The original, 1972-73 New York Islanders were nothing to brag about points-wise but they had a few valiant stickhandlers who never will be forgotten. One was captain Ed Westfall and the other was defenseman Gerry Hart.
The original, 1972-73 New York Islanders were nothing to brag about points-wise but they had a few valiant stickhandlers who never will be forgotten.
One was captain Ed Westfall and the other was defenseman Gerry Hart.
Jim Devellano, who was general manager Bill Torrey's original scout, remembered them well.
"Eddie was the guy who kept the team together," said Devellano, now Executive Vice President of the Detroit Red Wings. "Gerry was the guts of the defense.
Didn't matter how big the other fella was, little Hart would stand up to him."
Hart, was one of those steadfast Western Canadians who helped build the Islanders from the league's laughing stock to a dynasty.
"I'll never forget that first year," Hart once recalled. "I had come over from the Red Wings, and was one of the few experienced players on the team. We set a lot of negative records that year. I was so glad when that season was over."
A warrior among NHL warriors, Hart grew along with the team. While teammates such as defense partner Arnie Brown -- he called the Islanders
"A horror show" -- constantly complained, Gerry fought on and watched the team grow.
"Things changed for the better in the second year," Hart told me after he had retired and opened an arena, The Rinx, in Hauppauge. "After Bill drafted Denis Potvin in 1973, we started to feel like a real hockey team."
Hart also benefited from the arrival of Al Arbour as coach starting in the fall of 1973. A mutual feeling of respect was shared by both player and the new mentor.
"I liked Gerry from the very start," Arbour once explained, "because, in some ways, he reminded me of me when I was playing. He was mostly concerned about taking care of business in his own zone -- and taking crap from nobody."
To which Hart responded, "Al wanted his players to gain some respectability and a sense of pride in our work. I could see that happening right from the start. In Al's first year our losses went down from sixty to forty. We were getting there and getting tougher."
You had to be tough where Gerry Hart came from -- Flin Flon, Manitoba, 'way up in colder-than-cold country.
"I played for the Flin Flon Bombers Junior team," Gerry remembered. "Bobby Clarke was one of my teammates and you can bet we were a tough team to beat."
Hart brought that Western Canadian swagger to the NHL and it was translated to training camp in 1974. By this time, Torrey had added the likes of goalie Glenn Resch, defenseman Dave Lewis and forward Clark Gillies to the lineup.
Hart: "The experts picked us to miss the playoffs for the third straight year, but we fooled them. We made the playoffs for the first time and that was our first plateau. We beat the Rangers and Penguins in succession that year. I could tell then and there that this team would get stronger by the year."
The 1975 Pittsburgh series was memorable for Gerry since it was the one in which the Islanders trailed three games to none; and then forged a remarkable comeback with four straight wins..
Newsday hockey writer Tim Moriarty credited Hart with inspiring the comeback. "Gerry pointed out the mistakes that were being made and figured out the Penguins' strategy and Arbour appreciated Hart's input. Lo and behold, the Isles became the first American NHL team ever to rally from behind three games to none and win the series."
Facing the Philadelphia Flyers in the third round, the Isles again fell behind three games to none and then rallied once more to tie the series at three apiece.
"Game Seven was in Philly," Hart recalled, "and in those days the Flyers would bring in the famous singer, Kate Smith, to sing 'God Bless America' before the game. She was their good luck charm and we wanted to try every which way to change the luck our way.
"As it happened, an Islanders fan showed up at the Spectrum before the game and gave me a bunch of good luck flowers. Frankly, I didn't know what to do with them and gave the bunch to Eddie Westfall, who was still our captain.
"Just before Kate was about to sing, Eddie gave her the flowers and she was so surprised she almost couldn't sing. But we still couldn't change the luck and the Flyers beat us in Game Seven."
Hart remained an Islanders stalwart through the 1978-79 season and later finished his career with the Quebec Nordiques and, finally, the St. Louis Blues.
But he'll always be remembered as an Original Islander.
"The sad part," concluded Jim Devellano, "is that Gerry missed our first Stanley Cup season by one year. The nice part is that he'll always be remembered as a defenseman's defenseman -- and an original Islander!"