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Clark Gillies loved a good laugh — and was loved in return

ROB VANSTONE

Clark Gillies, a proud Saskatchewanian, was always quick to make his hometown the butt of a joke.

“He’d ask people, ‘Do you know where Moose Jaw is?’” former New York Islanders teammate Glenn (Chico) Resch recalled. “They’d say, ‘No, no, no.’ He’d tell them, ‘Six feet from the moose’s butt.’

“That was his joke. He was the first to tell me that, and then I started using it.”

Such was the perpetual good humour of Gillies, an Islanders and Regina Pats legend who died of cancer Friday at age 67.

Despite the sadness that surrounds his premature passing, there was plenty of laughter as his love of life — and of a good joke — was remembered.

“I’ve got a great picture,” Resch said.

“I’m playing for the New Jersey Devils and Clarkie’s standing over me with a smirk on his face. Clarkie’s saying to me, ‘Chico, you were pretty lucky on that.’ That’s the way he was.”

Gillies, who loved a oneliner, played on one line that will never be forgotten. He starred for the Islanders on a troika that consisted of three future members of the Hockey Hall of Fame — himself, Bryan Trottier and Mike Bossy.

“Clarkie never saw a Mike that he didn’t like,” Resch said. “The only Mike that he liked more than Mike Bossy was a mic.

“We’d have our team parties or get-togethers. Clarkie would always get the mic out and he’d sing Bobby Darin — Mack The Knife. When the shark bites … Then he’d use sign language to mimic a shark biting. Then he’d go into some Dean Martin.

“I’m not saying his voice matched his slap shot, but his voice wasn’t terrible, either.”

Gillies was a respected voice in a locker room that was full of legends, as shown by the fact that he was the Islanders’ captain for the 197778 and 1978-79 seasons.

“But he never felt comfortable about it,” Resch said. “It wasn’t who he was. He didn’t want to be the guy calling people out. He was rah-rah, but it was more of an eventempered rah-rah.

“So I remember in training camp, he’s the one who said, ‘I think Denis Potvin should be the captain,’ so he gave it to Denis. It was good, because Denis was a different breed.

“Denis is a great guy, too, but Denis was intense. Denis loved the limelight. Clarkie liked the limelight in terms of having fun or pretending he’s singing. He was always the centre of attention. He lit up the room whenever we had a party.”

Gillies also lit up rival netminders to the tune of 319 goals in 958 NHL regularseason games, spent with the Islanders (for whom he played from 1974 to 1986) and Buffalo Sabres (1986 to 1988).

He helped the Islanders win Stanley Cup titles in 1980, 1981, 1982 and 1983.

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2022-01-25T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-01-25T08:00:00.0000000Z

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