DETROIT -- Luc Robitaille has scored 60 goals in a season,
started an NHL All-Star game and won the Calder Trophy as the
league's rookie of the year.
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But, like goalie Dominik Hasek, Robitaille came to Detroit for
one main reason: a chance to win the Stanley Cup.
"For me in my career, I feel I've accomplished a lot of
things," Robitaille said Thursday at a Joe Louis Arena news
conference. "This is the best chance I've had to win a Stanley
Cup."
Robitaille, a 35-year-old left wing, agreed Monday to terms with
the Red Wings on a two-year contract. He spurned Los Angeles' offer
of one year at a reduced salary to stay with the Kings.
Playing for Detroit means having great teammates, he said
Thursday.
"There's just so many great players, and they're all character
players," Robitaille said.
The signing was announced the same day the Red Wings held a news
conference to introduce Hasek, who was acquired from Buffalo on
Saturday.
"That's why I'm the happiest. First they get the Dominator, and
then they get me," Robitaille said then.
Once Detroit general manager Ken Holland secured Hasek, he
turned his attention to the other end of the ice.
The Red Wings needed to make up for the loss of major scorers
after right wing Martin Lapointe signed with the Boston Bruins on
Monday and veteran left wing Vyacheslav Kozlov was traded to
Buffalo in the deal for Hasek. Lapointe and Kozlov combined for 47
goals last season.
"Last week with the moves we made we lost a lot of our goal
scoring, and with the acquisition of Luc, we got one of the
premier goal scorers and left wings in the National Hockey
League," Holland said.
Robitaille, who earned $3.5 million last season, was surprised
that he is leaving the Kings for the second time in his career.
Detroit expressed interest in Robitaille on Sunday when clubs
were first able to negotiate with unrestricted free agents. The
deal was hammered out Monday.
Robitaille played all 82 games for the Kings last season,
scoring 37 goals and assisting on 51 others. Robitaille was the
Kings' second-leading scorer and led the club with 16 power-play
goals.
In his 15-season career, Robitaille has three 50-goal seasons
and has made eight 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 590 goals and 648 assists in 1,124 career games.
In the playoffs, he has 53 goals and 64 assists.
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