| Larry Robinson | |
|---|---|
Robinson as part of the 2008 Legends Classic game. |
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| Born | June 2, 1951 Winchester, Ontario, Canada |
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Weight | 225 lb (102 kg; 16 st 1 lb) |
| Position | Defence |
| Shot | Left |
| Played for | Montreal Canadiens Los Angeles Kings |
| National team | Canada |
| NHL Draft | 20th overall, 1971 Montreal Canadiens |
| Playing career | 1971–1992 |
| Hall of Fame, 1995 | |
Larry Clark Robinson (born June 2, 1951) is a former ice hockey player and coach in the National Hockey League. Robinson was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1995 and is currently the assistant coach for the New Jersey Devils. He has also served as head coach for the Devils on two separate occasions, as well as for the Los Angeles Kings.
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Larry Robinson played Junior 'A' hockey with the Brockville Braves of the CJHL and Juniors with the Kitchener Rangers then turned professional, spending 1971 to 1973 with the Nova Scotia Voyageurs of the American Hockey League before making it to the National Hockey League with the Montreal Canadiens.
Nicknamed "Big Bird" for his blond hair and size (6'4" and 225 pounds), Robinson was a big and strong defenceman yet highly mobile. He played 17 seasons for the Montreal Canadiens and another three seasons for the Los Angeles Kings, until his retirement after the 1992 season. He won the James Norris Memorial Trophy twice as the league's most outstanding defenceman and won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the 1978 playoffs. Robinson was a dominant player whose talent and leadership helped lead the Canadiens to six Stanley Cups.
Robinson was a member of Team Canada in the 1976, 1981 and 1984 Canada Cup) tournaments and was an international All-Star team selection in the 1981 IIHF World Championships. During his career, he played in ten of the league's All-Star games and ended his 20-year career having scored 208 goals, 750 assists and 958 regular-season points as well as 144 points in 227 playoff games, a remarkable achievement for a defenceman. He holds an impressive career rating of +730, the NHL career record, including an overwhelming +120 in 1976–77 (second only to Bobby Orr's record plus-124 in 1970–71, and with Orr, the only two players to have a plus-minus rating of +100 or greater for a season). He won six Stanley Cups with the Canadiens 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1986, and also has the NHL record for playing 20 consecutive seasons in the playoffs, 17 of them with the Canadiens.[1]
Robinson has been honoured for his playing career. In 1995, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. In 1998, he was ranked number 24 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players. In 2000, he was inducted into the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame. On November 19, 2007, the Canadiens retired Robinson's No. 19 jersey before a loss against the Ottawa Senators.[1] Larry Robinson's name appears on the Stanley Cup 9 times, as a player/coach/scout.
Following his retirement, Robinson was hired as an assistant coach with the New Jersey Devils in 1993. After winning the Stanley Cup in 1995 with the Devils, he was hired as head coach of the Los Angeles Kings, the same year he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He left the Los Angeles team at the end of the 1998–99 season and signed on as an assistant coach with the New Jersey Devils once again. Named interim head coach of the New Jersey Devils on March 23, 2000, Robinson guided his team to the Stanley Cup. He stayed on as head coach for the next year and again guided the Devils to the finals, where they lost to the Colorado Avalanche in seven games. Interestingly, when the Devils won the Stanley Cup in 2000, they defeated a defending champion, Dallas Stars. He said that was his greatest day. He recounted to Scott Morrison:
| “ | Considering how long I played hockey and how many Cups I got to win as a defenseman with Montreal, it was my first Stanley Cup win as a head coach that is actually my greatest day in hockey.[2] | ” |
Robinson was fired during the 2001–02 season, but returned as an assistant coach just before the 2002–03 season to win his 9th Stanley Cup in 2003.
When Pat Burns suffered a recurrence of cancer, Robinson again assumed the mantle of head coach on July 14, 2005. This stint came to an end on December 19, 2005, when Robinson resigned, citing stress and other health problems.[3]
Robinson returned to the Devils prior to the 2007–08 season as an assistant coach under Brent Sutter. Prior to the 2008–09 season, Robinson left from behind the Devils' bench to become a special assignment coach between the organization's prospects in Lowell, Mass., and the Devils.[4]
Larry Robinson was raised on an Ontario farm and as a boy he grew up with a love of horses. While living in the rural area of St. Lazare outside of Montreal, Robinson became a co-founder with former teammate Steve Shutt and local veterinarian Dr. Gilbert Hallé of the Montreal Polo Club at Sainte-Marthe, Quebec.
