Gilbert is the most prolific scorer in the history of the New York Rangers. Spending his entire 18-season NHL career with New York, Gilbert ranks first in its history in goals (406) and points (1,021) in 1,065 games and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1982.

The Montreal native's skills got him noticed at an early age. At 14, he was playing with grown men in the competition for the Allan Cup, Canada's senior amateur championship. Yvon Prudhomme, the scout who had invited him to play senior hockey, was hired by the Rangers to start a Junior B team, and he signed Gilbert, who also proved to be an adept talent scout -- he urged Prudhomme to sign boyhood friend and linemate Jean Ratelle, who became his longtime center with the Rangers.

Gilbert had been promised a chance to make Guelph of the Junior A Ontario Hockey Association, and the 16-year-old did just that. But his path to the NHL hit a pothole in 1960 when he stepped on a piece of trash during a game and fell into the boards, breaking a vertebra. He recovered from surgery and made his NHL debut with the Rangers on Nov. 27, 1960.

But Gilbert's first big NHL game came during the 1962 Stanley Cup Playoffs. With Ken Schinkel injured, the 20-year-old was called up and scored two goals in Game 4 of the semifinals against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

By 1962-63, Gilbert was a full-time NHL player, and after scoring 11 goals in 70 games as a rookie, he scored 24 goals in 1963-64 and 25 in 1964-65.

However, the back injury Gilbert had sustained as a junior player nearly derailed his career in 1965-66, when he had to have a second spinal fusion operation. But Gilbert bounced back with 28 goals in 1966-67, then was named to the NHL Second All-Star Team in 1967-68, when he finished with 77 points (29 goals, 48 assists), including a four-goal game in front of family and friends at the Montreal Forum on Feb. 24, 1968.

Gilbert became a 30-goal scorer for the first time in 1970-71, then had an NHL career-high 43 goals and 97 points in 1971-72 playing right wing on the "GAG (goal-a-game) Line" with Ratelle at center and Vic Hadfield at left wing. That season he was voted an NHL First-Team All-Star and helped New York advance to the Stanley Cup Final, where it lost to the Boston Bruins in six games. Gilbert also was selected to play for Canada at the 1972 Summit Series against the Soviet Union.

After dipping to 25 goals in 1972-73, Gilbert scored 36 goals in each of the following three seasons, including in 1974-75, when he tied his NHL career high with 97 points. In 1976, Gilbert won the Masterton Trophy for perseverance and dedication to hockey.

He finished with 75 points (27 goals, 48 assists) in 1976-77, his final full NHL season, but the Rangers missed the playoffs, and after a slow start in 1977-78, he was released by New York.

The Rangers retired his No. 7 on Oct. 14, 1979. It was the first number raised to the rafters at Madison Square Garden. He remained with the Rangers for more than four decades as a community representative.