SNY POINT BLANK TV: CLARK GILLIES
The Hall of Fame power forward on Ferocious Friday
Also: his text to Garth Snow about Haley, praise for Konopka, the day he and Bobby Ny decided they weren’t going to take any more crap, the most unheralded members of the dynasty, his mission for the Clark Gillies Foundation and where he wants the Islanders to be in 2015. Comments on this interview welcomed. Deadline talk continues below.
33 Responses to SNY POINT BLANK TV: CLARK GILLIES
The Hall of Fame power forward on Ferocious Friday
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did clark gillies refer to himself in the 3rd person? when you win four cups you do what you want!
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chuckerd58 says:
Gillies is awesome. The story about that night in Boston when He and Nystrom decided not to take any crap from the Bruins is a classic. I will never forget that huge brawl,and how the Isles totally dominated that series.So hard to believe that was 31 years ago.
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TM says:
Jethro. A man’s man. If he played in Manhattan, Toronto or Montreal there would a statue of him in front of the arena and a street named after him. On LI he got ignored. Another reason to move the franchise to Queens or Brooklyn.
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Kaszycki's Krew says:
Great guy – and I can’t wait until the day when he is watching this team go deep in the playoffs and winning it all again ! History and Tradition…..need to bring back the glory…..
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isles71 says:
What a presence on the ice Gillies was for this team. And one of the nicest, coolest guys to hung out with. During the ATL all-star game, big party at a sports bar, and nothing like listening to Jethro, Dave Schultz, Willi Plett, Pat Flately to name a few telling stories over a couple of beers…really good guy! Glad Snow kept Konoptka BTW…finish strong!
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Al says:
Clark was the backbone of the dynasty. Nice to hear he’s doing well. Wish the current regime would call upon some of the alumni to help return this franchise to respectability.
I hope the team turns it around and stays on Long Island. It would be nice to watch this young core grow together and restore Islander pride. -
@TM,So true,he would be considered one of the All-TIME Greats{Which he is.}If he played in Canada or Manhatten.
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EricCup says:
Great spot with Jethro. Thought maybe you’d ask him about that nickname. He was one of a kind. Whenever another team wanted to try to get a big scoring physical forward, they always said “A Clark Gillies Type Player”. Problem was, they were always hard to find. He truly deserved that Hall of Fame honor. And, he was always willing to talk to the fans and give an autograph or pose for a picture. Oh yeah – like so many other guys on that great team, when they signed their name, YOU CAN READ IT!!! One of my all-time favorites – CLARKIE!!!
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Kbulger says:
Lol. Some people just love to make stuff up to complain about. Gillies was ignored? He’s a living legend on LI. He should have a statue? Well he may deserve it, but he would have to get in line with a few others with names like Bossy, Trottier, Potvin, Smith, et al. There were so many guys on that team who would be considered franchise players in today’s game. No need to resort to hyperbole to tell us how great Gillies was.
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THollinger says:
Been following the Isles a long time, and over and over again, whenever I have read an article or seen an interview with a former dynasty player, coach, someone close to the team, whatever – they all seem to say Stefan Persson was the most underated dynasty Isle. Maybe it is time he finally did get more recognition.
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peter debenedetto says:
Interviewer: So Clark, where exactly is MooseJaw?
Gillies: 6 feet from the moose’s $#%.
Ignored??? You mention to any fan worth their weight the #’s 5, 9, 19, 22, and 31 and they are sure to have 10 memories of each. Maybe Clark can find some investors.
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Staten Islander says:
GOD! I miss Jethroe! Is he Mario rich? Can he buy out Mr Wang?
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to eric @9: nickname Jethro came from his undying love of flute solos and the band Jethro Tull. Ian sounded lame, so they went with Jethro(Vivaldi was taken by a guy playing in Kamloops already)…..that and he looks like Max Baer who played Jethro on the “Beverly Hillbillies” sitcom. Which was actually about a family from the hills of Saskatoon. They didn’t find oil in the hills, but one of the sons caddied for the Dahli Lama, which was nice…….
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StevieL says:
CB! Thank you for this. Clark is one of my all time heroes! You young guy’s would have loved him. He could play and when he dropped the gloves there was a real fear that he would do serious damage! Ask the Rangers, Ed Hospodar!
It is my contention the Islanders started their journey to greatness the night Clark beat the daylights out of Dave Schultz of the Flyers. I believe Gary Howatt also beat up Schultz the same night! As a young kid I remember the joy of seeing Schultz finally get his!It may have been 1 of Gillies first NHL fights. The Isles never were pushed around again!
The Boston series they refer too featured Gillies fight and beat Terry O’Reilly, one tough son of gun. I believe they fought in almost every game of the series!
The man simply is a living legend! I am thrilled to hear he is doing well! Seriously.. How much class did that dynasty team have? -
50 in 50 says:
Glad to hear a true gentleman speak with such passion about this organization. Hopefully Garth will listen to Clark and the rest of the alumni to rebuild the dynasty. I really wish him the best of luck in all his future endeavors. Thanks CB for another Great Interview with an all time fan favorite.
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jamal says:
Garth should take some advice from Gillies and keep mike haley around. the guy is definitely a spark plug and a fan favorite. He hasnt fought since the pittsburgh game but he 5’10″ and can throw with the big boys, check out his bridgeport fights he’s an animal. Also pretty quick and good hands with the gloves on too
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i have said how the isles need someone like jethro who is physical and can protect the kids and score as well. just as gillies fit in with bossy and trotts, the same type player would fit in with j.t. and moulson. it makes a lot of sense. sadly that is why it will never happen. it makes too much sense and wang will only spend cents.
