#44 - Luc Robitaille

Luc Robitaille (Murillo Pyramid Rank = #44)

Adjusted Stats

1986-1987   LA          81 GP   39 goals   33 assists   72 points     0.89 PPG
1987-1988   LA          82 GP   45 goals   49 assists   94 points     1.15 PPG
1988-1989   LA          80 GP   39 goals   44 assists   83 points     1.03 PPG
1989-1990   LA          82 GP   44 goals   42 assists   86 points     1.05 PPG
1990-1991   LA          78 GP   41 goals   42 assists   83 points     1.07 PPG
1991-1992   LA          82 GP   40 goals   57 assists   97 points     1.18 PPG
1992-1993   LA          82 GP   52 goals   51 assists   104 points   1.26 PPG
1993-1994   LA          81 GP   41 goals   39 assists   80 points     0.98 PPG
1994-1995   Pit           79 GP   40 goals   33 assists   74 points     0.94 PPG
1995-1996   NYR       77 GP   22 goals   45 assists   67 points     0.88 PPG
1996-1997   NYR       69 GP   25 goals   25 assists   51 points     0.73 PPG
1997-1998   LA          57 GP   19 goals   28 assists   47 points     0.82 PPG
1998-1999   LA          82 GP   46 goals   41 assists   86 points     1.05 PPG
1999-2000   LA          71 GP   40 goals   43 assists   83 points     1.17 PPG
2000-2001   LA          82 GP   41 goals   57 assists   98 points     1.20 PPG
2001-2002   Det*        81 GP   35 goals   23 assists   59 points     0.72 PPG
2002-2003   Det          81 GP   13 goals   23 assists   36 points     0.44 PPG
2003-2004   LA          80 GP    26 goals   35 assists   61 points    0.76 PPG
2005-2006   LA          65 GP    15 goals   9 assists     24 points    0.38 PPG

Adjusted Playoff Stats

1986-1987   LA          5 GP       1 goal      4 assists     4 points      0.89 PPG
1987-1988   LA          5 GP       2 goals     4 assists     5 points     1.05 PPG
1988-1989   LA          11 GP     2 goals     5 assists     7 points     0.62 PPG
1989-1990   LA          10 GP     4 goals     4 assists     8 points     0.85 PPG
1990-1991   LA          12 GP     10 goals   3 assists     14 points   1.14 PPG
1991-1992   LA          6 GP       3 goals     3 assists     6 points     1.02 PPG
1992-1993   LA          24 GP     7 goals     11 assists   18 points   0.75 PPG
1994-1995   Pit           12 GP     6 goals     4 assists     10 points   0.81 PPG
1995-1996   NYR       11 GP     1 goal      5 assists     6 points     0.52 PPG
1996-1997   NYR       15 GP     4 goals     7 assists    12 points   0.77 PPG
1997-1998   LA          4 GP       1 goal      2 assists     3 points     0.83 PPG
1999-2000   LA          4 GP       2 goals     2 assists    5 points     1.20 PPG
2000-2001   LA          13 GP     5 goals     4 assists    8 points     0.63 PPG
2001-2002   Det*        23 GP    5 goals     6 assists    11 points   0.46 PPG
2002-2003   Det          4 GP      1 goal       0 assists    1 point      0.30 PPG

Career - 1472 GP, 663 goals, 719 assists, 1385 points, 0.94 PPG
Career-Highs - 52 goals (92-93); 57 assists (91-92); 104 points (92-93); 1.26 PPG (92-93)
Avg. (19 seasons) - 77 GP, 35 goals, 38 assists, 73 points, 0.94 PPG
Peak Avg. (87-95) - 81 GP, 43 goals, 45 assists, 88 points, 1.09 PPG, 0 Cups

Playoff Career - 159 GP, 54 goals, 64 assists, 118 points, 0.74 PPG
Playoff-Highs - 10 goals (90-91); 11 assists (92-93); 18 points (92-93); 1.20 PPG (99-00)

Accolades - Calder
All-Star Teams - 5-time 1st-team, 3-time 2nd-team
1-time Stanley Cup Champion

I always felt somewhat defensive of Luc Robitaille, as if I had to stick up for him or make a case for his merits as an all-time great left-winger, rather than simply pointing to the numbers themselves: 650+ career goals, the most of any LW in history (in real numbers, in adjusted numbers, he's second to Bobby Hull).

Part of the problem may have been the catchiness of that damn nickname, "Lucky Luc". It belittled Robitaille's accomplishments, made them seem the product of happenstance and good fortune, instead of hard work and determination. For the first nine years of his career, Robitaille never had less than 39 adjusted goals. And this wasn't simply because he was playing with Wayne Gretzky at center...for the first two years of his career, when Gretzky was still tearing up the league in Edmonton, Robitaille had seasons of 39-33-72 and 45-49-94 with Bernie Nicholls centering him.

Robitaille had a reputation for being a ridiculously slow skater, which may explain why he was drafted in the ninth round, 171st overall (WHAT!??!?!?)  But rather than earn the admiration of hockey fans for turning low expectations into a remarkable career, the stigma remained that Robitaille must have lucked into his goals somehow...no one ever thought he'd be any good, so the fact that he was had to have been a fluke. Well, I'll take an overachieving career like Robitaille's to an Alexandre Daigle or Patrik Stefan any day.

Although Robitaille would eventually win a Stanley Cup championship with the Red Wings, there's no doubt he'll be remembered as a Los Angeles King. Unlike with poor Marcel Dionne, the Kings were actually a fairly decent team during Robitaille's tenure...never great, but often managing to sneak into the playoffs, and in the great run of 1993, making it all the way to the finals against Montreal (that year was also the only one in which Robitaille cracked the 100 adjusted-point mark).

He was considered the league's best left-winger five times, and made the second all-star team an additional three. So why did The Hockey News recently rank him seventh among all-time LWs, behind Dickie Moore, Johnny Bucyk and Busher Jackson? When I began this entry, it was with the feeling that Robitaille was probably deserving of that spot, but now that I've reviewed his career and remember his consistent productivity at a notoriously low-scoring position, I might have to question how he could conceivably be placed only seventh. Robitaille makes it to #4 on my LW pyramid, behind only Hull, Lindsay and Mahovlich. Once again, it seems like I'm left sticking up for "Lucky Luc".