Gary R. Roberts (born May 23, 1966) is a
Canadian former professional
ice hockey player who played 21 seasons in the
National Hockey League (NHL) for the
Calgary Flames,
Carolina Hurricanes,
Toronto Maple Leafs,
Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...
,
Pittsburgh Penguins, and
Tampa Bay Lightning. Renowned for his physical fitness during his career, Roberts has become a high performance trainer for players at all levels of the sport.
Roberts was a member of
Memorial Cup and
Minto Cup winning teams as Canadian
junior hockey and
box lacrosse champions, respectively. He was a first round selection of the Calgary Flames, 12th overall, at the
1984 NHL Entry Draft
The 1984 NHL Entry Draft was the 22nd NHL Entry Draft. It took place on June 9, 1984, at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec.
The 1984 Entry Draft is noted for the unusually high number of future Hall of Famers picked, particularly in lower ...
and played ten seasons in Calgary. Roberts was a member of the Flames'
1989 Stanley Cup championship team and made two of his three
NHL All-Star Game appearances as a representative of the team. A serious neck injury forced him to miss the majority of two seasons, and while his return earned him the 1996
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for perseverance and dedication to the game, he was forced into retirement following the
1995–96 season.
After sitting out a full season, Roberts successfully returned to the NHL in 1997 as a member of the Carolina Hurricanes, with whom he played three seasons. Stints in Toronto, Florida and Pittsburgh followed, and Roberts ended his career in 2009 as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning. He played 11 seasons following his comeback, finishing with
1,224 games played, 438
goals, and 910
points
Point or points may refer to:
Places
* Point, Lewis, a peninsula in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland
* Point, Texas, a city in Rains County, Texas, United States
* Point, the NE tip and a ferry terminal of Lismore, Inner Hebrides, Scotland
* Point ...
.
Early life
Roberts was born on May 23, 1966, in
Toronto,
Ontario, but grew up in
Whitby.
His best friend growing up was future NHL teammate
Joe Nieuwendyk; the pair played
minor hockey together in the winter, and
box lacrosse in the summer.
Roberts played Junior A lacrosse with the
Whitby Warriors in the mid-1980s, with whom he won a
Minto Cup, the Canadian junior championship.
Playing career
Junior
In
junior hockey, Roberts was drafted into the
Ontario Hockey League (OHL).
He joined the
Ottawa 67's in
1982–83 and scored 20 points in 53 games.
Roberts improved to 57 points in his
second season and added 17 points in 13 playoff games.
The 67's reached the OHL final and defeated the
Kitchener Rangers to win the
J. Ross Robertson Cup. The victory advanced the 67's to the
1984 Memorial Cup
The 1984 Memorial Cup occurred May 12–19 at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium in Kitchener, Ontario. It was the 66th annual Memorial Cup competition and determined the major junior ice hockey champion of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). Part ...
tournament where Ottawa reached the final. They again faced Kitchener, who were the tournament hosts, and won the national championship with a 7–2 victory. Following the season, the
Calgary Flames selected Roberts with their first round selection, 12th overall, at the
1984 NHL Entry Draft
The 1984 NHL Entry Draft was the 22nd NHL Entry Draft. It took place on June 9, 1984, at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec.
The 1984 Entry Draft is noted for the unusually high number of future Hall of Famers picked, particularly in lower ...
.
Returned by the Flames to Ottawa for his third junior season in
1984–85, Roberts served as the team's
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
.
He recorded 106 points, including 44 goals, and was named to the OHL's second
All-Star Team.
Entering a rebuilding phase, the 67's were quickly eliminated from the playoffs, after which the Flames assigned Roberts to their
American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the
Moncton Golden Flames. In his first professional stint, Roberts scored four goals and added two assists in seven games.
Roberts returned to Ottawa for a final junior season in
1985–86, a season in which he played with the
Canadian junior team at the
1986 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships
The 1986 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (''1986 WJHC'') was the tenth edition of the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship and was held from December 26, 1985, until January 4, 1986. It was held mainly in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The So ...
. Roberts finished second on the team with six goals for the silver medal-winning Canadians. In the OHL, he split the season between the last place 67's and, following a trade, the
Guelph Platers
The Guelph Platers were a junior ice hockey team based in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. The team played in the Ontario Hockey League, Ontario Junior Hockey League, and Southern Ontario Junior A Hockey League. They were originally known as the CMC's un ...
.
