Luc Robitaille: Two Autographed Cards

There was a reason why Luc Robitaille was selected in the ninth round, 171st overall, in 1984: scouts from all NHL teams considered him too slow to keep up with the 1980s pro game, despite having posted more than a point-per-game average in his rookie year in Juniors with the LHJMQ's Hull Olympiques; he followed that with a 55-goal, 148-point season in 64 games in 1984-85 and with 68 goals and 191 points in 63 games the following season, convincing the Los Angeles Kings to provide him with a real shot at making the team, which he did.

His 84-point rookie season earned him the Calder Trophy in 1986-87 - the first year I followed hockey full-time - and his 63-goal season in 1992-93 was the NHL record for a very long time, until Alex Ovechkin obliterated it in 2007.

Robitaille retired after the 2005-06 season, in his third stint with the Kings, as the highest-scoring left winger of all time (beaten earlier this season by Ovechkin), Los Angeles' franchise record holder for goals (577), fourth behind Marcel Dionne, Wayne Gretzky and Dave Taylor on the team's all0time assists leaders list( 726), and second to Taylor in career points with the franchise (1154).

He's the quintessential King, which is why he's currently the team's President.

He was interviewed by NBC Sports recently and had an interesting take on Ovechkin's path to beating Gretzky's all-time goals record:

It’s hard to figure out someone that would do it. I’m going to enjoy this ride because it’s special. It’s very special and this is something that’s really good for our game. I’m rooting for him that he does it because it’s going to be absolutely incredible.

Whether he truly wants him to break Gretzky's record "for the good of the game" or because he doesn't want to be alone among former 1990s Kings captains to get surpassed by Alexander The Great remains to be seen; one thing's for certain: it truly is entertaining to keep track of.

Here he is wearing the Kings' 1990s white (home) uniform on card #90 from Topps' 1992-93 Premier set and First Team All-Star sub-set:

And here he is wearing the counterpart black (away) uniform, on card #98 from Upper Deck's 1998-99 UD Choice set:

Those were, in my opinion, the very best Kings uniforms ever. I miss them dearly.

In-between stints in L.A., Robitaille also played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers, and Detroit Red Wings - with whom he won the 2001-02 Stanley Cup - as well as Team Canada at the 1986 World Juniors (silver), 1991 Canada Cup (won), and 1994 World Championships (gold medal).

Luc Robitaille Jersey Card

In my lifetime, the player who best represents the Los Angeles Kings so far is Luc Robitaille; sure, Wayne Gretzky had more points in fewer games and hit many of his milestones in L.A., and sure the current crop have two Stanley Cups to their credit, but Robitaille, the 171st pick of the 1984 draft, retired as the left winger with the most goals in NHL history (668), and points too (1394). He's also the highest-scoring King with 577 goals, as he played 14 of his 19 NHL seasons over three stints with the team who retired his jersey number.

He won the Cup as a role player with the Detroit Red Wings and also suited up for the New York Rangers for two seasons and Pittsburgh Penguins for 46 games, but like Gretzkky and Marcel Dionne, he defined the Kings, who have also retired the numbers of Gretzky, Dionne, Dave Taylor and Rogatien Vachon.

They will also honour him with a statue outside the Staples Center next season. So it's great to have been able to pull this card from a pack of Upper Deck's 2013-14 Series 2 cards, featuring a black swatch that matches the black jersey he's wearing on the front of the card, which is the turn-of-the-millenium uniform that is still used at times:

 

I had tried writing and sending him cards in 2011 (care of the Kings) but have since learned he only signs at high-cost events ($100 and up), so I don't expect to see those six cards ever again, including a rookie card. It is always a risk I'm willing to take when sending anyway.