Gary Roberts

Lore & Background

Roberts was a member of Memorial Cup and Minto Cup winning teams as Canadian junior hockey and box lacrosse champions, respectively. He was a first round selection of the Calgary Flames, 12th overall, at the 1984 NHL entry draft and played ten seasons in Calgary. Roberts was a member of the Flames' 1989 Stanley Cup championship team and made two of his three NHL All-Star Game appearances as a representative of the team. A serious neck injury forced him to miss the majority of two seasons, and while his return earned him the 1996 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for perseverance and dedication to the game, he elected to retire from the NHL on June 17, 1996, at the age of 30. After sitting out a full season, Roberts successfully returned to the NHL in 1997 as a member of the Carolina Hurricanes, with whom he played three seasons. Stints in Toronto, Florida and Pittsburgh followed, and Roberts ended his career in 2009 as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning. He finished with 1,224 games played, 438 goals, and 910 points.

Reader's Guide

Roberts was born on May 23, 1966, in Toronto, Ontario, but grew up in Whitby. His best friend growing up was future NHL teammate Joe Nieuwendyk; the pair played minor hockey together in the winter, and box lacrosse in the summer. Roberts played Junior A lacrosse with the Whitby Warriors in the mid-1980s, with whom he won a Minto Cup, the Canadian junior championship. In junior hockey, Roberts was drafted into the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). He joined the Ottawa 67's in 1982–83 and scored 20 points in 53 games. Roberts improved to 57 points in his second season and added 17 points in 13 playoff games. The 67's reached the OHL final and defeated the Kitchener Rangers to win the J. Ross Robertson Cup. The victory advanced the 67's to the 1984 Memorial Cup tournament where Ottawa reached the final. They again faced Kitchener, who were the tournament hosts, and won the national championship with a 7–2 victory. Following the season, the Calgary Flames selected Roberts with their first round selection, 12th overall, at the 1984 NHL entry draft. Returned by the Flames to Ottawa for his third junior season in 1984–85, Roberts served as the team's captain. He recorded 106 points, including 44 goals, and was named to the OHL's second All-Star Team. Entering a rebuilding phase, the 67's were quickly eliminated from the playoffs, after which the Flames assigned Roberts to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Moncton Golden Flames. In his first professional stint, Roberts scored four goals and added two assists in seven games. Roberts returned to Ottawa for a final junior season in 1985–86, a season in which he played with the Canadian junior team at the 1986 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. Roberts finished second on the team with six goals for the silver medal-winning Canadians. In the OHL, he split the season between the last place 67's and, following a trade, the Guelph Platers. Roberts finished with 84 points combined between the two teams, and helped the Platers record a record in the playoffs and lead Guelph past the Belleville Bulls to win the OHL championship. He scored four goals in four games at the 1986 Memorial Cup, and the Platers defeated the Hull Olympiques, 6–2 in the final. Roberts ended his junior career as a two-time Memorial Cup champion. In his first professional season, 1986–87, Roberts shuttled between Calgary and Moncton.

Did You Know?

• Roberts won the Memorial Cup twice: in 1984 with the Ottawa 67's and in 1986 with the Guelph Platers.
• He scored 53 goals in 1991–92, the second-highest single-season total in Flames history.
• Roberts was one of the first two players in NHL history to score 50 goals and record 200 penalty minutes in the same season.
• Roberts sat out the entire 1996–97 season before returning to the NHL in 1997 with the Carolina Hurricanes.