luuuuuuuc the statuuuuuuue

If you know me, you know I love hockey. You also probably know that I love the LA Kings. And the reason I first went to a Kings game (circa 1988) and fell in love with hockey was a cute French Canadian named Luc Robitaille (who I'd seen playing at a celebrity softball game at USC that I originally went to in order to drool over long-haired rocker boys from '80s hair bands... but I digress.)

Turns out, that cute Luc Robitaille was also a pretty good hockey player. Like the top-scoring-left-wing-in-NHL-history kind of good. 

And over the years -- after I learned about hockey from listening to Bob Miller call games on TV, and eventually became a season ticket holder -- I watched him score his 500th goal on January 7, 1999 at the Great Western Forum. I watched him leave the team (for the second time) to win the Stanley Cup (for the first time) with the Detroit Red Wings in 2002. And once he returned home to LA, I was there for his final home game on April 15, 2006, chanting "Luuuuuuuuuuc" as he skated a final lap around Staples Center ice before he retired from the NHL. 

In January 2007, I sat through quite possibly the longest jersey retirement ceremony ever as his #20 was raised to the rafters of Staples Center. And on June 11, 2012, I cried as I watched him raise the Stanley Cup over his head as a King when the Kings won it for the first time, with Luc serving as President of Business Operations for the team. 

So I was, of course, standing outside Staples Center in Star Plaza on March 7, 2015, when Luuuuuuc was immortalized in bronze, as only the second LA hockey player to be honored with a statue outside the arena. His statue is in the front of the plaza, and unlike most of the others (Wayne Gretzky, Jerry West, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Chick Hearn, Oscar de La Hoya) his statue is in color, with him wearing a white classic Kings jersey, his stick raised over his head and a smile on his face in a celebratory goal-scoring pose. 

Wayne Gretzky showed up to speak in his honor. Mario Lemieux, his Pittsburgh Penguin teammate, also came to the ceremony. Quite possibly the two greatest hockey players ever, were there to honor Luc. That's how respected he his. His Kings teammate and current front-office co-worker Rob Blake spoke. So did Lakers great Jerry West. And Kings fans showed up an hour before game time to watch it all happen. 

Here are some photos :)

Stacia and Luc Robitaille walk the red carpet to the ceremony

 

The Great One

         

Bob Miller's back, Luc's side and the statue under wraps

Rob Blake and Wayne Gretzky in the front row 

The statue is unveiled

View from the front, with (l-r) Mario Lemieux, Luc, Rob Blake, Jerry West, AEG President
Dan Beckerman, Jesse Robitaille, Wayne Gretzky

rob blake's #4 rises to the rafters

Saturday night (January 17, 2015) the LA Kings retired the second of my two, all-time favorite players' numbers.

Rob Blake's #4 will now forever hang in the rafters next to Luc Robitaille's #20, in addition to some other guys you may have heard of named Dave Taylor (#18), Rogie Vachon (#30), Marcel Dionne (#16) and Wayne Gretzky (#99).

Rob's jersey retirement ceremony included 30-ish of Rob's ex-teammates standing by to honor him, with Luc, Kings GM/Rob's current boss Dean Lombardi, current Kings Captain Dustin Brown, and Rob's defensive partner Mattias Norstrom (who flew in from Sweden) speaking about him and his accomplishments both on and off the ice.

People mentioned his records as a defensemen (that Drew Doughty will probably break). They noted he's the only King's defensemen to win the Norris Trophy (Drew will do that eventually too). And they spoke of his Hall of Fame induction last November. But that's all public knowledge.

Dustin Brown, who was beginning his career as Rob's was ending, spoke of how Rob set an example for the younger players like him and Anze Kopitar of how to carry oneself as an NHL player and how to be a leader.

And Luc spoke of how Rob, even when he no longer played for the Kings, paid for Kings season tickets for a family who's three children had muscular dystrophy. The family had attended one game as guests of the Kings, and afterwards while visiting the team in the locker room, the dad told Rob that the game that night was the happiest he'd ever seen his kids. Rob called up the front office the next morning and bought them season tickets that year, and continued to do so every year until, sadly, the kids had all passed away. But that dad -- Luc noted -- was in the crowd Saturday night to see Rob's number go up in the rafters.

That story, my friends, is why I love hockey and hockey players. They are just good guys. And in Rob's case, a good farm boy from Simcoe, Ontario, who made it to the big time, worked hard, developed a booming hipcheck when a shoulder injury made it too painful for him to check the normal way, broke a lot of records, won a Stanley Cup (with the Avs), and stayed humble.

