Robitaille selected to Hall of Fame
Luc Robitaille, the Kings' all-time leader in goals scored and the highest-scoring left winger in NHL history, was selected to the Hockey Hall of Fame on Tuesday afternoon.
Robitaille, who retired after the 2005-06 season, made the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, along with fellow players Brett Hull, Brian Leetch and Steve Yzerman.
Now the Kings' president of business operations, Robitaille, 43, had a 19-year NHL career, 14 of which were spent with the Kings, and totaled 668 goals and 726 assists in 1,431 NHL games. Robitaille helped the Kings reach the 1992-93 Stanley Cup Finals and won a championship with the Detroit Red Wings in 2001-02.
A ninth-round draft pick of the Kings in 1984, Robitaille faced early criticism for his questionable skating skills but won Calder Trophy (rookie of the year) honors in 1987 and was selected to the eight All-Star Games.
The induction ceremony will be held Nov. 9 in Toronto.
(I should be getting some comments from Luc this afternoon...)
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Rich Hammond has covered the Kings, on a full-time or part-time basis, since the 2000-01 season. He was the beat writer for the entire John Torchetti era and has witnessed Bob Miller singing country music in a Nashville honky-tonk bar. A native of Los Angeles, Rich has worked at the Daily News since 1999 and also serves as the paper's deputy sports editor. E-mail Rich at rich.hammond@dailynews.com.
Jill Painter joined the Daily News in 2000 and during the last eight years she's covered the Dodgers, Cal State Northridge, UCLA, Kings, golf and everything in between. Even though she's from Colorado, she still freezes in the Staples Center press box but always manages to thaw her fingers in time to make deadline. E-mail Jill at jill.painter@dailynews.com.
Such a well deserved honor for a truly class act!
Congrats LUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUC!!!!!!
LUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCC!!!!
no brainer...
congrats, luc...!!!
your unlikely story as a 9th round, 171st overall draft pick, rising to the top of the food chain is now complete...
thanks for making us all proud...:)
Congrats Luc, its gonna be great to see a true King go into the hall!
Congrats to Luuucc!
And on his first attempt, too. Very nice indeed.
I wonder if he'd be interested in a comeback, we could sure use his talent at LW.
Congratulations to Luc!
This has to be one of the best HOF induction classes ever in any sport. And with Lou Lamoriello going in as a builder too. With 3 of the 4 players winning a Cup with the Wings I would've thought they would induct Ken Holland instead, but now everyone can chant "Luuuuc" and "Looou" at the HOF ceremony. Great day for Kings fans, the entire organization and especially the Robitaille family. Go Luc!!!
Congratulations Luc!
I grew up watching you skate, wondering how you were able to score so many goals. I remember the goal you scored from your stomach in the old purple & gold uniforms. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PAeHyZnnkk
Lucky shot! ;-)
Congrats
Where's Anthony's comments on how bad Lombardi sucks?
NICE! Congrats Luc!
Luc for GM???
It can't be said enough. Ever.
LUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUC!!!
Congrats Luc you were a true King.
We're all proud of you.
Congrats Luc.... Couldn't happen to a better person.
Thanks for all the memories...
Congratulations Luc! You most certainly deserve it! Thanks for the many many memories...and the jersey! I'll see you around TSC!
from someone who watched Luc play from beginning to end and also had the great fortune to work with him, this could not have happened to a nicer, more deserving person. Always available for the fans, always the consummate professional, always playing hard (even if it took longer for him to get up the ice because he was never a great skater!), Luc exemplifies what it means to be a NHL HOFer. Congrats Luc.
Right on Luc!!!!!!!
I was the Kings Assistant Equipment Manager during Luc's first two seasons, you couldn't meet a nicer, more gentlemanly person then Luc. Nice things happen to nice people.
Correction - 1993 Stanley Cup Finals.
Congratulations Luc! A well deserved honor. It would have been perfect to have won a cup with LA but what can you do.....
Actually he can blame Marty McSorley for that one.
