isles
Gillies giant frame was matched by his larger-than-life personality.
He was good natured and lit up every room he walked into, bringing a gravitational pull towards his outgoing and boisterous personality. McDonald remembers numerous Gillies renditions of Kenny Rogers' The Gambler, or Bobby Darin's Mack the Knife, or duets with Bryan Trottier.
There were the jokes, told over and over. He always had a quip, or five, but gave the dynasty Islanders the levity they needed, a balance to the serious business of Stanley Cup chasing and a demanding coach like Al Arbour.
"To know Clark Gillies is to love him," Butch Goring said during an emotional, impromptu euolgy on MSG+ after Friday's game. "He was a fun guy, always joking, would sing and keep it going. We know all about his ice prowess and how good he was. It's like losing a family member."
Gillies used to tell a story of a time when Arbour chewed out the team during an intermission for only throwing one hit during a period. When Arbour left,

, looked around the room with a stare and said, "Alright, who had that hit? Who ruined our perfect record?"
Gillies had stories for days, but how could he not? Before becoming a New York Islander, he was a minor league baseball player in the Houston Astros system in Covington, VA with future Islanders
teammate and in-law Bob Bourne
. He was on the athlete game show The Superstars
lifting weights for a crowd in a tight blue tank top
in the Bahamas. (He won the golf competition and finished second in the obstacle course, by the way.)
Microphones seemed to find his hand and audiences followed soon after. At Bill Torrey's tribute dinner, Gillies held court for over five minutes, regaling the audience with a would-be standup set off the top of his head. This was the rule, not the exception, not that anybody minded.
"The only Mike that Clark maybe liked more than Mike Bossy was the microphone," Resch joked. "And we wanted him to!"
He was the life of the party, as evidenced by one of his last visits to Nassau Coliseum. The Islanders and Boston Bruins were tied 1-1 in the third period in Game 4 of their second round series in the spring of 2021. A pump-up montage played on the Coliseum scoreboard before cutting to Gillies in the crowd. The 67-year-old Gillies chugged the last of his beer and then

, a la New York Jets offensive lineman Dan Feeney, and sent the crowd into a frenzy.
Gillies told the
Talkin' Isles podcast
that he didn't want to smash the can just for the sake of it, but felt it might spark the team. Mathew Barzal scored shortly after, as the Isles pulled away with a 4-1 win. Needless to say, it left an impression.
"I will always remember Clark smashing that can of beer on his head and laughing and being a part of the community with the fans," Trotz said.
Being a part of the community meant something to Clark Gillies, especially on Long Island.
He knew his neighbors,
playing softball in the summers
against local fire departments, or the Knights of Columbus, raising money for various community causes. He was always available to be an ambassador for the team, appearing at
turkey handouts
,
EMS tours
, touring locker rooms, UBS Arena construction sites, whatever was needed.
"He was a just a great human being," said McDonald, who called him a pillar of the community. "He cared about everybody with the organization. It was team first and he never asked for anything in return. A classic individual."
But Gillies took things a step further, starting
The Clark Gillies Foundation
, a non-profit corporation developed to help children who are physically, developmentally and/or financially challenged. The organization staged golf outings and bowling fundraisers, bringing Long Islanders together to help those in need, granting over $3.5M in the process.

The Huntington Hospital Pediatric Unit was named after Clark and his foundation, which raised one million dollars to help fund the construction of the unit. The Foundation continues their association with Huntington Hospital after they created Brianna's Cub room within the Clark Gillies Pediatric Unit and by creating The Clark Gillies Pediatric Emergency Room which is staffed and equipped specifically for children.
That charitable spirit set the tone for future generations of Islanders. Take Matt Martin for instance, who embodies the Gillies spirit, both in his physical play on the ice and his outgoing and charitable nature off of it. That's no coincidence either.
"I remember when I met him for the first time I thought, that's who I want to be when I grow up," Martin said. "He was a big reason why I started my foundation as well.
"He epitomizes everything being a New York Islander is," Martin added. "He'll forever live on inside of this organization."
McDonald recalled stories of the Moose Jaw native driving him to and from the rink during bad snowstorms on Long Island, saving him from having to shovel his driveway. Resch remembered Gillies embracing O'Rielly after their battles in 1980 and the sincerity of his bear-like hugs.
Gillies touched a lot of people and it was clear from the outpouring of support after the news of his passing. NHL teams tweeted out their condolences. Players and media shared stories. Fans placed flowers underneath Gillies' plaque at the Islanders Hall of Fame at Northwell Health Ice Center and at UBS Arena.

"It's been a really surreal day and a half because there was nobody more full of life than Clark," Resch said. "Our team was lucky, only Al Arbour] and Bill [Torrey] and Clark and Jim Pickard, the trainer, have left this world, but Clark was the heart of the team. Whenever you rip the heart out of something, that is a really tough thing. I just loved the guy."
There are too many Gillies stories to be told here, but they are worth seeking out. Read about the time
[Gillies let his dog eat out of the Stanley Cup
, or when
Stan Fischler thought Gillies was going to throw him into a pool
. Find the photos of him
playing baseball
, or outfitted in a
floor length trench coat with a furry lapel
. Listen to his friends and teammates re-tell Gillies' "bad" jokes. Watch the goals, the hits and the fights. Watch the
jersey retirement
, the

and the clip of Gillies skating the Stanley Cup around Nassau Coliseum in 1980, so excited the rest of the team practically had to chase him to keep up.
You'll likely see an Islanders logo, either on or around Gillies. Even if you don't, there's no mistaking that you're looking at an Islander.