It is especially cruel, all of it, but Jean Potvin and Clark Gillies — two men who brought levity and lightheartedness to the Dynasty Isles — passing away within a two-month span is a special sort of terrible to befall a group of men intertwined for four decades.
“It’s just really ironic. Clark Gillies and Jean Potvin put a room on fire,” Chico Resch told The Post in a phone call Wednesday morning. “They were probably the two most outgoing, friendly, welcoming players on our team.”
Jean Potvin, who died at 72 on Tuesday after a long battle with illness, played parts of eight seasons with the Islanders, including their first two Stanley Cup title seasons in 1980 and 1981. Following that, he stayed in the team’s radio booth — where he resided during both playoff runs, providing the original “Yes! Yes! Yes!” call after Bobby Nystrom’s overtime winner against the Flyers in the 1980 Cup — for eight years.
The older Potvin brother, Jean was originally brought in by general manager Bill Torrey in a 1973 trade from the Flyers. Two months later, the Islanders drafted Denis Potvin first overall in the amateur draft. Jean’s presence helped ensure Denis would come to Long Island instead of joining the upstart World Hockey Association and his personality stood in contrast to that of his more famous brother.
Jean was a smart dresser, often wearing a pocket square in his jacket and sticking up a pinky when he had a drink. He was a talented player, but didn’t fit with the Broad Street Bullies — his game was physical, but not mean. The Islanders traded him to Cleveland in 1977-78, but brought him back ahead of that first Cup season, even though they already had a top-six defense that was more or less set in stone.
“When Torrey brought him back, Jeanny told me that he said, ‘I’m bringing you back for a specific role, to be light and lively in the locker room and fill in when we need you,’ ” Resch said. “I said, ‘Jeanny, you might be the highest-paid comedian in New York.’ ”
To that end, Jean would poke at coach Al Arbour, reminding him from the end of the bench that he was there and ready to go.
Denis was not that person. But having his brother around helped him in every way.
“Off the ice, I’m sure Denny noticed, too, how engaging and humorous and connected he was to his teammates, and Jeanny probably did that somewhat better than Denny,” Resch said. “I think they just saw each other’s strengths and just kind of fed off each other. Those two brothers just loved each other and I knew Mr. Potvin, too, he was a terrific father for the both of them.”
At his Hall of Fame induction ceremony, Denis said of his brother: “He led me to opportunity through every door.”
While Denis was saddled with the weight of expectation, spending his career in the public eye, Jean could afford to be more laid back.
“Potsy was kind, generous, funny — funny beyond belief,” said Joe McCann, a longtime trainer with the Islanders and friend of Jean’s. “He always brought levity whenever he was in a room.”
Jean would keep Joe on the phone for an hour at a time, spinning yarns about Arbour and the dynasty, his family and children and the other alumni.
“All these years later, you don’t look back and say, ‘Oh, I used to play with that guy 20 years ago’ and you haven’t spoken to him,” McCann said. “Our alumni is very close-knit and very unique. And again, that goes back to the people who brought the players here and the staffs here to be as one and be proud to be an Islander.”
The close ties, which endure even now, have made everything that much harder recently. At the beginning of the season, Mike Bossy was diagnosed with lung cancer. More recently, Gillies and Jean Potvin have passed away.
It’s affected the group, and made people reflect.
“I guess what happened 42 years ago was a make-believe dream,” Resch said. “And what’s happening now is the harsh reality of life. That we are mortal and it’s something we all have to face.”