Former Islanders defenseman Gerry Hart, a member of the inaugural 1972 team, died Saturday, the team said in a release.
He was 75.
Hart, who played for the Islanders from 1972-79, returned to Long Island after his playing profession to launch an ice rink in Hauppage.
The Islanders reached the playoffs five times in seven seasons with Hart, but lost him to the Nordiques within the expansion draft before their first Stanley Cup title in 1979-80.
An undersized and gritty defenseman, the Flin Flon, Manitoba native played 15 NHL seasons, also with the Red Wings and Blues.
Hart is the fourth Islander from the team’s glory days to die since Jan. 2022, following Clark Gillies, Jean Potvin and Mike Bossy.
Gillies’ foundation was amongst those to whom the Hart family requested donations, together with the Unsung Siblings Foundation and Pat LaFontaine’s Champions in Courage Foundation.