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93Miracle says:
Yes there should be names and statues for the Islander great with numbers retired which includes Torre and Arbour. Definitely, street names anyway. ANd yes one poster had it right, he would have to get in line with FIRST BALLOT hall of famers such as Bossy, Trottier, Potvin, and Smith(atleast I think and hope they were all first ballot!). Does not seem like queens will happen, although that would not be a terrible option for this team considering you can take the train right to the area around shea like a lot of people do. Brooklyn is further and would be a shlep in traffic with a car. Even Bettman is against brooklyn, but who knows his reasons he wont even have WHITE at home!
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Michael Pastore says:
I have been a fan since 1974, when I went to my 1st hockey game and was hooked. The only Islander jersey I have ever owned was Clark Gillies Jersey. I bought it when he was the captain of the team. When I played league ice hockey I always made sure I wore #9, went as far as paying one of my teammates for the number one year. I will never forget the night he beat up Shultz or The Bruin Series. It is funny that a stare by Clark after the Schultz fight was enough 50% of the time that he did not need to fight. But forgetting that he was a great player, that was more than capable of creating a play and putting the puck in the net. He was what I would like to see Kyle Okposo become. I seem to remember that Gillies took Bertuzzi under his wing and that was when Bertuzzi became the player he is today, it was too bad because it was for another team. Maybe he could do the same for Okposo but this time maybe the Islanders can reap the benefits.
Clark was always a class guy, and gave his all for the team. I was devastated when he left the Islanders. It was so hard seeing play in another teams jersey. He always had time for the fans and it was great growing up on the Island and being around that team, and to me while I was growing up Gillies was the heart and sole of it. -
Isle be a Fan says:
If you guys want to see how Tough Gillies & Nystrom really were (Still are in fact), just Youtubbe some of their old fights. When they dropped the Gloves, they brought Mayhem, none of this Dancing you see now.
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Jack says:
Today teams give draft prospects written tests to measure character. Gillies, Nystrom ! No written test needed here!!!
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Bronx 56 says:
There were games where all Gillies had to do was look at the other team to calm things down on the ice. He would stare at them and a lot of times the other teams players just
knew DON’T MESS WITH US.once in a while a guy
would make a mistake (Ed Hospidar) and pay. -
dose says:
His perfect blend of toughness and scoring ability was unique. Not many at all have matched up that way – Cam Neely maybe. And the value of a player that strong in both respects is so much higher than a guy who only fights. That team was blessed to have both #9 and #23 cruising the wings AND hitting the twine for all those years. Plus, he’s a cool guy.
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sorry, just one more thing. if you go back and watch game 4 of the incredible ’84 isles-rangers series (i think it was the 4-1 game at the garden when flatley wrecked barry beck) you will see gillies score on a one-timer from just inside the blue line that might be the hardest shot i have never seen.
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Chris18 says:
I always tell my kids they shouldn’t look up to anyone, especially athletes, as they will always let you down. My daughter asked, “What about Clark Gillies?”
I replied, “Okay, you can look up to Clark Gillies.” That was about a month ago.
Thanks CB. This made my day! -
Isles71 #14 – Thanks for the response. I actually know all about Jethro but I was just mentioning to CB that I thought it was a question that could have brought an interesting answer. I’m 49 yrs old and have been a fan since the beginning. What a luxury it was to have an “enforcer” who could play the game at such a high level.
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Cold Spring Harbor says:
To this day when we hit the second pause in the National Anthem I still expect someone from the 300 section to scream out “Jethro!”. Have met Clark at a number of Not-For-Profit fundraisers, a very genuine and generous man.
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BanGarth says:
One of my all time favorites and still the best power forward I have ever seen play the game. Bossy is not the prolific goal scorer if it werent for Clark creating so much space and letting Bossy never have to worry about someone taking a shot at him ( see J Tavares ). I wish this guy and some of the other Islander greats would put a group together and take back what they built. For whatever reason this regime frowns on guys like Haley and Z , i think Garth understand their imprtance for the team but Wanger is taking it upon himself to clean up the game , and we all have to suffer. Go buy the Mets if you don t like the way hockey is supposed to be played. Jethro 4 the hard way….
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mick12 says:
Jethro a man who combined elite skill & brute force. I onced asked him if Terry O’Reilly’s face ever hurt his hand, he just smiled & laughed. He made Ed Hospadar look like the punk he was. If he NHL didn’t change the finals format from 2,2,1,1,1 to 2,3,2 in 1984 the Isles would have won their 5th Cup & Jethro would have been MVP. Thanks for the memories Jethro! Great spot CB!
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Eric @ 27…just kidding, but would have been interesting answer considering one Mr. Baer and all the things he supposedly did…not that there is anything wrong with it…I’m just sayin’
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I remember a charity baseball game we went to see between the Isles and the members of WFAN radio. I was explaining to my friend that Gillies is taking bertuzzi under his wing. When his bitchy wife, who was standing in back of us said, yeah, I wish he would leave us alone already! can you imagine those little non deserving idiots actually shunned his advice! Oh well, what goes around comes around. I was glad when the arrogant punk was traded, along with his pissy wife! Clark was truly a great player and an even better person. So happy to have enjoyed him play as one of ours. I am pretty sure Okposso or Halley would love to get some sound advice from an all time great like Gillies!
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Michael says:
Mr. Gillies = CLASS!
Thanks for this Chris. Clark would sure be a great fit with Tavares and Moulson!