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Larry Robinson

{{Short description|Canadian ice hockey player and coach}}

{{other people|Larry Robinson}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2016}}

{{Infobox ice hockey player

| image = Larry Robinson.jpg

| image_size = 230px

| caption = Robinson in 2008

| position = Defence

| played_for = Montreal Canadiens
Los Angeles Kings

| coached_for = Los Angeles Kings
New Jersey Devils

| shoots = Left

| draft = 20th overall

| draft_year = 1971

| draft_team = Montreal Canadiens

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 4

| weight_lb = 225

| ntl_team = CAN

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1951|6|2}}

| birth_place = Winchester, Ontario, Canada

| career_start = 1973

| career_end = 1992

| career_start_coach = 1995

| career_end_coach = 2005

| halloffame = 1995

}}

Larry Clark Robinson (born June 2, 1951) is a Canadian former ice hockey coach, executive and player. His coaching career includes head coaching positions with the New Jersey Devils (which he held on two occasions), as well as the Los Angeles Kings. For his play in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Montreal Canadiens and Los Angeles Kings, Robinson was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1995. He was also inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2014.{{cite web |title=Larry Robinson |url=http://oshof.ca/index.php/honoured-members/item/185-larry-robinson |website=oshof.ca |publisher=Ontario Sports Hall of Fame |access-date=September 25, 2014 |archive-date=November 12, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141112214837/http://oshof.ca/index.php/honoured-members/item/185-larry-robinson |url-status=dead }} In 2017, Robinson was named one of the "100 Greatest NHL Players".{{cite web|title=100 Greatest NHL Players|url=https://www.nhl.com/fans/nhl-centennial/100-greatest-nhl-players|website=NHL.com|access-date=January 27, 2017|date=January 27, 2017}} Larry is the brother of Moe Robinson.

Playing career

Larry Robinson played Junior 'A' hockey with the Brockville Braves of the CJHL and Major Junior in the Ontario Hockey League 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" in part for his size (6'4’’ and 225 pounds), Robinson was a big and strong yet highly mobile defenceman. He played 17 seasons for the Montreal Canadiens and another three seasons for the Los Angeles Kings, until his retirement after the 1991–92 season. He won the James Norris Memorial Trophy twice (1976–77 and 1979–80) as the league's most outstanding defenceman and won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the 1978 playoffs. He was named to the league's first and second all-star teams three times each. His peak years were 1976–77 to 1980–81, although he had a strong comeback season at age 34 in 1985–86 when he was again named to the second all-star team and scored 82 points, just three shy of his career high of 85 (1976–77). 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 plus-minus rating of +730, the NHL career record, including an overwhelming +120 in 1976–77 (second only to Bobby Orr's record +124 in 1970–71, and with Orr and Wayne Gretzky (+100 1984–85), is one of only three players to have a plus-minus rating of +100 or greater for a season). He won the Stanley Cup six times with the Canadiens, in 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, and 1986. Together with Nicklas Lidstrom, Robinson holds the NHL record for most consecutive playoff seasons with 20, 17 of them with the Canadiens.{{cite web | title=Larry Robinson joins Canadiens legends with retirement of his No. 19 jersey| website=nhl.com| url=https://www.nhl.com/news/larry-robinson-joins-canadiens-legends-with-retirement-of-his-no-19-jersey/c-373921| date=November 19, 2007| access-date=September 1, 2023}}{{cite web | title=Numbers help tell story of Lidstrom's brilliance| publisher=NHL.com| url=http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=633436 | date=May 31, 2012 | access-date=February 1, 2013}}

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.{{cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/canadiens-retire-larry-robinson-s-no-19-1.677256|title=Canadiens retire Larry Robinson's No. 19|publisher=CBC Sports|date=November 19, 2007|access-date=April 18, 2021}} Larry Robinson's name appears on the Stanley Cup ten times, six as a player, three as a coach or assistant coach and once as a scout.

Coaching career

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 win the 2000 Stanley Cup. With the victory, Robinson became the first interim head coach in NHL history to guide a team to the Stanley Cup. The feat would later be accomplished by Craig Berube in 2019. Robinson recounted to journalist Scott Morrison:{{cite book|last=Morrison|first=Scott|title=Hockey Night in Canada: My Greatest Day|year=2008|publisher=Key Porter Books|page=[https://archive.org/details/mygreatestday50p0000morr/page/178 178]|location=Toronto|isbn=978-1-55470-086-8|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/mygreatestday50p0000morr/page/178}} {{cquote|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.}}

He stayed on as head coach for the next year and again guided the Devils to the Stanley Cup finals, where they lost against the Colorado Avalanche in seven games.

