HabsCast Hockey Blog

Luc Robitaille’s career can be described as storied, to say the least. Robitaille was drafted in the 9th round and 171st overall in the 1984 NHL entry draft and played his first season in 86’ – 87’, winning the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year. His milestones include scoring over 600 goals and 1300 points. He was also nominated to the first NHL All-Star team 5 times and played in it 8 times. Let us not forget that Robitaille also won the Stanley Cup with the Detroit Red Wings in the 01’ – 02’ NHL season. He retired after the 2006 season and is the all-time highest scoring left winger in NHL history.

As a Habs fan, my greatest memory of Luc Robitaille was when the Kings faced off against the Montreal Canadiens in the 1993 Stanley Cup Finals. I remember Game 1, at the Montreal Forum, where the Montreal native scored 2 goals in the 4 – 1 win. He would finish the series with 3 goals and 2 assists in 5 games, and of course, the Canadiens went on to win the Stanley Cup that year for the 24th time.

Luc Robitaille’s career is over but he continues to be active in the hockey world. On July 6, 2006, Robitaille was named president of the Omaha Lancers of the USHL. As his venture in hockey continues, the question still lingers what’s next? Will he follow the likes of Wayne Gretzky and Patrick Roy and become a coach? Will he become a GM? Will he be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Luc Robitaille doesn’t seem like the type of guy who would want to become a coach, though he does have leadership qualities, which he’s displayed in his 20 year career. I could see him being more of a front office type of guy like Steve Yzerman. He already is president of a USHL team, however, if the opportunity did come to be the general manager of an NHL team (Los Angeles Kings), there’s a good chance he might take it. Organizations like keeping former players active, especially if they meant a lot to the city and its fans. Moreover, there is no doubt in my mind that Luc Robitaille will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. His stats are well beyond deserving of a nomination and what’s more important is his contribution to the game of hockey. He left his mark as one of the greatest scorers the game has ever seen and it will be only a matter of time until his membership into the Hockey Hall of Fame will be granted. The only question that remains is when.

Digg - StumbleUpon - Reddit - Del.icio.us - Technorati - Email - Etc...

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!