Roberts finished with 84 points combined between the two teams,
and helped the Platers record a record in the playoffs and lead Guelph past the
Belleville Bulls to win the OHL championship. He scored four goals in four games at the
1986 Memorial Cup
The 1986 Memorial Cup occurred May 10–17 at the Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon. It was the 68th annual Memorial Cup competition and determined the major junior ice hockey champion of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). Hosting rights w ...
,
and the Platers defeated the
Hull Olympiques, 6–2 in the final. Roberts ended his junior career as a two-time Memorial Cup champion.
Calgary Flames
In his first professional season,
1986–87, Roberts shuttled between Calgary and Moncton. He was recalled to the Flames three times during the season and scored his first NHL goal in his NHL debut on November 11, 1986, against the
Vancouver Canucks.
He recorded 15 points in 32 games with Calgary and added 38 points in 38 AHL games with Moncton.
In his first full season in Calgary,
1987–88, Roberts improved to 28 points in 74 NHL games, while his 282
penalty minutes
A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for an infringement of the rules. Most penalties are enforced by sending the offending player to a penalty box for a set number of minutes. During the penalty the player may not participate in play. Penaltie ...
were ultimately the highest total of his career, and the first of five consecutive seasons which he recorded over 200 minutes in penalties.
Roberts joined the Flames as a
grinder;
He played a physical style and frequently engaged opponents in
fights
Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...
, but credited Nieuwendyk with helping him establish his place as a
power forward and offensive threat with the team.
Playing on a line with Nieuwendyk and
Håkan Loob, Roberts scored 22 goals in
1988–89.
He added 12 points in the
1989 Stanley Cup Playoffs
The 1989 Stanley Cup playoffs, the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL) began on April 5, after the conclusion of the 1988–89 NHL season. This was the final year that all of the Division Semifinals began with teams playing t ...
, including two goals in the Flames' 5–3 victory in the fourth game of the
Smythe Division final that eliminated the
Los Angeles Kings. Roberts and the Flames went on to defeat the
Montreal Canadiens in the
final to earn the franchise's first
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...
championship.
Developing into an offensive leader, Roberts scored more goals (39) in
1989–90 than he had points (38) the previous season.
He scored his first career
hat trick
A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
in a 6–2 win over the
Edmonton Oilers on March 30, 1990. After regressing to 22 goals and 53 points in
1990–91,
Roberts set career highs in
1991–92 with 53 goals and 90 points. Both totals led the Flames and 53 goals remains the second highest single-season total in Flames history, behind
Lanny McDonald's 66 goals in
1982–83. He played in his first
NHL All-Star Game in
1992
File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...
,
and became one of the first two players in NHL history to score
50 goals and record 200 penalty minutes in the same season (along with
Kevin Stevens of the
Pittsburgh Penguins).
Roberts tied a Flames franchise record with goals in eight consecutive games in
1992–93, a streak that came to an end when he suffered a
quadriceps injury that caused him to miss 25 games.
He finished the season with 79 points in 58 games, and appeared in his
second All-Star Game.
Healthy for most of the
1993–94 season, Roberts led the Flames with 41 goals. He missed the final two weeks due to damage to nerves in his neck, an injury he had experienced previously in his career.
The injury worsened in the
lockout
Lockout may refer to:
* Lockout (industry), a type of work stoppage
**Dublin Lockout, a major industrial dispute between approximately 20,000 workers and 300 employers 1913 - 1914
* Lockout (sports), lockout in sports leagues
**MLB lockout, lock ...
-shortened
1994–95 season as he appeared in only eight games.
Degeneration of the nerves in his neck left Roberts unable to lift a
dumbbell above his shoulder with his left arm.
The injury was considered career threatening and required two surgeries, in March and October 1995, to repair.
After missing the first half of the
1995–96 season, Roberts made his return on January 10, 1996, against the
Hartford Whalers. The fans greeted him with a standing ovation and he responded by scoring a goal and throwing several
bodychecks in the game.
Although he played only 35 games, Roberts scored 22 goals and had 42 points. His return and performance earned him the
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for perseverance and dedication to the game. The problems with his neck failed to abate however, and on June 17, 1996, Roberts elected to retire from the NHL at the age of 30.
Carolina and Toronto
Several months after retiring, Roberts was put in touch with Dr. Michael Leahy, a chiropractor from Colorado, whose "active release technique" of physiotherapy led to an immediate improvement in his mobility. Determined to try and resume his career, Roberts then spent most of the next year with a physical therapist learning a new training regimen.
