With his 668 career goals, Luc Robitaille is widely considered one of the greatest goal scorers in hockey history. When he was asked to name his “Mount Rushmore” of French-Canadian hockey players, he surprised a lot of people.
Drafted by the Los Angeles Kings 171st overall in 1984, Robitaille tallied 45 goals in his rookie season in 1986. During his 19 NHL seasons, he played for the Kings, Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers, and the Detroit Red Wings, where he also won a Stanley Cup in 2002.
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Luc Robitaille’s Mount Rushmore
After hanging up his skates following the 2005–2006 season, Robitaille was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009. Since then, he has served as President of the Kings. Appearing as a guest on the Games with Names podcast, Robitaille was asked to name his Mount Rushmore of French-Canadian hockey players. Born in Montreal, he had some trouble limiting his list to just four names.
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”He was like Babe Ruth”
“For me, Mario Lemieux is number one. Guy Lafleur—growing up in Quebec, it was amazing. Then Ray Bourque on defense, and then Jean Beliveau. If you grew up in Quebec, he was like Joe DiMaggio. That was our Joe DiMaggio—he won the Stanley Cup 17 times. And then, another one growing up in Quebec, Maurice Richard. ‘Rocket’ Richard was the Babe Ruth of hockey. Those were, for us, the Mount Rushmore. And I would probably also throw in, even though they were very close, Patrick Roy and Martin Brodeur,” Robitaille said on the podcast.
You can watch the video below.
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