Luc Robitaille All-Time Games Played Record

Lore & Background

Robitaille was drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the ninth round, 171st overall, of the 1984 NHL entry draft. Many hockey experts expected Robitaille to be drafted late in the draft due to his poor skating ability. Robitaille himself has stated 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 later introduced himself to first-year Kings general manager Rogie Vachon.

Robitaille and former teammate Dave Taylor are the lowest NHL draft picks to have recorded 1,000 career points. During the 1984 NHL Entry Draft, the Kings drafted future Baseball Hall-of-Famer Tom Glavine in the fourth round, over 100 spots before Robitaille. Robitaille played junior hockey for the Hull Olympiques of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). In three seasons with the Olympiques from 1983 to 1986, Robitaille amassed 155 goals and 269 assists for 424 points in only 197 games, including winning the CHL Player of the Year with 191 points in 1985–86.

In his honour, the QMJHL later created the Luc Robitaille Trophy, awarded to the team which scores the most goals each season.

Reader's Guide

Robitaille's first NHL season was in 1986–87, where he helped the Kings qualify for the 1987 Stanley Cup playoffs despite a 31–41–8 record. He scored 45 goals and had 39 assists in 79 games, edging out Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Ron Hextall for the Calder Memorial Trophy for the NHL's top rookie, the only Los Angeles player to ever win the award. He also earned a spot on the second All-Star team. Robitaille scored more than 40 goals in each of his first eight seasons, including three 50 or more goal seasons, with a career-high 63 in 1992–93.

That year, Robitaille set NHL records for most goals and points (125) in a season by a left winger. Robitaille's 63-goal record amongst left wingers was eclipsed by Alexander Ovechkin during the 2007–08 season, although Robitaille still holds the record for most points in a season by a left winger. With captain and superstar Wayne Gretzky sidelined by injury for much of 1992–93, Robitaille assumed the captaincy and led the team in scoring, playing a key role in helping his struggling team to make the playoffs.

In 1993, the Kings reached the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in franchise history. However, they lost to the Montreal Canadiens in five games. Robitaille had 9 goals and 13 assists in 24 playoff games. During the 1993–94 season, Robitaille's scoring totals remained respectable but considerably lower than his previous seasons, while Gretzky had returned from injury to win the NHL scoring title.

The Kings failed to make the 1994 playoffs. On July 29, 1994, Robitaille was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Rick Tocchet and the Penguins' second-round pick in the 1995 NHL entry draft (used to select Pavel Rosa). With Pittsburgh, Robitaille set then-career lows in goals and assists during the lockout-shortened 1994–95 season. After one season, Robitaille was traded to the New York Rangers (alongside Ulf Samuelsson) in exchange for Petr Nedvěd and Sergei Zubov.

Robitaille had below-average numbers in two seasons with the Rangers, and for the first time in his career, had more penalty minutes (80) than points (69) in 1995–96. On August 28, 1997, in new general manager Dave Taylor's first move, the Kings re-acquired Robitaille from the Rangers in exchange for Kevin Stevens. Robitaille struggled in his first season back in Los Angeles, scoring only 16 goals in an injury-shortened 1997–98 season.