Early career

Gillies' first professional sports experience was in baseball. In 1970, at 16, Gillies signed with the Houston Astros and played three years of minor league baseball in Covington, Virginia. He hit .241 in 86 games as a catcher/first baseman.^[3] He platooned at first base in 1972 with future Islander teammate Bob Bourne.^[4] Gillies suffered from homesickness and continued to play hockey during the off season.^[5] He eventually moved on to play in the Western Canada Hockey League with the Regina Pats. The Pats had been scouting another player at the time, but were impressed by Gillies, who was a bigger player for the era (he would be listed at 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) and 210 pounds (95 kg)).^[6] During his tenure with the Pats, Gillies accrued 570 penalty minutes in 201 games.^[7] In 1974, his final season for Regina, Gillies had 46 goals and 66 assists, was named to the league's First All-Star team, and the team won the 1974 Memorial Cup as Canadian major junior hockey champions.^[2]

Professional career

Gillies was the fourth overall selection in the first round of the 1974 NHL Amateur Draft by the New York Islanders.^[8] He was also picked by the World Hockey Association's Edmonton Oilers in the WHA draft, but signed with the Islanders, making the team out of training camp.^[9] 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) when beating up enforcer Dave Schultz.^[10][11]

In the latter half of the 1976–77 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.^[12]

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, flourished individually and collectively, as the Islanders won the Stanley Cup in four consecutive years, from 1980 to 1983, during Gillies' tenure.^[13]

Gillies scored over 30 goals for four straight seasons (starting in 1975–76) as part of the "Trio Grande", the Islanders' top forward line with Mike Bossy and Bryan Trottier, and again in 1980–81 and 1981–82. In 1977 he finished tenth in the voting for the Hart Trophy for most valuable player in the NHL. In 1978 and 1979 he led all left-wingers for most votes for the All-Star game, and was named to the NHL First All-Star Team as a left-winger at the conclusion of these two seasons.^[10][14] In 1981, he played for the Canadian national team in the Canada Cup, scoring seven points in seven games.^[15]

After scoring only four goals in 55 games in 1985–86, Gillies was left unprotected in the NHL waiver draft, and was claimed by the Buffalo Sabres.^[16] While wearing number 39 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.^[17]

Gillies was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2002.^[13] Although his overall statistics were respectable but not considered Hall of Fame caliber, his role as an aggressive playmaker (power forward) was key for Trio Grande linemates Bossy and Trottier to thrive, as was his clutch scoring ability (54 game-winning goals).^[18][19][14]

He was also inducted into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame.^[20]

Regular season and playoffs

International

• All statistics are taken from NHL.com.^[27]