Rod Gilbert

For the Welsh comedian and broadcaster, see Rhod Gilbert.

Rodrigue Gabriel Gilbert (July 1, 1941 – August 19, 2021) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played his entire career for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Known as "Mr. Ranger", he played right wing on the GAG line (Goal-A-Game line) with Vic Hadfield and Jean Ratelle. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1982, and was the first player in Rangers history to have his number retired. After his playing career, he became president of the Rangers' alumni association.

Rod Gilbert
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1982
Gilbert with the New York Rangers in 1960
Born	(1941-07-01)July 1, 1941 Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Died	August 19, 2021(2021-08-19) (aged 80) New York City, New York, U.S.
Height	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight	175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb)
Position	Right wing
Shot	Right
Played for	New York Rangers
National team	Canada
Playing career	1960–1978
Website	www.rodgilbert.com

Early life

Gilbert was born in Montreal on July 1, 1941, the son of Alma, a homemaker, and Gabriel Gilbert, a blacksmith.^[1] He grew up a fan of the Montreal Canadiens.^[2] He played three seasons for the Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters of the Ontario Hockey Association from 1957 to 1960.^[3] In his final year with the team, Gilbert slipped on some garbage strewn on the ice and fell back into the boards, breaking a vertebra in his back and temporarily paralyzing him.^[4][5] Corrective surgery went awry and led to hemorrhaging in his leg, and doctors feared amputation would be necessary, but Gilbert recovered.^[6]

Playing career

After finishing his junior career with the Guelph Royals, Gilbert joined the Rangers near the end of the 1960–61 NHL season. He soon became popular with the Rangers' fans, and he rose in prominence as an NHL star. However, it was not without pain. In 1965–66, his career was nearly derailed when he went through a second spinal fusion operation.^[7] This surgery was performed by Dr. Kazuo Yanagisawa. Gilbert was out of action for half a season, but he bounced back in 1966–67 and scored 28 goals.^[6] On February 24, 1968, he scored four goals in a game against the Montreal Canadiens. The Ratelle-Hadfield-Gilbert line, called the GAG line, proved formidable for years.^[6] He played with Team Canada in the 1972 Summit Series against the Soviet Union. He won the Bill Masterton Trophy in 1976 for his perseverance over his back troubles.^[8]

At the beginning of the 1977–78 NHL season, Gilbert and Rangers' General Manager John Ferguson got into a contract dispute.^[6] He was released by the Rangers on November 23, 1977 after starting the campaign with two goals and seven assists in 19 games.^[9] He would retire after the season, his eighteenth in the NHL. His number 7 was retired by the Rangers on October 14, 1979, the first number to be retired by the team.^[10]

Post-playing career

After retiring from professional hockey, he became head coach of the American Hockey League New Haven Nighthawks for the 1980-81 season. Gilbert opened his own restaurant, 'Gilbert's,' on Third Avenue near 75th street in Manhattan.^[11] He subsequently worked for Fundamental Brokers on Wall Street, assisting the company in opening a branch in his hometown of Montreal. He returned to the Rangers organization in August 1989. There, he acted as director of special projects and community relations representative, as well as president of its alumni association.^[11] From 2017 onward, he made upward of 30 appearances a year on behalf of the Garden of Dreams Foundation, an outreach program that works with children in the community.^[2]

Personal life

Gilbert married Judith Christy in 1991, in a ceremony conducted by New York mayor David Dinkins.^[12] Combined, they had four children together, Holly, Brooke, Chantal and Justin, and seven grandchildren. Chantal and Justin were children from his first wife, Judith Linton from Crawfordville, Florida. Linton was a stewardess for National Airlines at the time.^[13] He was one of ten athletes who were featured in American artist Andy Warhol's 1979 Athlete Series of paintings, which featured prominent sports figures from the 1970s. Others in the series include O. J. Simpson, Chris Evert, and Pelé.^[14]

Gilbert died in Manhattan on August 19, 2021. He was 80 years old.^[13][15]

Career statistics

Sources:^[1][3]

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1957–58	Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters	OHA		32	14	16	30	14		—	—	—	—	—
1958–59	Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters	OHA		54	27	34	61	40		10	5	4	9	14
1959–60	Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters	OHA		47	39	52	91	40		5	3	3	6	4
1959–60	Trois-Rivières Lions	EPHL		3	4	6	10	0		5	2	2	4	2
1960–61	Guelph Royals	OHA		47	54	49	103	47		6	4	4	8	6
1960–61	New York Rangers	NHL		1	0	1	1	2		—	—	—	—	—
1961–62	New York Rangers	NHL		1	0	0	0	0		4	2	3	5	4
1961–62	Kitchener-Waterloo Beavers	EPHL		21	12	11	23	22		4	0	0	0	4
1962–63	New York Rangers	NHL		70	11	20	31	20		—	—	—	—	—
1963–64	New York Rangers	NHL		70	24	40	64	62		—	—	—	—	—
1964–65	New York Rangers	NHL		70	25	36	61	54		—	—	—	—	—
1965–66	New York Rangers	NHL		34	10	15	25	20		—	—	—	—	—
1966–67	New York Rangers	NHL		64	28	18	46	12		4	2	2	4	6
1967–68	New York Rangers	NHL		73	29	48	77	12		6	5	0	5	4
1968–69	New York Rangers	NHL		66	28	49	77	22		4	1	0	1	2
1969–70	New York Rangers	NHL		72	16	37	53	22		6	4	5	9	0
1970–71	New York Rangers	NHL		78	30	31	61	65		13	4	6	10	8
1971–72	New York Rangers	NHL		73	43	54	97	64		16	7	8	15	11
1972–73	New York Rangers	NHL		76	25	59	84	25		10	5	1	6	2
1973–74	New York Rangers	NHL		75	36	41	77	20		13	3	5	8	4
1974–75	New York Rangers	NHL		76	36	61	97	22		3	1	3	4	2
1975–76	New York Rangers	NHL		70	36	50	86	32		—	—	—	—	—
1976–77	New York Rangers	NHL		77	27	48	75	50		—	—	—	—	—
1977–78	New York Rangers	NHL		19	2	7	9	6		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				1,065	406	615	1,021	510		79	34	33	67	43

International

Year	Team	Event		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1972	Canada	SS		6	1	3	4	9
1977	Canada	WC		9	2	2	4	12
Senior totals				15	3	5	8	21

Awards and honors

• Named to the NHL second All-Star team (1967–68)^[1]
• Named to the NHL first All-Star team (1971–72)^[1]
• Won Bill Masterton Trophy (1976)^[1]
• Won Lester Patrick Trophy (1991)^[16]
• Played in NHL All-Star Game (1964, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1975, 1977)^[1]
• Inducted into Hockey Hall of Fame in 1982^[1]
• Has his No. 7 retired at Madison Square Garden, the first Ranger to receive the honor.^[15]
• Awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in May 2010, in recognition of his humanitarian efforts.^[17]

Records

• New York Rangers team record for career goals (406)^[11][13]
• New York Rangers team record for career points (1021)^[11][13]
• New York Rangers team record for consecutive games with an assist by a forward (10)^[18]
• Shares New York Rangers team record for assists in one game (5; three times)^[19][20]

See also

• List of NHL players with 1000 points
• List of NHL players with 1000 games played