Playing career

During the 1959-60 OHA season, he slipped on some garbage strewn onto the ice and fell back into the boards. He broke the fifth verterbra in his back and doctors were worried they might have to amputate his legs when blood clots ensued. Gilbert started his career with the Rangers after finishing his junior career with the Guelph Royals during the 1960-61 season.

It did not take long for Gilbert to become popular with the Garden faithful, and he did not disappoint as 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. This surgery was performed by Dr. Kazuo Yanagisawa. He lost half a season, but he bounced back with a strong season in 1966-1967. On February 24, 1968, he established himself as a bona fide NHL star as he scored four goals in a game against the Montreal Canadiens. It was stardom from there. The Ratelle-Hadfield-Gilbert line, called the GAG (Goal-A-Game) line, would terrorize enemy goaltenders for years. He was with Team Canada when they took on the Soviets in the 1972 Summit Series. He won the Bill Masterton Trophy in 1976 for his perseverance regarding his back troubles.

At the beginning of the 1977-78 NHL season, Gilbert and Rangers' General Manager John Ferguson got into a contract dispute. When Gilbert finally returned to play, he was no longer the Gilbert of old. He retired after 19 seasons, having never led the Rangers to a Stanley Cup. His number 7 was retired by the Rangers on October 14, 1979; Gilbert's #7 was the first number to be retired by the Rangers. In 1969 he owned his first restaurant. After his playing career was over, he opened his own restaurant 'Gilbert's' on Third Avenue near 75th street in Manhattan.

Awards and honors

• Named to the NHL Second All-Star Team (1967-68)
• Named to the NHL First All-Star Team (1971-72)
• Won Bill Masterton Trophy (1976)
• Won Lester Patrick Trophy (1991)
• Played in NHL All-Star Game (1964, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1975, 1977)
• Inducted into Hockey Hall of Fame in 1982
• Ranked No. 2 on the all-time list of New York Rangers in the book 100 Ranger Greats (John Wiley & Sons, 2009).
• Has his #7 Retired at Madison Square Garden, the first Ranger to receive the honor.
• In 2010, he was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in recognition of his humanitarian efforts.

Records

• New York Rangers team record for career goals (406)
• New York Rangers team record for career points (1021)
• New York Rangers team record for games played by a forward (1065)
• Shares New York Rangers team record for assists in one game (5 three times)

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1957-58	Guelph Biltmores	OHA-Jr.		32	14	16	30	0		—	—	—	—	—
1958-59	Guelph Biltmores	OHA-Jr.		54	27	34	61	40		—	—	—	—	—
1959-60	Guelph Biltmores	OHA-Jr.		47	39	52	91	0		—	—	—	—	—
1959-60	Trois-Rivières Lions	EPHL		3	4	6	10	0		5	2	2	4	2
1960-61	Guelph Royals	OHA-Jr.		47	54	49	103	0		—	—	—	—	—
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	52		—	—	—	—	—
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				1065	406	615	1021	508		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

Trivia

Gilbert is one of ten athletes who were featured in American artist Andy Warhol's 1979 Athlete Series of paintings that featured prominent sports figures from the 1970s. Others appearing include O.J. Simpson, Chris Evert and Pelé.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]