Congrats LUC!!!
Simply stated--the selection was richly deserved and well earned. Congratulations, Luc.
Congratz Luc!
I was STUNNED this morning to hear a show on NHL Radio on XM this morning actually insinuating that Luc wasn't a 1st ballot hall of famer. The question was which 4 players should be elected. The host answered "Hull of course. Yzerman absolutely. Leetch without a doubt. Luc Robitaille? Maybe." To me Leetch is the questionable name, not Luc. Glad to hear the election committee isn't as uninformed as that radio host.
And btw, the reason that radio host gave for Luc possibly being overlooked was that he played most of his career on the west coast and "most of the election committee didn't get to see most of his games". What is this 1950?
A well deserved honor for the King of Kings. Congratulations LUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC!!!
congrats to luc. not often a 9th rd pick makes the hall of fame. of course, our 4th rd pick that same year (1984) might make the HOF too...just not in hockey.
WTG Lucky Luc!!!! Always and forever my favorite athlete and LA King player. Thanks for all the great memories Luc!!!! No doubt, in my mind at least, that Luc was a first ballot HOFer! ok, ok...LUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUC!!!!!!!!
Is number #20 a retired number? If not, I think it should be...
Way to go Luc!
Off topic. I just finished listening to Dean Lomabardi on Hockey Night in Canada Radio on SiriusXM. Not much new info, he just mentioned how he is trying to gear the Kings for the long haul rather than short spikes of success. I got the impression that Dean was leaning to keeping the 5th pick, but who knows if he was bluffing.
Congratulations Luc, easily one of the players most worthy of this honor ever in my opinion.
MacSwede, #20 is retired by the Kings yes. And I never did get around to welcoming you around here, so I guess now is as good a time as ever even though I have been watching you post quite a lot the last while :) Good to see more Swedes around.
Thank you Luc for everything!
Thank you for being a great part of the franchise to this day!!
Thanks Starlight,
So you are a swede too? Are you on summer break, or else I think we have to go to bed soon if we want to have strenght left for work tomorrow ;)
Cant say I recognize your name, but maybe you post more now :)
Very awesome. Congratulations, Luc. Thank you for everything you've done for this team ...The four that were inducted were the ones that should've gone on this ballot.
Oh, and by the way Starlight.
I am writing for Kings at a swedish fansite that you probably seen before:
http://www.svenskafans.com/nhl/losangeles/
I am Marcus Andersson....so now I revealed my identity...ooooops!!
Congrats Luc!
Now all we have to do is get him inducted into the Mullet Hall of Fame - the slideshow on the team webpage shows a shot from the '92 All-Star game that'd even give Barry Melrose's mullet a run for its money...
Congrats LUUUUUUUUUUUC. Despite what some "experts" might have thought, this was a no brainer.
Congratulations, Luc! You definitely deserve this honor.
Here's a great question. Maybe Rich can post it as a poll and send the results to Luc.
Who should Luc get to give his induction speech? If I'm Luc it's gotta be Bob Miller. Kinda like Derek Jeter and Bob Shepard.
Well Deserved. Couldn't happen soon enough. Not just a HOF player, but an HOF PERSON as well. Congratz Luc! I'll be looking for your plaque next time I'm in Toronto. Awesome!
KING LUC!!!!!!!! Luc is and always will be the kings to me! Wayne was the great one... But luc is Mr. King!
The HOF just got luckier.
Does this mean that Rogie got snubbed again?
Paul from Oxnard
I disagree that Leetch was a maybe. He was without question one of the best all around defensemen of his era...I thought he was as good..if not better than Larry Murphy.
They were all 1st ballot HOF'ers. I couldn't argue with any.
You're right how ridiculous it is that because he played out west that should diminish his chances of making the hall.
That's the problem with this league..and Bettman's leadership. It's a NY/East coast based league and anything west of Detroit doesn't count.
Too bad because the writers are missing a really good product being put on the ice in the western conference.