Luc Robitaille managed to keep his emotions in check while thanking the Los Angeles Kings and their championship-starved fans at his retirement announcement on Tuesday.
The 40-year-old Canadian began ticking off his favorite moments during 14 NHL seasons spent with the Kings -- his first game in 1986, the team's improbable run to the 1993 Stanley Cup finals and becoming the club's career goal scorer earlier this season.
"My teammates clapped for me," he said, recalling the night he passed friend and mentor Marcel Dionne.
Then he lost his composure.
Robitaille's eyes teared up and his voice broke as he struggled to say the words in a room crowded with current and former teammates.
"Oh, it's tough,'' he said, looking down.
He gripped each side of the podium and quickly composed himself.
"When your teammates respect you to a certain degree, that's the memory you never forget," he said. "As a player, the thing you cherish the most is your teammates."
Robitaille will play his final home regular-season game Saturday against Calgary before the Kings end the season Monday at San Jose. With three games left, they are all but out of the playoff picture.
"I just know it's time," he said. "When reporters keep asking you for the past three years, you start thinking about it."
Robitaille had been kicking around the idea of retirement during the last month in conversations with his wife, Stacia.
"It's definitely a decision we made together," he said. "She's made so many sacrifices throughout the years."
His wife and two sons weren't present Tuesday, but they will attend his final game at Staples Center. He will retire as the NHL's highest-scoring left wing
Robitaille turned 40 in February and is on his third stint with the Kings, the team that drafted him in the ninth round in 1984. He made his NHL debut two years later, scoring a goal in his first game on an assist by Dionne.
Robitaille marveled at how far he's come in 19 NHL seasons, including stints with Pittsburgh, the New York Rangers and Detroit.
"I can't believe I'm saying all those words in English," he said. "I remember looking at a map and seeing how far Los Angeles was, and now this is my home."
DEVILS 4, Hurricanes 3
Brian Gionta scored a power-play goal 28 seconds into overtime and the New Jersey Devils wrapped up a playoff spot in their 4-3 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes.
Martin Brodeur made 37 saves to help New Jersey stretch its winning streak to eight games and become the first NHL goalie to win 40 games in five seasons.
Red Wings 2, Oilers 0
At Detroit, Manny Legace made 29 saves and Kris Draper and Donald MacLean scored goals to help the Red Wings clinch the best record in the NHL.
The Presidents' Trophy-winning Red Wings, with 118 points, will have home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs. Edmonton is eighth in the Western Conference standings -- two points ahead of idle Vancouver -- for the final playoff spot.
Islanders 3, Rangers 2
At New York, Miroslav Satan scored his 32nd and 33rd goals and the Islanders slowed the rival Rangers' drive to the Atlantic Division title.
The Rangers have already clinched their first playoff berth since 1997 and are trying for their first division crown since the Stanley Cup-winning season of 1993-1994.
RSS