Luc Robitaille

At 58 years old, Luc Robitaille has this physical status:

Junior hockey career

In the ninth round, 171st overall, of the 1984 NHL Entry Draft, Robitaille was drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the ninth round, 171st overall. Robitaille was supposed to be drafted late in the draft due to his poor skating skills, according to several hockey analysts. Robitaille has said he had only had contact with one NHL team during his junior career, the Kings. He happened to be attending the 1984 draft (in the stands) and then introduced himself to first-year Kings general manager Rogie Vachon.

Robitaille and former teammate Dave Taylor are the lowest NHL draft picks to have scored 1,000 points in a career. In the fourth round, the Kings drafted future Baseball Hall-of-Famer Tom Glavine, over 100 spots before Robitaille.

Robitaille played junior hockey for the Hull Olympiques of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). Robitaille played for 424 points in 77 games, including winning the CHL Player of the Year with 191 points in 1985–86. The Luc Robitaille Trophy was later named in honor of him by the QMJHL, which is given to the team that has the most goals each season.

National Hockey League career

Despite a 31–41–8 record, Robitaille's first NHL season was 1986–87, where he helped the Kings qualify for the 1987 Stanley Cup playoffs. In 79 games, he scored 45 goals and had 39 assists, edging Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Ron Hextall for the Calder Memorial Trophy for the NBA's top rookie, the only Los Angeles player to win the trophy. He also earned a spot on the second All-Star team.

Robitaille had more than 40 goals in each of his first eight seasons, with three 50 or more goal seasons in 1992–93, including a career-best 63. Robitaille set NHL records for the most goals and points (125) in a season by a left winger. During the 2007–08 season, Robitaille's record amongst left wingers was surpassed by Alexander Ovechkin, but Robitaille has the highest points in a season by a left winger. Robitaille took over captaincy and led the team in scoring for the team's poor team, helping his struggling team make the playoffs, with star Wayne Gretzky sidelined by injury for the majority of 1992–93. For the first time in franchise history, the Kings reached the Stanley Cup Finals in 1993. They did lose in five games to the Montreal Canadiens. In 24 playoff games, Robitaille had 9 goals and 13 assists.

Robitaille's scoring totals remained respectable but much lower than his previous seasons, during 1993–94, although Gretzky had returned from injury to win the NHL scoring title. The Kings did not make it to the 1994 playoffs.

Robitaille was traded by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1994 in exchange for Rick Tocchet and the Penguins' second-round pick in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft (used to select Pavel Rosa). During the lockout-shortened 1994–95 season, Robitaille set first-career lows in goals and assists.

Robitaille was traded to the New York Rangers (alongside Ulf Samuelsson) in exchange for Petr Nedvd and Sergei Zubov, which culminated in a season of one season. Robitaille had below-average figures in two seasons with the Rangers, and he had more penalty minutes (80) in 1995-96 for the first time in his career.

The Kings recalled Robitaille from the Rangers in exchange for Kevin Stevens on August 28, 1997, as new general manager (GM) Dave Taylor's first move.

Robitaille struggled in his first season back in Los Angeles, scoring only 16 goals in an injury-shortened 1997–98 season. Robitaille, on the other hand, returned to his All-Star form, scoring no fewer than 36 goals and posting the best statistics of his career after his first season with the Kings three seasons. In a 4–2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on January 7, 1999, he scored his 500th career goal in his 500th appearance at the Great Western Forum.

Robitaille also scored 37 goals and 88 points during the 2000-2001 season. Robitaille led the seventh-seeded Kings to a first-round upset of the Detroit Red Wings and his team defeated eventual Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche to seven games in the conference semifinals. Robitaille was named in his second team all-star honor since 1993. Robitaille's one-year contract with a significant pay cut was turned down by Kings GM Dave Taylor.

Robitaille began his two-year, $9 million deal with the Red Wings in 2001-02, receiving less compensation than other teams in the league because the Red Wings offered him less compensation than many others because the Red Wings gave him his best chance of winning the Stanley Cup, especially after the recent signing of goaltender Dominik Haek.

