We’ve previously featured two of three members of G.A.G. (goal a game) Line from the New York Rangers, Vic Hadfield and Jean Ratelle. Rod Gilbert was the third member of the famous line and arguably the best.
The Rod Gilbert rookie card appears as number 62 in the 1961-62 Topps set. Along with the rookie card of Jean Ratelle, Gilbert’s card is the most valuable RC in the set at $150. The 1961-62 Topps issue consists of 66 cards and is valued at $1500 for a complete collection. The only player cards more valuable than the Rangers stars belong to Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita of the Chicago Black Hawks.
Gilbert starred in the Ontario Hockey Association as a junior for four years from 1957-58 to 1960-61. He played for the Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters, a team that changed its name to the Royals for his final season. In the final three of his four years, he was among the top ten in points for the league. He finished second in 1959-60 and captured the Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy in 1960-61 with 103 points on 54 goals and 49 assists over 47 games.
Rod Gilbert Collection
Rod appeared in one game with the Rangers during his final year of junior. The following season, while playing semi-pro with the Kitchener-Waterloo Beavers of the EPHL, he once again played in one NHL regular season game. He played an additional four games in the Stanley Cup playoffs for New York, totalling five points.
From 1962-63 to 1977-78, Gilbert was a regular with the New York Rangers. He played 1,065 regular season games in the NHL, all with New York. Five times during his career, he placed among the top ten in the race for the Art Ross Trophy. He placed as high as fifth twice with 77 points in 1967-68 and 97 points in 1971-72. The 97 points was his highest single season point total, equalled in 1974-75.
Rod was named a First Team All-Star once and a Second Team All-Star once. He played in eight All-Star games over his career. Gilbert played in the 1972 Summit Series for Canada, against the Soviet Union. Unfortunately, Rod’s name was never engraved on the Stanley Cup. The Rangers came close in 1971-72, falling in the finals to the Boston Bruins.
After retiring following the 1977-78 season, Rod Gilbert became the first New York Ranger to have his number (7) retired by the club. To date, there have been a total of seven New York Rangers retired numbers. Gilbert remains the team career leader for goals (406) and points (1,021). Rod was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1982, along with Yvan Cournoyer of the Montreal Canadiens and Norm Ullman of the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs.
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1957-58 | Guelph Biltmores | OHA | 32 | 14 | 16 | 30 | 0 |
| 1958-59 | Guelph Biltmores | OHA | 54 | 27 | 34 | 61 | 40 |
| 1959-60 | Guelph Biltmores | OHA | 47 | 39 | 52 | 91 | 0 |
| 1959-60 | Trois Rivieres Lions | EPHL | 3 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 0 |
| 1960-61 | Guelph Royals | OHA | 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 |
| 1961-62 | Kitchener-Waterloo Beavers | EPHL | 21 | 12 | 11 | 23 | 22 |
| 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 |
| 1967-68 | New York Rangers | NHL | 73 | 29 | 48 | 77 | 12 |
| 1968-69 | New York Rangers | NHL | 66 | 28 | 49 | 77 | 22 |
| 1969-70 | New York Rangers | NHL | 72 | 16 | 37 | 53 | 22 |
| 1970-71 | New York Rangers | NHL | 78 | 30 | 31 | 61 | 65 |
| 1971-72 | New York Rangers | NHL | 73 | 43 | 54 | 97 | 64 |
| 1972-73 | New York Rangers | NHL | 76 | 25 | 59 | 84 | 25 |
| 1973-74 | New York Rangers | NHL | 75 | 36 | 41 | 77 | 20 |
| 1974-75 | New York Rangers | NHL | 76 | 36 | 61 | 97 | 22 |
| 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 |