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Islander player you secretly liked

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Deep down I hated all Islanders....my brother became an Islander fan the day they entered the league . So...I had all the heartbreak in the early 70's and the years that followed and he had all the 80's glory . I had a friend/Dave Cameron play with them and some other PEI guys played there some and today they have Ross the Boss and Dobson who basically are local guys that played around here in minor hockey and such.....saying all that...I still HATED each and everyone of them . I guess if I had to pick one I would go with Ed Westfall or Billy Harris both were not involved in the Cup wins....Those two PEI guys could both be an annoyance for us for many years ahead . We have nobody that can handle Ross the Boss and Dobson could be a real gem for them .
 
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Definitely Lafontaine for me. I generally have a soft spot for US olympians (though I didn't like Morrow who won gold then 4 straight cups with the Isles). But the 84 olympic team with Lafontaine played a preseason game against my school (rpi) and scored a sick goal against Darren Puppa (who played 400+ NHL games) and I formed a secret man crush on him, despite the fact he was already drafted by the isles.
 
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I have a feeling a Rangers Players You Secretly Hated thread wouldn't work on this forum.
 
Maximus said:
It has to be Gillies. As a longtime Ranger fan too this day, I have a deep hatred for the Flyers probably even more so than the Islanders tho it's really close.

Anyways, sure he was quite skilled especially for a big guy but I loved the way Gillies stood up to Philly and the Broad Street Bullies all the time and took no shit. He intimidated them and he made Dave Schultz scared shitless as he would never screw around with Gillies. Even to a Ranger fan that was glorious to see.
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The thing about Gillies is that he was not a dirty player. By far one of the toughest players in the league and a fearsome fighter. But not dirty and not without his share of skill.
 
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True Blue said:
The thing about Gillies is that he was not a dirty player. By far one of the toughest players in the league and a fearsome fighter. But not dirty and not without his share of skill.
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Yeah no doubt...no one messed around with Gillies unless you had a death wish. He was back in the day by far the best fighter in the league. And to be so skilled as well was quite the combination.

One of the more indelible memories I have of the Ranger/Islanders rivalry when it really was a rivalry and true hatred between the fan bases existed...I'm sure you and a bunch of others will remember this, is when good ole Ed Hospadar when he was young lad, made the mistake of challenging Gillies to a tussle at the Garden.

That wasn't one of Hospadar's better decisions of his career as his face lost the battle vs Gillies fist....case in point:


 
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Pat Lafontaine (though I knew him more as a Sabre) and Glenn Healy. They both did me the good service of becoming Rangers, so I didn't have to grit my teeth when I said I liked them.

Pierre Turgeon did not do me any favours, but I don't hold that against him.
 
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I’m a huge Benoit Hogue fan myself.

Also, while he’s definitely more associated with the Flyers, I love Islanders Ron Hextall. Nothing better than watching him rage as the Rangers lit him up over and over again. He had like an .800 save percentage in the 94 playoff sweep. Love him!
 
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Maximus said:
Yeah no doubt...no one messed around with Gillies unless you had a death wish. He was back in the day by far the best fighter in the league. And to be so skilled as well was quite the combination.

One of the more indelible memories I have of the Ranger/Islanders rivalry when it really was a rivalry and true hatred between the fan bases existed...I'm sure you and a bunch of others will remember this, is when good ole Ed Hospadar when he was young lad, made the mistake of challenging Gillies to a tussle at the Garden.

That wasn't one of Hospadar's better decisions of his career as his face lost the battle vs Gillies fist....case in point:


Click to expand...

The head scratcher is that they became great friends afterwards. One of Clark's kids asked Eddie if he had ever lost any teeth.
 
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Always loved Josh Ho-Sang, even though he didn’t play much for them. Devon Toews and Scott Mayfield are two defensemen I also liked a lot, as well as Grabner, even before I knew he would come to the Rangers.

I don’t know if this counts, but I secretly love a lot of their current prospects. Very high-risk, high-reward group.
 
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2LeftSkates said:
The head scratcher is that they became great friends afterwards. One of Clark's kids asked Eddie if he had ever lost any teeth.
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Not totally surprised at this as it happens more than you think. Best example I can think of is boxers Mickey Ward and Anturo Gatti becoming BFF's despite beating the absolute snot out of each other for 30 rounds in their famous 3 fight "trilogy" over a span of one year back in 2002 or so.

But yeah Hospodar got his jaw broken in that fight. Wasn't a smart thing to do to mess with Gillies back than...his fists were lethal weapons!
 
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