Robitaille scored 30 goals and 50 points in his first season with the Red Wings, helping them win the President's Trophy, which is given to the team with the most outstanding regular season record. Robitaille had less ice time in playoffs, despite scoring four playoff goals. Robitaille was named in the Western Conference Finals in seven games, defeating Avalanche for the second time in his career. Robitaille's quest for a mysterious Stanley Cup championship came to an end with the Red Wings' 3–1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 5. All of the Red Wings players who had never previously won the Cup will enjoy the game, with Robitaille becoming the third Red Wing to skate in Joe Louis Arena after Yzerman and Haek.

Robitaille had his lowest goal total in his career in 2002–03, partly due to inadequate ice time, and the Red Wings were defeated in the first round of the playoffs by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in a four-game sweep.

Robitaille was a free agent for Kings during the 2003–04 season. Despite his scoring totals (22 goals and 29 assists) were below his previous career as a King, the Kings continued in playoff contention until a dramatic 11-game losing streak ended the season. Robitaille scored the 650th goal of his professional career on March 9, 2004 at Staples Center, defeating the Phoenix Coyotes 3–2. He played his 1,000th game as a King a few days earlier, in a 3–1 loss to the San Jose Sharks at HP Pavilion.

Robitaille scored a hat-trick during a game against the Atlanta Thrashers on January 19, 2006, tying and beating Marcel Dionne's then-franchise record of 550 goals. His record-breaking goal was met with several minutes of standing ovations and a video-congratulation reel on the scoreboard. Robitaille's decision to leave the Kings at the end of the 2005–06 NHL season was revealed on April 10, the Kings announced on April 10 that he would retire at the end of the 2005–06 season. Robitaille officially announced this the next day in a press conference held at the Toyota Sports Center in El Segundo, California. Robitaille's last goal and point was scored in typical Luc Robitaille fashion: one-timing a pass from Jeremy Roenick while getting to the right wing face-off circle past goaltender Curtis Joseph during a power play against the Phoenix Coyotes on March 14, 2006.

On April 15, 2006, Robitaille appeared in his final NHL home game against the Calgary Flames. He wore the captain's "C" shirt, which formerly belonged to defenceman Mattias Norström. Despite being suspended without a point in the game, he completed 18:37 of ice time and had four shots on target. Despite being given an open five holes, he was still the second shooter in the shootout, but his shot toward the upper-right corner of the net was blocked by goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff's glove. The Kings ultimately won the game 2–1 off a shootout goal by Pavol Demitra and three shootout saves by Kings goaltender Jason LaBarbera. After the game, Robitaille received a standing ovation by the sell-out crowd of 18,118 fans. He delivered a brief address and completed one lap of the rink at Staples Center after chanting of his name died down.

Robitaille played for at the San Jose Sharks on April 17, 2006. The Kings defeated the Vikings 4–0. "Luuuuc, Luuuc!" was greeted with applause and chants of "Luuuuc, Luuuuc!" The 17,496 fans in attendance were out for the evening, as well as many of the Sharks' opponents. The Kings players came out and gathered around him first after the game ended rather than the traditional congratulation of the goaltender. Before heading off into their locker room, the Sharks players came onto the ice to shake hands with Robitaille.

Executive career

On May 25, 2007, Robitaille was named the Kings' president of company relations. In addition, he serves as the team's alternate governor. Robitaille was named president of the Kings on April 10, 2017.

Since joining the Kings as a coach, the team has won two Stanley Cups, 2011–12 and 2013–14.

Source

Awards

• Calder Memorial Trophy – 1987
• Named to the NHL All-Rookie Team – 1987
• Played in eight NHL All-Star Games – 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1999, 2001
• Lifetime Achievement Award from the Aquatic Foundation of Metropolitan Los Angeles – June 8, 2006
• 2007 Great Ones Award from the Jim Murray Memorial Foundation
• Stanley Cup champion – 2002
• Jersey #20 retired by Los Angeles Kings
• Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, 2009
• Won 2012 and 2014 Stanley Cup championships as president of business operations with the Los Angeles Kings