"Lucky" Luc retires

Robitaille says it's time for him to retire
By BETH HARRIS, AP Sports Writer
April 11, 2006

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) -- Luc Robitaille managed to keep his emotions in check while thanking the Los Angeles Kings and their championship-starved fans at his retirement announcement Tuesday.

He began ticking off his favorite moments during 14 seasons spent with the Kings -- his first game in 1986, the team's improbable run to the 1993 Stanley Cup finals and becoming the club's career goal scorer earlier this season.

"My teammates clapped for me," he said, recalling the night he passed friend and mentor Marcel Dionne.

Then he lost it.

Robitaille's eyes teared up and his voice broke as he struggled to spit out the words in a room crowded with current and former teammates.

"Oh, it's tough," he said, looking down.

He gripped each side of the podium and quickly composed himself.

"When your teammates respect you to a certain degree, that's the memory you never forget," he said. "As a player, the thing you cherish the most is your teammates."

Robitaille will play his final home regular-season game Saturday against Calgary before the Kings end the season Monday at San Jose. With three games left, they are all but out of the playoff picture.

"I just know it's time," he said. "When reporters keep asking you for the past three years, you start thinking about it."

Robitaille had been kicking around the idea of retirement during the last month in conversations with his wife, Stacia.

"It's definitely a decision we made together," he said. "She's made so many sacrifices throughout the years."

His wife and two sons weren't present Tuesday, but they will attend his final game at Staples Center. He will retire as the NHL's highest-scoring left wing

Robitaille turned 40 in February and is on his third stint with the Kings, the team that drafted him in the ninth round in 1984. He made his NHL debut two years later, scoring a goal in his first game on an assist by Dionne.

He was 19 and newly arrived in Los Angeles from his native Montreal. He spoke French and was naive to the ways of living on his own.

Dionne took Robitaille into his home during the teenager's rookie season, advising him to learn English and helping him buy his first car.

Robitaille marveled at how far he's come in 19 NHL seasons, including stints with Pittsburgh, the New York Rangers and Detroit.

"I can't believe I'm saying all those words in English," he said. "I remember looking at a map and seeing how far Los Angeles was, and now this is my home."

Later, Robitaille mentored his younger teammates, including fellow Quebecer Eric Belanger, now in his sixth season with the Kings.

"Luc took care of me. He's more of a friend than a teammate," Belanger said. "He was a lot of help getting my career started on an easy note. He said to enjoy it because it goes fast."

Kings captain Mattias Norstrom said he'll miss Robitaille more away from the ice. The two often roomed together on the road.

"Every single player, especially the young guys, should look at the way Luc carries himself," Norstrom said. "He comes to the rink with a smile and most times, he leaves with a big smile. He really has a love for the game."

Hockey fans in Los Angeles immediately took to the always smiling, always accessible player nicknamed "Lucky." They loved that he stopped and chatted and signed autographs until everyone was happy.

"Every day I gave everything I had," he said. "I wasn't great every day, but I know I made sure I was ready for every game. I have no regrets."

Robitaille won the Stanley Cup with Detroit in 2002, then brought the huge silver trophy back to Los Angeles and shared it with Kings' fans.

"It was just more of a thank you to a lot of friends that had been behind me throughout the years," he said. "I had more friends at the time than I thought I knew."

This season has been a mostly forgettable one for him, though.

Robitaille has 15 goals -- the second-lowest single-season total of his career -- and nine assists in 62 games.

He missed nine games in October because of a broken bone in his leg and got benched in December for three games by coach Andy Murray, who was fired last month. Robitaille was benched three games last week, too.

"It's time to go," he said. "It didn't feel right anymore."

Robitaille doesn't know what he wants to do next, other than help his wife with the charity they set up in September to help Hurricane Katrina victims.

"It has been a great, great run for me," he said. "I was just this little kid that had a dream and I got to live my dream."

------------------------------------------------------

As a longtime Kings fan, this news saddens me. Luc was one of my favorites.