Robinson was fired during the 2001–02 season, but returned as an assistant coach in February 2002 and just before the 2002–03 season to win his ninth 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.{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/larry-robinson-resigns-as-devils-coach-1.526733|title=Larry Robinson resigns as Devils coach|author=CBC Sports|date=December 21, 2005|access-date=April 18, 2021|work=CBC News}}

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.{{cite web|url=http://www.nj.com/devils/index.ssf/2008/07/robinson_wont_be_behind_bench.html|title=Robinson won't be behind N.J. Devils' bench this season|author=Rich Chere/The Star-Ledger |date=July 22, 2008|access-date=February 19, 2009}}

Robinson's contract ended with the New Jersey Devils in the summer of 2012. He indicated he was interested in becoming an assistant coach with the Montreal Canadiens, however that post was filled with former Hab J.J. Daigneault soon after. Robinson then was appointed an associate coach with the San Jose Sharks on July 10, 2012.{{cite news|url=https://montrealgazette.com/sports/hockey/montreal-canadiens/Larry+Robinson+finds+Jose/6910075/story.html|title=Larry Robinson finds his way to San Jose|author=Montreal Gazette|date=July 10, 2012|access-date=July 12, 2012|work=Montreal Gazette|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120719061243/http://www.montrealgazette.com/sports/hockey/montreal-canadiens/Larry+Robinson+finds+Jose/6910075/story.html|archive-date=July 19, 2012|df=mdy-all}} On May 23, 2014, the Sharks added director of player development to Robinson's role.{{cite web|url=http://sharks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=720430|title=Sharks Name Larry Robinson Associate Coach & Director of Player Development|work=San Jose Sharks|date=May 23, 2014|access-date=May 23, 2014}} In 2017, at the end of his five-year contract with the Sharks, Robinson left the organization.{{cite web |url=http://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/19464853/larry-robinson-san-jose-sharks-parting-ways |title=Director of player development Larry Robinson won't return to Sharks |publisher=ESPN |date=May 26, 2017}} He is currently a Senior Consultant to Hockey Operations for the St. Louis Blues.

With the St. Louis Blues defeating the Boston Bruins in the 2019 Stanley Cup Finals, Robinson won his tenth Stanley Cup championship.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/robinson-basks-in-stanley-cup-as-blues-consultant/c-307836470|title=Robinson basks in Stanley Cup title as Blues senior consultant|website=NHL.com|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-13}}

Polo and horse racing

Robinson was raised on a Marvelville, Ontario farm and as a boy, he grew up with a love of horses. While living in the rural area of Saint-Lazare, Quebec west of Montreal, Robinson became a co-founder with former teammate Steve Shutt, Michael Sinclair-Smith 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.{{cite news|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=LA&p_theme=la&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EF5BA3062A6AEDD&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |work=Daily News of Los Angeles |title=HIGH WEIGHT MAY CAUSE BAYAKOA TO SKIP SANTA MARGARITA 'CAP |date=February 15, 1990}} Among their racing successes, Down Again won the 1990 Monrovia Handicap at Santa Anita Park.{{cite news |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/59985131.html?dids=59985131:59985131&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Feb+15%2C+1990&author=BOB+MIESZERSKI&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=SANTA+ANITA+Down+Again+Lauded+After+Victory&pqatl=google |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102110603/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/59985131.html?dids=59985131:59985131&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Feb+15,+1990&author=BOB+MIESZERSKI&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=SANTA+ANITA+Down+Again+Lauded+After+Victory&pqatl=google |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 2, 2012 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=February 15, 1990 |title=Down Again Lauded After Victory}}

Career statistics

=Regular season and playoffs=

border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; width:60em;"
style="background:#e0e0e0;"

! colspan="3" bgcolor="#ffffff" |  

! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" |  

! colspan="5" | Regular season

! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" |  

! colspan="5" | Playoffs

style="background:#e0e0e0;"

! Season

! Team

! League

! GP

! G

! A

! Pts

! PIM

! GP

! G

! A

! Pts

! PIM

1969–70Brockville BravesCJHL4022295174—————
style="background:#f0f0f0;"

| 1969–70

Ottawa M&W RangersCJHL—————52132
1970–71Kitchener RangersOHA-Jr.611239516541235
style="background:#f0f0f0;"

| 1971–72

Nova Scotia VoyageursAHL7410142454152101231
1972–73Nova Scotia VoyageursAHL386333933—————
style="background:#f0f0f0;"

| 1972–73

Montreal CanadiensNHL3624620111459
1973–74Montreal CanadiensNHL786202666601126
style="background:#f0f0f0;"

| 1974–75

Montreal CanadiensNHL80144761761104427
1975–76Montreal CanadiensNHL80103040591333610
style="background:#f0f0f0;"

| 1976–77

Montreal CanadiensNHL7719668545142101212
1977–78Montreal CanadiensNHL801352653915417216
style="background:#f0f0f0;"

| 1978–79

Montreal CanadiensNHL67164561331669158
1979–80Montreal CanadiensNHL7214617539100442
style="background:#f0f0f0;"

| 1980–81

Montreal CanadiensNHL651238503730112
1981–82Montreal CanadiensNHL711247594150118
style="background:#f0f0f0;"

| 1982–83

Montreal CanadiensNHL711449633330002
1983–84Montreal CanadiensNHL7493443391505522
style="background:#f0f0f0;"

| 1984–85

Montreal CanadiensNHL76133447441238118
1985–86Montreal CanadiensNHL7819638239200131322
style="background:#f0f0f0;"

| 1986–87

Montreal CanadiensNHL701337504417317206
1987–88Montreal CanadiensNHL536344030111454
style="background:#f0f0f0;"

| 1988–89

Montreal CanadiensNHL74426302221281012
1989–90Los Angeles KingsNHL6473239341023510
style="background:#f0f0f0;"

| 1990–91

Los Angeles KingsNHL6212223161214515
1991–92Los Angeles KingsNHL56310133720000
style="background:#e0e0e0;"

