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Larry Robinson
Larryrobinson
Position Defence
Shot Left
Nickname(s) Big Bird[1]
Height
Weight
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
225 lb (102 kg)
Teams Montreal Canadiens
Los Angeles Kings
Nationality Flag of Canada Canadian
Born (1951-06-02)June 2, 1951,
Winchester, ON, CA
NHL Draft 20th overall, 1971
Montreal Canadiens
Pro Career 1971 – 1992
Hall of Fame, 1995

Larry Clark Robinson (born June 2 1951, in Winchester, Ontario, Canada) was a star player and a coach in the National Hockey League. He is currently an assistant coach of the New Jersey Devils.

Playing career[]

He played Junior 'A' hockey with the Brockville Braves 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 height (6'4", and 225 pounds) and his resemblance to Sesame Street's Big Bird which is due to his blond hair and size , 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. Twice he won the James Norris Memorial Trophy 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.

Larry 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 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.

In 1998, he was ranked number 24 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players. The Canadiens retired Robinson's #19 jersey on November 19, 2007 before a 4-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators.

Larry Robinson

Coaching[]

Following his retirement, Robinson was hired as an assistant coach with the New Jersey Devils in 1993. He was hired as head coach of the Los Angeles Kings in 1995, 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. Robinson was fired during the 2001-02 season, but returned as an assistant coach just before the 2002-03 season.

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.

Robinson returned to the Devils prior to the 2007-08 season as an assistant coach under Brent Sutter.

Career statistics[]

Playing career stats[]

    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1969-70 Kitchener Rangers OHA 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
1970-71 Kitchener Rangers OHA 61 12 39 51 65 4 1 2 3 5
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 0 0 0 0 0
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 14 33 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
2006-07 New Jersey Devils Alumni 1 1 2 3 4 0 0 0 0 0
AHL Totals 112 16 47 63 87 15 2 10 12 31
NHL Totals 1383 208 750 958 793 227 28 116 144 211

Coaching career stats[]

Team Year Regular Season Post Season
G W L T OTL Pts Finish W L Win % Result
LA 95/6 82 24 40 18 - 66 6th in Pacific - - - -
LA 96/7 82 28 43 11 - 67 6th in Pacific - - - -
LA 97/8 82 38 33 11 - 87 2nd in Pacific 0 4 .000 Conference Quarter-Finalist
LA 98/9 82 32 45 5 - 69 2nd in Pacific - - - -
LA Total 328 122 161 45 - 289 - 0 4 .000 1 Playoff Appearance
NJ 99/00 8 4 4 0 0 8 2nd in Atlantic 16 7 .696 Won Stanley Cup
NJ 00/1 82 48 19 12 3 111 1st in Atlantic 15 10 .600 Runner up
NJ 01/2 51 21 20 7 3 52 - - - - -
NJ Total 141 73 43 19 6 171 - 31 17 .646 2 Playoff Appearances
1 Stanley Cup
NJ 05/6 32 14 13 0 5 33 - - - - -
NJ Total 32 14 13 - 5 33 - - - - -
Combined NJ Total 173 87 56 19 11 204 - 31 17 .646 2 Playoff Appearances
1 Stanley Cup
Total 501 209 217 64 11 493 - 31 21 .596 3 Playoff Appearances
1 Stanley Cup

References[]

  1. Legends of Hockey: Larry Robinson. Hockey Hall of Fame (2001-2007). Retrieved on 2007-04-18.

See also[]

Preceded by
Pat Burns
Head Coaches of the New Jersey Devils
2005
Succeeded by
Lou Lamoriello
Preceded by
Robbie Ftorek
Head Coaches of the New Jersey Devils
2000–2002
Succeeded by
Kevin Constantine
Preceded by
Rogatien Vachon
Head Coaches of the Los Angeles Kings
1995–1999
Succeeded by
Andy Murray
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
New Jersey Devils Head Coaches
MacMillanMcVieCarpenterSchoenfeldCunniff • McVie • BrooksLemaireFtorekRobinsonConstantineBurns • Robinson • LamorielloJulien • Lamoriello • Sutter • Lemaire • MacLean • Lemaire • DeBoerOatsStevensHynesRuff
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