After sitting out the entire
1996–97 season, Roberts announced his return to the NHL. He remained a member of the Flames, but the team agreed to trade him to an
Eastern team to reduce strain due to travel. The Flames dealt Roberts, along with goaltender
Trevor Kidd, to the
Carolina Hurricanes on August 25, 1997, in exchange for
Andrew Cassels and
Jean-Sébastien Giguère
Jean-Sébastien Giguère (; born May 16, 1977) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey goaltender. He played with the Halifax Mooseheads in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), where he was drafted 13th overall by the Hartford Wh ...
.
In his return season of
1997–98, Roberts recorded 49 points in 61 games.
He dropped to 42 points in
1998–99, but finished fifth in team scoring to help Carolina win a
Southeast Division championship.
He scored his first playoff goal in five years in Carolina's first round series against the
Boston Bruins,
though the Hurricanes ultimately lost the series in six games.
Roberts scored 53 points in
1999–2000 before leaving Carolina as a
free agent.
Returning to Canada, Roberts signed a three-year, $8 million contract with the
Toronto Maple Leafs. He chose his hometown Maple Leafs because he felt they had a better opportunity to win the Stanley Cup than Carolina did.
He recorded 53 points in
2000–01 and his 29 goals led the team. A 48-point season followed in
2001–02 and he assumed leadership of the Maple Leafs during the
2002 Stanley Cup Playoffs
The 2002 Stanley Cup playoffs, the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League began on April 17, 2002.
The Detroit Red Wings defeated the Carolina Hurricanes on June 13, 2002, four games to one, to win their tenth championship in their hi ...
after team captain
Mats Sundin suffered an injury.
Roberts led Toronto past their first round opponent, the
New York Islanders
The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...
, in an occasionally violent seven game series.
Roberts contributed to this violence in game five, with a hit that drove
Kenny Jonsson
Kenny is a surname, a given name, and a diminutive of several different given names.
In Ireland, the surname is an Anglicisation of the Irish ''Ó Cionnaith'', also spelt ''Ó Cionnaoith'' and ''Ó Cionaodha'', meaning "descendant of Cionnaith" ...
into the boards head-first, leading to a season-ending concussion for Jonsson. Roberts was assessed a major penalty, but, surprisingly, was not suspended. The Maple Leafs reached the Eastern Conference final, where they ultimately lost to Carolina. Roberts led Toronto in playoff scoring with 19 points in 19 games.
Playing a physical style again took its toll on Roberts' upper body, and he required surgery on both shoulders following the season. As a result, he missed the first four and a half months of the
2002–03 season; he appeared in only 14 games for Toronto.
The Maple Leafs signed him to a one-year contract extension shortly after he returned from the injury. Roberts reached a career milestone midway through the
2003–04 season, as he played his
1,000th NHL game on January 13, 2004, a 4–1 victory over the Calgary Flames. He finished the season with 48 points in 72 games and played in his
third
Third or 3rd may refer to:
Numbers
* 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3
* , a fraction of one third
* Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute''
Places
* 3rd Street (d ...
All-Star Game.
Florida, Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay
While the NHL was shut down due to a
labour dispute in
2004–05, the
National Lacrosse League (NLL)'s
Calgary Roughnecks selected Roberts in the sixth round of the 2004 NLL Draft, partially as a public relations stunt.
He declined the chance to play professional lacrosse. When NHL play resumed in
2005–06, Roberts and Nieuwendyk each signed a two-year deal with the
Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...
. The pair, who were teammates in Toronto as well as Calgary, hoped to end their careers together in Florida. It did not happen, as chronic back pain forced Nieuwendyk's retirement in December 2006.
Roberts did not last much longer in Florida as, following a 40-point season in 2005–06,
the Panthers sought to trade him to the
Pittsburgh Penguins late in the
2006–07 season. Several members of the Penguins, including
Mario Lemieux and general manager
Ray Shero
Rejean "Ray" Shero (born July 28, 1962) is an American former ice hockey executive who served as the general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins and New Jersey Devils franchises.
Shero was the general manager of the Penguins from 2006 to 2014. H ...
, sought to convince Roberts to agree to the deal as he was initially unsure about leaving Florida but ultimately agreed to the trade.
The deal was completed at the February 27, 2007, trade deadline as Pittsburgh sent prospect
Noah Welch
Noah Paul Welch (born August 26, 1982) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning and the Atlanta Thrashers. Welch ...
to Florida in exchange for Roberts. He was brought in to add a leadership presence to a young Penguins team. He finished the regular season with 13 points in 19 games in Pittsburgh and helped the Penguins reach the playoffs for the first time in six years.
