Emotional Islanders Dedication Of Clark Gillies Media Room
On Thursday, in partnership with the New York Islanders Children's Foundation and the Clark Gillies Foundation, the Ronald McDonald House unveiled a special Islanders-themed room.
Allan Kreda has been covering hockey for more than three decades, most recently for The New York Times and The Associated Press. He recently completed co-authoring Islander legend Ken Morrow’s memoir: “Miracle Gold, Four Stanley Cups and a Lifetime of Islanders Hockey.”
New Hyde Park, NY — Honoring Clark Gillies - legendary left wing on four Stanley Cup champion Islander teams - took on an especially poignant tone for his family Thursday evening in New Hyde Park.
Gillies' legacy goes far beyond his Hall of Fame career, which included 872 games over 12 Islander seasons and 159 more playoff contests from 1975-86.
The towering forward was a physical force on the ice and on a pillar on Long Island away from the rink, giving back for three-plus decades through his namesake foundation, which helped children physically, mentally, or financially challenged to improve their quality of life.
To witness the unveiling and dedication of the “New York Islanders Clark Gillies Media Room at Ronald McDonald House” represented an extension of Gillies' unending focus on charitable efforts. The room is replete with Islanders logos, replica lockers, Stanley Cup banners, and photos of Gillies and his teammates. Amid the blue and orange swirl of team colors are miniature Sparky dolls, bobble heads figurines of Islander legends, and a framed blue No. 9 Gillies jersey.
"It's amazing and it's a legacy of him,'' said Jocelyn Schwarz, the eldest of Gillies' three daughters and an elementary school teacher on Long Island. "My dad was so amazing on this earth. He's living on."
Gillies would have turned 71 on April 7. The left wing on the Trio Grande line with fellow Hall of Famers - center Bryan Trottier and right wing Mike Bossy - passed in January 2022. Bossy would pass just three months later.
Gillies had a tough guy reputation during an NHL era when heavyweight fights were common - even in playoff games. But Gillies never amassed more than 100 penalty minutes in a season. His high was 99 in 1980-81 when he scored 33 goals and added 45 assists, then helped the Islanders win their second of four-straight Cups.
Trottier was joined by dynasty Islanders teammate Butch Goring plus more recent alumni Josh Bailey, Cal Clutterbuck and Johnny Boychuk in a collective tribute to No. 9, who was born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan but made Long Island his second home along with wife Pam and their daughters Jocelyn, Brooke and Brianna.
"It's all about love,'' said Trottier, Gillies’ teammate for 11 seasons.
For Pam Gillies, who continues to run Clark’s foundation, the evening represented everything her husband epitomized.
"Clark always said that the best thing you could do with success is to give it away,'' she said. "He believed wholeheartedly in lifting people up, especially kids who are going through tough times. He carried that spirit forward to make sure that every child - no matter what they were facing - could feel some love and joy. This room - this beautiful Islander-themed space - is everything that Clark would have wanted. It's filled with fun, comfort, and of course, hockey. But more importantly, it's a place where families can come to relax, breathe and give a sense of normalcy through the unimaginable."
Islanders co-owner Jon Ledecky was happy to be linking the long-standing work of Gillies’ foundation efforts with the current team.
“The Clark Gillies Foundation is such an incredible embodiment of what the Islanders stand for - that to be able to work with the foundation and be able to have the Islanders Children’s Foundation involved – is incredibly special,’’ Ledecky said. “When you have a community trust like the Islanders, ownership really recognizes the need to do things. And our focus on children is very meaningful – not only to the front office but to our team.”
Ledecky said Gillies was particularly helpful when he and Scott Malkin officially became majority owners for the 2016-17 season.
“Clark showed up right away and he became a really trusted advisor - both about things on the ice and off the ice,’’ Ledecky said. “My greatest memory of Clark was on our run to the Eastern Conference Finals (in 2021) in the Old Barn. Clark famously crushed a beer can on his head after New York Jets players did the same thing. It went viral, and the joy that came out of that was just Clark being Clark … This room is a joyful, upbeat, positive, beautifully lit place for kids to have fun with their families.”
Josh Bailey, 35, who last played for the Islanders two seasons ago, said Gillies was a fixture for him since his rookie season in 2008-09.
“Clarkie was such a great man as everyone knows,’’ Bailey said. “All the alumni were great to us through the years and wanted us to succeed.”
Gesturing towards the colorful space in honor of her husband of more than 46 years, Pam Gillies marveled at this latest example of his contribution to and for a new generation of Long Islanders in need.
“It’s so bright. I love that,’’ she said. “The kids will love that.”
Pam Gillies added:
“Clark may not be with us here in person, but his heart, his laugh, and his legacy are absolutely with us today."
Daughter Jocelyn, who has remained on Long Island since her dad’s playing days, expressed confidence that his legacy is guaranteed with a fresh level of enthusiasm, as this new playroom is his honor now open.
“You look around and it’s all him,’’ she said. “His good lives on. A friend once told me, ‘when you stop saying someone's name, that is when they are truly gone.’ That will never happen with my dad.”
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