Here's Rob's speech that demonstrates a little of that, and how he feels about his teammates:

The view from Section 205: 

#4 rises to the rafters

Close-up of #4 before being moved over next to #20

things that make me smile

Win number two in three years is now etched in silver. While the first time will always be the best, looking at these names is special because not only is the current team there, but three members of the LA Kings I learned to love hockey by watching in the late '80s / early '90s -- Luuuuuc, Blakey and part of the All-American line from our first Cup run, current scout Mike Donnelly. 

things that make me smile

With the appearance of a FedEx tag on my front door, today became my favorite day in September -- Season Ticket Box of Goodies Arrival Day!

Not only did I get another "Luc Robitaille-Authenticated" container of melted ice that the LA Kings won the Stanley Cup on, but I got my discount card and all my tickets, which are awesome!

The Kings went all out on the season ticket books this year! Not only is every player (not just the long-contracted stars) on a ticket (I guess that means no one is getting traded this year :p), but every ticket has a different photo of Stanley Cup Championship happiness on it and the special games have special tickets. 

This is my favorite ticket :) 

(Glad they used a photo of him sticking out his tongue! Haha)   

things that make me smile

... Reliving the LA Kings' Road to the 2012 Stanley Cup.

This is a great retrospective video series they've been showing during intermissions at games this season. I'm mostly posting it here for me so I can watch them all in one place whenever I want to, but hopefully the hockey fans amongst you will enjoy it too :)

Stanley Cup Moments Episode 1: Stoll's OT Winner

Stanley Cup Moments Episode 2: Penner's OT Winner

Stanley Cup Moments Episode 3: Scuderi Hit

Stanley Cup Moments Episode 4: Daryl Sutter Hired

Stanley Cup Moments Episode 5: The Trade Deadline

Stanley Cup Moments Episode 6: Brown Hits Sedin

Stanley Cup Moments Episode 7: Kings Sweeps St. Louis

Stanley Cup Moments Episode 8: LAX Arrival

Added 3/30/13
Stanley Cup Moments Episode 9: Kopitar's OT Winner

Added 4/5/13
Stanley Cup Moments Episode 10: Carter's OT Winner

Added 4/8/13
Stanley Cup Moments Episode 11: The 5-Minute Major

Stanley Cup Moments Episode 12: The Final Minutes

Added 4/12/13
Stanley Cup Moments Episode 13: The Stanley Cup

Added 4/16/13
Stanley Cup Moments Episode 14: Looking Back

Added 4/20/13
Stanley Cup Moments Episode 15: The 16-4 Playoff Record

Stanley Cup Moments Episode 16: Quick Wins the Conn Smythe

Added 4/23/13
Stanley Cup Moments Episode 17: Champagne Shower

Added 4/26/13
Stanley Cup Moments Episode 18: Championship Parade

great day for a parade

Today was the LA Kings Stanley Cup Victory Parade, an event I never thought I'd ever live to see ;) It was great to see all the players so relaxed and having so much fun after working so hard for the last two months. It was also great to see that really pretty shiny Cup in their hands :)

Here are a few pics from the day:
(The majority are on my Facebook page. If we're friends, go check them out there)

My "money shot" -- Dustin Brown lifts The Stanley Cup, while Anze Kopitar and Jonathan Quick hug it out. Awww.

I was taking pics of Mike Richards, Drew Doughty, Dustin Penner and Jeff Carter and didn't even notice Luuuuuc Robitaille standing right behind them until now :)

President of Business Operations Luuuuuc Robitaille addresses the team and fans 

Team photo with the hardware :)

Today was a celebration for every player who's ever worn a Kings jersey, and all the fans who cheered for them over the last 45 years. It was also for all the personnel who've worked within the Kings organization over the years to mold the team that won that Cup on Monday.

That's why this photo -- taken at the 9-11 Memorial by Kings fan Dave Krasne in New York, and posted today on Twitter with the message, "As a Kings fan in NYC, I couldn't let Mark Bavis or Ace Bailey miss the festivities" -- is so poignant.

Mark Bavis and Garnet "Ace" Bailey were LA Kings scouts who perished on one of the planes that hit the World Trade Center on 9-11. (The Kings mascot "Bailey" is named after Ace.) There is a rumor that the team is petitioning the NHL to put Mark and Ace's names on the Cup. I hope they succeed.