Islanders alumni talk Clark Gillies, Anders Lee and Matthew Schaefer

Pam Gillies said her husband, Clark Gillies, the late Islanders legend and Hockey Hall of Famer, always volunteered for several charities.

Finally, one day, he told her: “You know what? Maybe I'll start my own foundation.”

He did. And the impact of the Clark Gillies Foundation — a non-profit dedicated to providing critical financial, developmental and emotional assistance to children and families facing extraordinary challenges — grows each year.

The first Clark Gillies Foundation Golf Invitational happened in 1998, and the annual outing was held Monday at two different courses — the Huntington Crescent Club and Indian Hills Country Club — as part of a two-day event that included a celebrity cocktail party Sunday night and a dinner Monday.

Several celebrities, including Mario Lemieux and Mike Eruzione, and Islanders alumni participate every year.

The Gillies Foundation’s latest contribution came Monday night, when it announced a $200,000 donation to North Shore Holiday House to build “Clark’s Cabin.”

“It's a wonderful foundation,” Pam said. “We're just so happy that it's continuing. We thought maybe after Clark passed [in January 2022] it would kind of die down, but it's only gotten bigger actually. And everybody loved him, of course.”

Butch Goring said: “I think if everybody had half as much compassion as Clark Gillies had for kids and trying to help them out, the world would be a better place. Clark was my teammate. He was my friend, and anything I can do to help his cause, make sure that his legacy stays alive, it's such a good thing.

“I'm here to support him, and I miss him dearly. But you know what? This is my way of remembering him.”

Emily Collins, the executive director of the Clark Gillies Foundation, met Gillies while doing her master’s project at Columbia on athletes’ lives after the limelight. This invitational was her sixth.

“The magnitude of the support after Clark's passing just blew us all away,” she said. “Clark, this was his favorite event of the year.”

Matt Martin, the longtime Islanders fourth-liner and now a special assistant to general manager Mathieu Darche, participated in the event for the 12th time. He loves getting to see older Islanders alumni such as Bob Nystrom and John Tonelli, relationships he built through Gillies.

“Clarkie was larger than life in his own way, and just had this ability to bring people together,” Martin said.

Monday marked 26 days since former Islanders captain Anders Lee signed a three-year, $16.2 million deal with Utah on July 1. For Islanders alumni, it certainly will be a change not having Lee, who played 923 games in 14 seasons with the team.

“Well, it’s always weird,” Martin said. “Obviously, Anders was a great Islander and captain — my captain —for years. He'll be missed in the locker room. He'll be missed in the community, but that is the business of hockey. We've seen guys get traded, moved on year over year. It's never easy, but I think we all understand the reality of it. He got a nice deal in Utah, and they got a good team, and I think everybody here obviously wishes him the best.”

Said Josh Bailey: “It’s tough. I can relate in a lot of ways. You put your heart and soul into this place for a long time, and it comes to an end for all of us at some point. Thankfully for him, he gets a three-year deal out of it, and wish him nothing but the best. I'm sure he'll do great there.”

Goring had a unique perspective as not only a former Islander but an Islanders analyst on MSG Networks. He agreed that it will be weird not seeing Lee in an Islanders uniform anymore.

“Any time I had a conversation with him, he was always thoughtful and he was always readily available,” Goring said. “His contributions on the ice, I think everybody knows the way he played and how committed he was and how good a leader he was. But he also took it off the ice, with all his charities. Just a good person.

“You can't replace that guy, but you can only wish him the best of luck and hope that he has as much success and enjoys life as much as he did here in Utah.”

While he may not be the next Islanders captain, Matthew Schaefer seems like an easy choice to wear the “C” at some point.

Martin confirmed that Schaefer will live with his family again this upcoming season, and they talk virtually every day.

Bailey lives about five minutes away from Martin and is at his house “quite a lot.” He and his kids also have gotten to know Schaefer.

“He's so good with the kids, and I think they don't realize how lucky they are,” Bailey said. “They get to go play mini sticks with Schaef, and he puts in the time with all of them.”

Martin said Schaefer is looking forward to coming back and getting the season started.

“He's motivated,” Martin said. “He loves playing, obviously, and he's another guy that loves being on Long Island already. There's going to be challenges every year that come his way, but so far he hasn't shown any reason why he can't navigate them.”