While playing in Los Angeles, Robinson became involved in the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing through a partnership with Kings owner Bruce McNall's Summa Stable.[5] Among their racing successes, Down Again won the 1990 Monrovia Handicap at Santa Anita Park.[6]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1970–71 | Kitchener Rangers | OHA | 61 | 12 | 39 | 51 | 65 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1971–72 | Nova Scotia Voyageurs | AHL | 74 | 10 | 14 | 24 | 54 | 15 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 31 | ||
| 1972–73 | Nova Scotia Voyageurs | AHL | 38 | 6 | 33 | 39 | 33 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1972–73 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 36 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 20 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 9 | ||
| 1973–74 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 78 | 6 | 20 | 26 | 66 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 26 | ||
| 1974–75 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 80 | 14 | 47 | 61 | 76 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 27 | ||
| 1975–76 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 80 | 10 | 30 | 40 | 59 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 10 | ||
| 1976–77 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 77 | 19 | 66 | 85 | 45 | 14 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 12 | ||
| 1977–78 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 80 | 13 | 52 | 65 | 39 | 15 | 4 | 17 | 21 | 6 | ||
| 1978–79 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 67 | 16 | 45 | 61 | 33 | 16 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 8 | ||
| 1979–80 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 72 | 14 | 61 | 75 | 39 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 1980–81 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 65 | 12 | 38 | 50 | 37 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1981–82 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 71 | 12 | 47 | 59 | 41 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 1982–83 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 71 | 14 | 49 | 63 | 33 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1983–84 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 74 | 9 | 34 | 43 | 39 | 15 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 22 | ||
| 1984–85 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 76 | 13 | 34 | 47 | 44 | 12 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 8 | ||
| 1985–86 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 78 | 19 | 63 | 82 | 39 | 20 | 0 | 13 | 13 | 22 | ||
| 1986–87 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 70 | 13 | 37 | 50 | 44 | 17 | 3 | 17 | 20 | 6 | ||
| 1987–88 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 53 | 6 | 34 | 40 | 30 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | ||
| 1988–89 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 74 | 4 | 26 | 30 | 22 | 21 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 12 | ||
| 1989–90 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 64 | 7 | 32 | 39 | 34 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 10 | ||
| 1990–91 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 62 | 1 | 22 | 23 | 16 | 12 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 15 | ||
| 1991–92 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 56 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 37 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| NHL totals | 1384 | 208 | 750 | 958 | 793 | 227 | 28 | 116 | 144 | 211 | ||||
| Team | Year | Regular season | Post season | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | Finish | W | L | Win % | Result | ||
| LA | 1995–96 | 82 | 24 | 40 | 18 | – | 66 | 6th in Pacific | – | – | – | – |
| LA | 1996–97 | 82 | 28 | 43 | 11 | – | 67 | 6th in Pacific | – | – | – | – |
| LA | 1997–98 | 82 | 38 | 33 | 11 | – | 87 | 2nd in Pacific | 0 | 4 | .000 | Conference Quarter-Finalist |
| LA | 1998–99 | 82 | 32 | 45 | 5 | – | 69 | 5th in Pacific | – | – | – | – |
| LA total | 328 | 122 | 161 | 45 | – | .441 | – | 0 | 4 | .000 | 1 playoff appearance | |
| NJ | 1999–2000 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | (103) | 2nd in Atlantic | 16 | 7 | .696 | Won Stanley Cup |
| NJ | 2000–01 | 82 | 48 | 19 | 12 | 3 | 111 | 1st in Atlantic | 15 | 10 | .600 | Runner up |
| NJ | 2001–02 | 51 | 21 | 20 | 7 | 3 | (95) | – | – | – | – | (fired) |
| NJ total | 141 | 73 | 43 | 19 | 6 | .606 | – | 31 | 17 | .646 | 2 playoff appearances 1 Stanley Cup |
|
| NJ | 2005–06 | 32 | 14 | 13 | 0 | 5 | (101) | – | – | – | – | (resigned) |
| NJ total | 32 | 14 | 13 | – | 5 | .516 | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Combined NJ total | 173 | 87 | 56 | 19 | 11 | .590 | – | 31 | 17 | .646 | 2 playoff appearances 1 Stanley Cup |
|
| Total | 501 | 209 | 217 | 64 | 11 | .492 | – | 31 | 21 | .596 | 3 playoff appearances 1 Stanley Cup |
|
| Preceded by Guy Lafleur |
Winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy 1978 |
Succeeded by Bob Gainey |
| Preceded by Denis Potvin |
Winner of the Norris Trophy 1980 |
Succeeded by Randy Carlyle |
| Preceded by Denis Potvin |
Winner of the Norris Trophy 1977 |
Succeeded by Denis Potvin |
| Preceded by Rogatien Vachon |
Head coach of the Los Angeles Kings 1995–99 |
Succeeded by Andy Murray |
| Preceded by Robbie Ftorek |
Head coach of the New Jersey Devils 2000–02 |
Succeeded by Kevin Constantine |
| Preceded by Pat Burns |
Head coach of the New Jersey Devils 2005 |
Succeeded by Lou Lamoriello |