Wings buy out Robitaille's contract

[SouthernHockeyChick]

Red Wings buy out Robitaille

TSN.ca Staff
5/4/2003

TSN's sister network in Quebec RDS is reporting that the Detroit Red Wings have bought out the remainder of forward Luc Robitaille's contract, making him an unrestricted free agent July 1.

Robitaille, 37, was entering the option year of his contract. He signed a two-year deal with the Red Wings two summers ago after spurning Los Angeles' offer of one-year at a reduced salary to stay with the Kings.

Robitaille was relegated to the fourth line as his offensive output began to tail off this season. He scored a career-low 11 goals and averaged 10 minutes per game this season after winning a Stanley Cup with the Red Wings last June.

In his 17-season career, Robitaille has three 50-goal seasons and has made eight NHL All-Star appearances. His first eight seasons were spent with the Kings, before he was traded to Pittsburgh in 1994. After one year with the Penguins, Robitaille was dealt to the New York Rangers. New York sent him back to the Kings in 1997.

Robitaille has 631 career goals and 688 assists.

RDS added that Robitaille has expressed interest in talking to four teams - the Kings, Montreal Canadiens, Phoenix Coyotes and Colorado Avalanche.

[talkingcanes]

"He signed a two-year deal with the Red Wings two summers ago after spurning Los Angeles' offer of one-year at a reduced salary to stay with the Kings."


it'll be interesting to see if LA wants him back since he "spurned" them.

[tommy]

speaking of Luc, someone had a great caption for this picture of him on ESPN.com:

http://msn.espn.go.com/media/nhl/2003/0424/photo/a_robitaille_i.jpg

Hockey sticks: $200. Trolley cart: $50. Grey fleece jacket: $25. Being swept by the seventh-seeded Anaheim Mighty Ducks: Priceless. Introducing the new Broom Card, sign up today and get a free cooked octopus.

[Jeff O Rocks]

speaking of Luc, someone had a great caption for this picture of him on ESPN.com:

~~reposted pic was here~~ (guyute)

Hockey sticks: $200. Trolley cart: $50. Grey fleece jacket: $25. Being swept by the seventh-seeded Anaheim Mighty Ducks: Priceless. Introducing the new Broom Card, sign up today and get a free cooked octopus.

Love it Tommy..thanks for sharing..cook that octopus...quack quack! :spin:

[Shell]

Panthers interested in Robitaille
TSN.ca Staff
5/7/2003

The Florida Panthers say they are interested in speaking with Luc Robitaille about joining their team next season.

Panthers general manager Rick Dudley sees Robitaille filling a similar role that Dave Andreychuk did with the Tampa Bay Lightening the past two seasons.

"We would like a guy who can contribute while helping our young players grow," Dudley tells the Palm Beach Post. "He's a wonderful person, and I know that he can have a profound effect on the people around him."

Dudley was responsible for bringing Andreychuk to the Lightning and the veteran forward's influence is credited as being a big part of the team's playoff drive.

The Detroit Red Wings informed Robitaille on Monday that they would not be picking up his $4-million option for next season, deciding instead to buy him out for $1-million. The 37-year-old is said to be interested in joining a West Coast team in order to be closer to his home in Southern California.

[Shell]

Kings, Robitaille Talking
June 12, 2003
By Jerry Crowe, L.A. Times Staff Writer


Luc Robitaille, perhaps the most popular player in club history, is in talks with the Kings about returning to the team, Robitaille and a King source said Wednesday.

The 37-year-old left wing and his agent, Pat Brisson, have met with General Manager Dave Taylor in recent weeks and Robitaille also has spoken with club President Tim Leiweke.

Said a King source of the talks, "There's mutual interest."

Tuesday over lunch in El Segundo, the second-leading scorer in club history sat down with Taylor and Coach Andy Murray to discuss how he might be used next season as the Kings try to improve upon a disappointing, injury-racked season in which they finished 14 points out of the playoffs.

"We had a real good talk," said Robitaille, who was released last month by the Detroit Red Wings after scoring only 11 goals last season, the least productive of his 17 NHL seasons, and will be an unrestricted free agent July 1. "I came out of there real positive."

Robitaille said he also has talked with three other Western Conference teams, but the Kings would seem the most logical fit. In two stints with the club he has scored 520 of his 631 goals, a league record for left wings, and 1,079 of his 1,319 points. And he still lives in Holmby Hills.

Signed as a free agent by the Red Wings two summers ago, Robitaille scored 30 goals during the 2001-02 season, his 12th 30-goal season, and helped the Red Wings win the Stanley Cup championship. But he slumped last season as his playing time was cut, and in January was benched for the first time in his career.

"I want to go to a situation where I can play," he said. "I'm looking forward to helping a team a lot more than I did in Detroit because I know I can still contribute. I know I can still be one of the top guys."

[drwFischerFan2]

I hope everything works out for Luc. He's a great player and person, unfortunately he wasn't properly used in Detroit (if that makes any sense).