! colspan="3" | NHL totals

! 1,384

! 207

! 751

! 958

! 793

! 227

! 28

! 116

! 144

! 211

=International=

border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; width:50em"
ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0"

! Year

! Team

! Event

! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" |  

! GP

! G

! A

! Pts

! PIM

1976

| Canada

| CC

| 7

| 0

| 0

| 0

| 0

bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| 1979

| NHL All-Stars

| Exhib.

| 3

| 1

| 0

| 1

| 0

1981

| Canada

| WC

| 6

| 1

| 1

| 2

| 2

bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| 1981

| Canada

| CC

| 7

| 1

| 0

| 1

| 2

1984

| Canada

| CC

| 8

| 1

| 2

| 3

| 2

bgcolor="#e0e0e0"

! colspan=3 | Senior totals

! 31

! 4

! 3

! 7

! 6

=Coaching career statistics=

class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center;"
rowspan="2"|Teamrowspan="2"|Yearcolspan="7"|Regular seasoncolspan="4"|Post season
GWLTOTLPtsFinishWLWin %Result
LA||1995–96

|82||24||40||18|| — ||66||6th in Pacific|| — || — || — || Missed playoffs

LA||1996–97

|82||28||43||11|| — ||67||6th in Pacific|| — || — || — || Missed playoffs

LA||1997–98

|82||38||33||11|| — ||87||2nd in Pacific||0||4||{{Winning percentage|0|4}}||Lost in Conference Quarterfinals (STL)

LA||1998–99

|82||32||45||5|| — ||69||5th in Pacific|| — || — || — || Missed playoffs

colspan="2"|LA total ||328||122||161||45|| — ||.441|| ||0||4||{{Winning percentage|0|4}}||1 playoff appearance
style="background:#FDE910;"

!NJ||1999–2000

|8||4||4||0||0||(103)||2nd in Atlantic||16||7||{{Winning percentage|16|7}}||Won Stanley Cup (DAL)

NJ||2000–01

|82||48||19||12||3||111||1st in Atlantic||15||10||{{Winning percentage|15|10}}||Lost in Stanley Cup Finals (COL)

NJ||2001–02

|51||21||20||7||3||(95)|| (fired) || — || — || — || —

NJ||2005–06

|32||14||13||0||5||(101)|| (resigned) || — || — || — || —

colspan="2"|NJ total ||173||87||56||19||11||.590|| ||31||17||{{Winning percentage|31|17}}||2 playoff appearances
1 Stanley Cup
colspan="2"|Total ||501||209||217||64||11||.492|| ||31||21||{{Winning percentage|31|21}}||3 playoff appearances
1 Stanley Cup

See also

References

{{reflist|2}}

External links

  • {{icehockeystats|legendsm=P199502}}

{{s-start}}

{{succession box | before = Guy Lafleur | title = Winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy | years = 1978 | after = Bob Gainey}}

{{succession box | before = Denis Potvin | title = Winner of the Norris Trophy | years = 1980 | after = Randy Carlyle}}{{succession box | before = Denis Potvin | title = Winner of the Norris Trophy | years = 1977 | after = Denis Potvin}}

{{succession box | before = Rogatien Vachon | title = Head coach of the Los Angeles Kings | years = 1995–99 | after = Andy Murray }}

{{succession box | before = Robbie Ftorek | title = Head coach of the New Jersey Devils | years = 2000–02 | after = Kevin Constantine }}

{{succession box | before = Pat Burns | title = Head coach of the New Jersey Devils | years = 2005 | after = Lou Lamoriello }}

{{s-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Larry}}

Category:1951 births

Category:Living people

Category:Canadian ice hockey defencemen

Category:Canadian people of Scottish descent

Category:Canadian polo players

Category:Canadian racehorse owners and breeders

Category:Conn Smythe Trophy winners

Category:Hockey Hall of Fame inductees

Category:Ice hockey people from Ottawa

Category:James Norris Memorial Trophy winners

Category:Kitchener Rangers players

Category:Los Angeles Kings coaches

Category:Los Angeles Kings players

Category:Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States

Category:Montreal Canadiens draft picks

Category:Montreal Canadiens players

Category:National Hockey League All-Stars

Category:National Hockey League players with retired numbers

Category:New Jersey Devils coaches

Category:People from the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry

Category:Nova Scotia Voyageurs players

Category:San Jose Sharks coaches

Category:Stanley Cup champions

Category:Stanley Cup championship–winning head coaches

Category:Canadian ice hockey coaches

Category:20th-century Canadian sportsmen