500 Goals Later, He's a Treasure Fit for the Kings

By HELENE ELLIOTT

Jan. 9, 1999 12 AM PT

He was slower than the Zamboni, so awkward on his skates that scouts almost ignored the impressive numbers he compiled with Hull of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League when they evaluated players for the 1984 entry draft.

Not until the ninth round did the Kings claim Luc Robitaille, with the 171st overall pick. That was five rounds and 102 picks after they picked a promising high school center from Massachusetts named Tom Glavine.

“Glavine did make a mistake in his career choice,” King General Manager Dave Taylor said, laughing.

Maybe not. Two Cy Young awards make a good case for Glavine’s vocational path.

Five hundred NHL goals make a good case for Robitaille’s success too. And if Robitaille still couldn’t outrace a Zamboni to the goal line if he got a head start from center ice, he has proved the fastest route isn’t necessarily the best one--or the most rewarding.

“I love to play this game. I feel I’m lucky to be in the NHL,” he said. “I’ll never take it for granted.”

Taylor, formerly Robitaille’s teammate, remembers the first time he saw the slow-footed but eager youngster at the Kings’ training camp. Something of an expert himself on confounding scouting reports--Taylor was drafted 210th in 1975 but had an outstanding 17-season career--Taylor always has had a soft spot for the good-natured kid with the easy smile and unerring instincts.

“His skating is not a lot better,” Taylor said. “I still wouldn’t classify him as a fast skater, but he’s quick to loose pucks, he’s strong on his feet and he’s willing to pay the price around the net. And his shot is tremendous. People don’t realize that.”

Many people also don’t realize Robitaille’s value to the Kings.

He is their most recognizable player, the most durable and most popular. Wayne Gretzky won three scoring titles and one MVP trophy as a King, but he inspired more admiration than affection. It’s difficult to identify with someone so supernaturally better than his peers, and besides, he came to Los Angeles from Edmonton and left behind acrimony and a crumbling team. Rob Blake has won the Norris Trophy and draws gasps with his thunderous checks, but he has been injured too often in recent years to be a constant.

It’s Robitaille who symbolizes the Kings and has become as much a part of the local landscape as anyone who ever wore the purple and gold or black and silver or any color scheme the Kings might dream up in the coming millennium. It’s Robitaille who was sent away in a deal that brought Gretzky crony Rick Tocchet here, but Robitaille came back, ostensibly to finish out a fading career after he scored “only” 24 goals for the Rangers in 1996-97.

“My whole comeback here has been great,” he said. “Now we’re starting to play the way we want. . . . The only thing I can say is I’ll keep working hard.”

He always has. His skates churn up the ice; they don’t skim over it as Gretzky’s did. He takes the bumpy path from Point A to Point B and shoulders his way into position instead of merely appearing in the right spot as if by magic, as Gretzky did. His efforts are obvious--as are his slumps, signs of mortality that Gretzky rarely exhibited. Yet, he has fallen short of the 20-goal benchmark only once in 13 seasons and then only because an abdominal injury and surgery cut his season short a year ago.

Whatever his failings on the ice, he has never failed to serve the Kings well off the ice. He’s the player they send to visit ailing children or to represent them at charity functions on short notice, and he’s the only player who attended the funeral of Times columnist Jim Murray last summer. Murray virtually ignored hockey and hadn’t been to a King game in five years, but Robitaille was at the church because he remembered a column Murray wrote about him during his rookie season of 1986-87, a clipping he saved for years.

“Luc’s like a big kid,” Taylor said. “He’s always been real personable and a credit to our organization. He’s been a real good citizen in LA.”

In a season in which the Kings have talked so much about acquiring a young star who can sell tickets in the pleasure palace they will occupy next season, they have unexpectedly found an old star in Robitaille.

That’s not to say they don’t need a marquee player. They do. With no other pro teams playing and the NBA still unlocking its labor woes Thursday, an announced crowd of merely 10,821 was at the Forum to witness Robitaille’s historic moment. A winning team will draw more fans, and acquiring a high-profile, high-impact player is the only way the Kings will continue their resurgence and erase the blot of a horrible start.

If Robitaille isn’t the marquee player they need, he can still be the foundation of their offense and be to newcomers what Marcel Dionne was to him: a voice of experience and guidance. With 22 goals, he ranks among the NHL leaders and is on a pace to score 47, which would be his most productive season since he scored 63 in 1992-93, when the Kings went to the Stanley Cup finals. Robitaille was their big gun for much of that season too, after Gretzky was slowed by back problems.

“He’s been a great player for us,” Taylor said. “People like guys with speed and flash and that’s not Luc’s game. But Luc has always been a very productive player and as a 500-goal scorer he belongs in the Hall of Fame.”

Since Thursday night, Robitaille has been showered with congratulatory messages from friends and rivals, with flowers from current owner Philip Anschutz and a phone call from former owner Bruce McNall (collect?), still serving time in Lompoc. Tonight, Dionne will give Robitaille a milestone award on behalf of the NHL, and Robitaille’s parents, Claude and Madeleine, will join past and present Kings in honoring him.

Robitaille will accept the accolades with his usual grace, but he won’t be satisfied. “Until I get my hand on the Stanley Cup, nothing will be accomplished,” he said.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

The Race to 500

Only 11 players have scored 500 goals in fewer games than Luc Robitaille:

No. PlayerGames

1. Wayne Gretzky: 575

2. Mario Lemieux: 605

3. Mike Bossy: 647

4. Brett Hull: 693

5. Phil Esposito: 803

6. Jari Kurri: 833

7. Bobby Hull: 861

8. Maurice Richard: 863