Clark Gillies

Gillies who was honoured by the Islanders on December 13, 2014, remains active in the Long Island community. He is an executive at Hilton Capital Management in Garden City. He plays in 30 to 40 charity softball games per year. He was inducted into the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame on Long Island in the Hockey Category with the Class of 1998.

In 2002 Gillies was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He was also inducted into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame.

After scoring only four goals in 55 games in 1985–86, Gillies was left unprotected in the NHL waiver draft, and the Buffalo Sabres picked him up. While wearing number 9 in Buffalo, Gillies retired after playing a season and a half with the Sabres. On December 7, 1996, Gillies' No. 9 was retired by the Islanders.

In 1982 Gillies and three teammates — Bob Nystrom, Wayne Merrick, and Gordie Lane — stripped to their briefs in the February issue of Penthouse magazine for a fashion layout.

During the 1980 playoffs, Gillies got the best of Terry O'Reilly, one of the Boston Bruins' toughest players, several times, helping to fuel the Islanders' drive to the Stanley Cup. Gillies was used during this series as the Islanders' chief protector and enforcer, and in taking on this role, Gillies allowed his team to battle through a violent series with the Bruins. Gillies, now totally comfortable with his role with the team, prospered individually and collectively, as the Islanders won four consecutive Stanley Cups during Gillies' tenure.

In the latter half of the 1976-77 NHL season, Gillies was named team captain; however, in spite of Gillies' articulate speaking manner and amiable nature, he never felt completely comfortable as captain. Gillies captained the Islanders through two disappointing seasons, in part because the Islanders appeared to lack team toughness. During the pre-season of 1979–80 Gillies allowed Denis Potvin to take over as captain.

Later that year, the Islanders made him their first-round selection in the NHL draft, taking him fourth overall. Gillies was also selected by the World Hockey Association's Edmonton Oilers in the WHA draft, but Gillies signed with the Islanders, making the team right out of training camp. It was during his rookie season of 1974–75, in the playoffs, that Gillies established himself as one of the toughest players in the National Hockey League (NHL), pummeling Philadelphia Flyers enforcer Dave Schultz.

In 1970, Gillies moved to Covington, Virginia where he played three years of minor league baseball in the Appalachian League. However, he was constantly suffering from home sickness and continued to play hockey during the off season. He eventually moved on to play in the Western Hockey League with the Regina Pats. During his tenure with the Pats, Giles accrued 570 penalty minutes in 201 games and won the Memorial Cup.

Clark "Jethro" Gillies (born April 7, 1954) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He provided both physical presence and offensive punch for the National Hockey League's New York Islanders during their four-year run as Stanley Cup champions. In a career that spanned 958 games, Gillies notched 319 goals, 378 assists, and 1023 penalty minutes. He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2002.