Forrmer Islander and Hockey Hall of Famer Clark Gillies smiles as fans cheer before he drops a ceremonial puck prior to an NHL game against Chicago at Nassau Coliseum on Dec. 13, 2014. Credit: AP/Kathy Kmonicek
From the moment he arrived as a 20-year-old from tiny Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Clark Gillies considered Long Island to be great place. So much so that, 40 years later as the Islanders honored him, he pointed out that he had lost his Canadian accent. "I rarely say `eh,’" he said at the time. "This really is home."
Generations of his fellow residents are certain that Long Island is all the more wonderful because Gillies was part of it.