Clark Gillies played a key role for the New York Islanders when they won four straight Stanley Cup championships from 1980-83.
A prototypical power forward, Gillies had 697 points (319 goals, 378 assists) and 1,025 penalty minutes in 958 regular-season games during his 14-season NHL career with the Islanders and Buffalo Sabres. He had 47 goals and 47 assists in 164 playoff games.
Clark Gillies played a key role for the New York Islanders when they won four straight Stanley Cup championships from 1980-83.
A prototypical power forward, Gillies had 697 points (319 goals, 378 assists) and 1,025 penalty minutes in 958 regular-season games during his 14-season NHL career with the Islanders and Buffalo Sabres. He had 47 goals and 47 assists in 164 playoff games.
A native of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Gillies played three seasons and was a two-time 40-goal scorer for the Regina Pats of the Western Canada Junior Hockey League from 1971-74 before being selected by the Islanders with the No. 4 pick in the 1974 NHL Draft.
As a rookie with New York, he had 47 points (25 goals, 22 assists) in 80 games and scored at least 30 goals in each of the following four seasons.
In the second half of the 1976-77 season, his third in the NHL, Gillies replaced Ed Westfall and became the second captain in Islanders history. He held that role until the start of the 1979-80 season, when defenseman Denis Potvin took over.
Skating on the top line with Bryan Trottier and Mike Bossy, Gillies helped New York win its first of four straight championships in the spring of 1980, a run in which they won 19 consecutive playoff series that lasted until the 1984 Stanley Cup Final.
Despite being one of the toughest players of his time, Gillies never had 100 penalty minutes in a season; his career high was 99 in 1980-81, when he had 33 goals and 45 assists. He scored an NHL career-high 38 goals the following season.
Gillies played his final two seasons in the NHL with the Sabres, who claimed him off waivers in the summer of 1986. He retired after the 1987-88 season.
The Islanders retired Gilliesí No. 9 during a pregame ceremony at Nassau Coliseum on Dec. 7, 1996. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2002.
Gillies died of cancer Jan. 21, 2022. He was 67.
NOTES & TRANSACTIONS
- WCJHL First All-Star Team (1974)
- NHL First All-Star Team (1978, 1979)
- Played in NHL All-Star Game (1978)
- Claimed by Buffalo from NY Islanders in Waiver Draft, October 6, 1986.