Injuries again hampered Roberts in
2007–08. He missed time early in the season due to a viral infection, then broke his left fibula in a game against the
Buffalo Sabres. He was praised for skating off the ice without assistance despite the injury, but missed over two months of action while his leg healed. Appearing in only 38 games during the regular season,
Roberts returned from the injury in time to score two goals and lead Pittsburgh to a victory in the first game of its opening round playoff series against the
Ottawa Senators. At 41 years, 322 days old, he became the oldest player in NHL history to score more than one goal in a post-season game. He added two assists in ten additional playoff games for the Penguins.
Pittsburgh opted not to re-sign Roberts to a new contract following the season and traded both him and
Ryan Malone
Ryan Gregory Malone (born December 1, 1979) nicknamed "Bugsy", is an American former professional ice hockey forward. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers. In 2003, ...
– who was also a pending free agent – to the
Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for a third round draft pick on June 28, 2008. The deal gave Tampa Bay a brief window in which they had exclusive rights to negotiate a contract. He agreed to a one-year contract with the Lightning. Another injury, to his elbow, caused Roberts to miss 33 games of the
2008–09 season. He played only 30 games and recorded seven points. The Lightning placed him on
waivers as the 2009 trade deadline approached, but no team claimed him. Nine days after playing his final NHL game, an 8–6 win in Calgary where he recorded an assist, Roberts announced his retirement on March 10, 2009.
Fitness and training
Roberts entered his first NHL training camp with the Flames in 1984 believing his summer lacrosse schedule was enough to keep him in proper hockey game shape. Coach
Bob Johnson disagreed and hauled him in front of his peers as an example of someone who had not committed to being a hockey player.
He was initially upset, but grew to realize that Johnson was correct, in that he was not particularly focused on his fitness. The criticism inspired Roberts to dedicate himself to personal training,
and carried a reputation for being obsessed with nutrition and physical fitness throughout his career. He credited his fitness and nutrition regimen with helping him extend his career another 13 years after his first retirement.
As a player, Roberts helped train his peers during off-seasons. He was a member of the
Dallas Stars' staff as the team's player development consultant during the
2010–11 NHL season
The 2010–11 NHL season was the 94th season of operation (93rd season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Boston Bruins defeated the Vancouver Canucks in the Stanley Cup Finals four games to three, being the sixth Cup win in Bruin ...
. One of Roberts' early disciples, Tampa's
Steven Stamkos, developed into a 50-goal player in his first season after training with Roberts and led to numerous players seeking to train with him. His growing reputation as a personal trainer led to the creation of the Gary Roberts High Performance Centre and Fitness Institute in
Toronto, Ontario where he trains junior and professional players, including several in the NHL.
Personal life
Roberts has been married twice and has four children. He and his first wife Tamra have a daughter. The couple were divorced while Roberts was a member of the Maple Leafs. With his second wife, Michelle, he has two sons and a daughter.
Michelle assists her husband at the training centre.
Roberts hosts an annual charity golf tournament in
Uxbridge, Ontario
Uxbridge is a township in the Regional Municipality of Durham in south-central Ontario, Canada.
Communities
The main centre in the township is the namesake community of Uxbridge. Other settlements within the township include Altona, Coppin' ...
, in support of
Canadian Tire
Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited is a Canadian retail company which operates in the automotive, hardware, sports, leisure and housewares sectors. Its Canadian operations include: Canadian Tire (including Canadian Tire Petroleum gas stations a ...
's Jumpstart program, which helps young people get involved in sports.
He is an honoured member of the Whitby Sports Hall of Fame, inducted in 2010.
Roberts coached his son's minor hockey team, the Central Ontario Wolves, in 2005.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
International
Awards and honours
See also
*
List of NHL players with 2,000 career penalty minutes
This is a list of ice hockey players who have accumulated at least 2,000 penalties in minutes (PIMs) in the National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey leagu ...
Notes
*Sources state that Roberts was a member of one Minto Cup winning team, but disagree on the year. Some claim he won in 1984,
others 1985.
*The year of winning the Minto Cup is 1985 as shown in the Archives of the Whitby Librar
References
*''Career statistics'':
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Gary
1966 births
Living people
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy winners
Calgary Flames draft picks
Calgary Flames players
Canadian ice hockey left wingers
Canadian lacrosse players
Carolina Hurricanes players
Dallas Stars coaches
Florida Panthers players
Guelph Platers players
Ice hockey people from Ontario
Memorial Cup winners
Moncton Golden Flames players
National Hockey League All-Stars
National Hockey League first-round draft picks
Ottawa 67's players
Pittsburgh Penguins players
Sportspeople from North York
Stanley Cup champions
Tampa Bay Lightning players
Toronto Maple Leafs players
Canadian ice hockey coaches