From the 1st intermission of Game 7 between the #isles & Leafs, Dave Hodge of #cbc profiles 2 of the #nyi all-time greats & 2/3 of the Trio Grande Line, Saskatchewan natives & 1974 #nhl amateur draft picks, Bryan Trottier & Clark Gillies.
1978 NHL CBC
#70s #nhl #1970s #stanleycupplayoffs #stanleycup #lgi #nyi
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Looking at the Islanders in the 70s, there’s no way they would’ve attained respectability so quickly without Denis Potvin, there’s no way they would’ve become Cup contenders so quickly without Trottier and Gillies, and there’s no way they ever would’ve won a Stanley Cup had they not drafted Bossy. I guess an argument could be made about either of the three being the most important Islander in the history of the team, but it wasn’t until Bossy’s arrival that they turned into an offensive powerhouse. Prior, they were sort of devoid of a real sniper, they were more of a plugging team whose identity was that of a defensively superior team with all-around contributive scoring. Bossy turned them into a superior team on both sides of the puck. The Habs were a great team prior to Lafleur becoming a star, but when Lafleur became a star they became a dynasty. So I would label Guy and Mike the dynasty makers. But the Habs, even prior to Lafleur’s becoming a star, were a better team than the Isles were from 74-75 through 76-77. But the similarities in the impact each had on their respective franchises is similar.