This Day in Hockey History – July 24, 2003 – Third Time’s Lucky’s Charm

Usually, a player who has stability with a team plays for them continuously. Luc Robitaille played for the Los Angeles Kings through 14 of his 19 NHL seasons, but it took three stints with them – at the beginning, middle, and end. He signed with them for the third time on July 24, 2003. Robitaille said at the time, “The Kings is where it all started for me, and the fans of Los Angeles have always treated me and my family well. I look forward to playing for them once again.”

The Kings first obtained Robitaille as a ninth-round pick (171st overall) at the 1984 NHL Draft. Robitaille often acknowledged, “I owe my career to Alex Smart. He was the only scout that ever talked to me. I was on one (team’s scouting) list.” Despite comments about his poor skating, once he began skating for the Kings in 1986, Coach Pat Quinn immediately noticed, “The puck seemed to follow him around and he seemed to know what to do with it. Alex Smart was right. Luc Robitaille was someone special.” It became obvious to the rest of the NHL as Robitaille took home the Calder Trophy as the top rookie. He was definitely learning from teammate Marcel Dionne, who had housed the rookie for the entire season to keep him from living in a bad neighborhood.

Robitaille remained with the Kings for eight seasons, including the franchise’s first Stanley Cup run in 1992-93. Controversially, Los Angeles traded him to the Pittsburgh Penguins on July 29, 1994. At his sendoff, Robitaille remarked, “I just want to say that I feel bad about leaving L.A. I had great years here. I grew up here. I learned to speak English here. I learned a lot here and I’ve got some great memories.” Pittsburgh only kept him a year before sending him to the New York Rangers on August 31, 1995.

On August 28, 1997, Robitaille was traded back to Los Angeles. He never dropped below 36 goals in each of the four seasons he spent there. Then, on July 5, 2001, the free agent signed a two-year contract with the Detroit Red Wings. In the first season, he reached the highest heights by helping the team win the Stanley Cup. Even though he made about $4 million the second season, struggled with not receiving much ice time and put up his lowest number of points. Robitaille said afterwards, “Last year was certainly a hard year for me. I know this is a big year for me coming back.” Still, he was already the highest-scoring left wing with his 631 goals.

By May 2003, Robitaille made known that he would take a pay cut and play fewer (though more significant) minutes in order to return to Los Angeles. The following month, he met with GM Dave Taylor, President Tim Leiweke, and Coach Andy Murray (who had previously criticized his scoring droughts). Robitaille told the press, “We had a real good talk. I came out of there real positive. I want to go to a situation where I can play. I’m looking forward to helping a team a lot more than I did in Detroit because I know I can still contribute.”

After working out issues with personal and team incentives, late in July Robitaille signed a one-year contract for $1.1 million. He would be returning to his No. 20 Kings sweater. Murray seemed optimistic, “The best part of his game is what he does offensively. Luc’s a guy that when given the opportunity, he scores. He has an ability to finish.” He continued, “You can never have enough good players. Last year with all of our injuries we didn’t have enough players. Luc’s a real positive.” Taylor agreed, “We look for Luc to regain that scoring touch. He’s always had great success in Los Angeles. He has a lot of high-scoring forwards we can pair him with.” As for Robitaille, he had high hopes. “The way this team is set right now, I feel we could beat any team in the league. There’s so many Kings’ fans that have been around 30 years or so and they deserve to see a championship or a great team on ice. I think they’re going to get that this year.”

As it turned out, thanks to Robitaille leading the team in goals (22) and points (51), the Kings seemed like they would make playoffs. However, they ended the season in an 11-game slump. The season following the lockout would be his last and worst in points (24). However, that January, he did (with a hat trick) tie and surpass Dionne’s franchise record of 550 goals. In April 2006, Robitaille officially announced his retirement. He held the Kings’ record for goals (577) and was second to Dionne in points (1154). In the NHL, Robitaille is the all-time scoring leader for left wings with 668 goals and 1,394 points. He had scored nearly all of them with the Kings.

For his accomplishments, the Kings retired No. 20 in 2007, the same year they made Robitaille their president of business operations. As such, he oversaw the team as they won the Stanley Cup Final in 2012 and 2014. Robitaille was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009. Six years later, the Kings placed a bronze statue of him outside the Staples Center, and in 2017, they promoted Robitaille to president.

Additional Sources:

• Mike Bresnahan, “Robitaille Reunites with Kings,”Los Angeles Times, 25 July 2003, pp. D1 and D12.
• Mike Bresnahan, “Robitaille: ‘We Could Beat Any Team in the League,’” Los Angeles Times, 26 July 2003, p. D8.
• Mike Bresnahan, “Following Career Low, He Has Sights Set High,” Los Angeles Times, 22 Aug. 2003, p. D2.
• Helene Elliott, “On the NHL,” Los Angeles Times, 7 May 2003, p. D7.
• Jerry Crowe, “Kings, Robitaille Talking,”Los Angeles Times, 12 June 2003, p. D9.
• https://www.nhl.com/news/luc-robitaille-100-greatest-nhl-hockey-players/c-285394498?tid=283865022
• https://www.hockey-reference.com/players/r/robitlu01.html