Clark Gillies (April 7, 1954 – January 21, 2022) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player.

His father insisted that Clark learn to skate and keep his balance before allowing him to bring a hockey stick onto the ice.

In 1970, at 16, Gillies signed with the Houston Astros and played three years of minor league baseball in Covington, Virginia.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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).

[13] When Gillies, per tradition, got to have the Stanley Cup with him for 24 hours after the Islanders won it for the first time in 1980, he let his dog, a German shepherd, eat from it.

[11] He was inducted into the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame on Long Island in the Hockey Category with the Class of 1998.