Michael James David Robitaille (born February 12, 1948) is a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
former professional
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
defenceman
Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...
and commentator. He played in the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
with the
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...
,
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...
,
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...
and
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...
in a career that lasted from 1968 to 1977.
Playing career
Robitaille played in 382 regular season NHL games, scoring 23 goals and adding 105 assists. He was most well known for his punishing hip checks. He also appeared in 13 playoff games, six with Buffalo and seven for Vancouver, tallying one assist. His career ended pre-maturely in 1977 when he was blind-sided by
Dennis Owchar
Dennis Owchar (born March 28, 1953) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey player who played 288 games in the National Hockey League. He was born in Dryden, Ontario. He played with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Colorado Rockies.NHL.com
...
of the
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...
, which caused nerve damage in his neck. He later won a lawsuit against the Canucks for mistreating his injuries.
Post-playing career
After retiring, Robitaille joined the Sabres' broadcasting arm in 1985. He was one of the founders of ''Hockey Hotline'', the Buffalo Sabres' postgame show on
Empire Sports Network
Empire Sports Network was an American regional sports network that was owned by the Adelphia Communications Corporation. The network was available on cable providers in much of upstate New York (stretching from Buffalo to Albany), as well as pa ...
, in 1991 and worked for the Sabres and various sister outlets until his retirement from television in 2014. He is known for his colorful analogies and exaggerations.
During the 2000s, Robitaille was the fill-in commentator whenever play-by-play announcer
Rick Jeanneret
John Richard Jeanneret (born July 23, 1942)Pergament, Alan (October 5, 2014)‘I feel like an American,’ Jeanneret says, as he gets cancer treatment here ''The Buffalo News''. Retrieved October 5, 2014. “Jeanneret received his first radiatio ...
and former color commentators
Jim Lorentz
James Peter Lorentz, Jr. (born May 1, 1947) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey centre who played 10 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Boston Bruins, St. Louis Blues, New York Rangers and Buffalo Sabres between 1969 and 1978. ...
or
Harry Neale
Harold Watson Neale (born March 9, 1937) is a Canadian retired NCAA, NHL and WHA coach and general manager, and ice hockey broadcaster.
Coaching career
Following his playing career, Neale got his head coaching start at Hill Park Secondary Schoo ...
couldn't fulfill their duties on a game day broadcast.
In February 2010, Robitaille was injured in a car accident suffering a spinal cord injury with neurological damage. Robitaille’s injuries from the accident resulted in him missing broadcast duties for the remainder of the
2009-2010 NHL season. Through months of rehabilitation from the time of accident through September of that year, doctors and Robitaille said that he was not at 100% yet. He said he felt ready and returned to his broadcast duties in time for the start of the
2010-11 NHL season
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
with the Sabres. On October 3, 2013, it was announced that Robitaille would be partially retiring after the season and that former Sabres forward
Brad May
Bradley Scott May (born November 29, 1971) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). In the 2006–07 season he won the Stanley Cup as a member of the Anaheim Ducks. He current ...
would join the crew on a limited basis before moving into Robitaille's slot in a full-time role the following year. Robitaille continued his radio work and some limited television work during his retirement.
Personal life
Robitaille was born in
Midland, Ontario
Midland is a town located on Georgian Bay in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Huronia/Wendat region of Central Ontario.
Located at the southern end of Georgian Bay's 30,000 Islands, Midland is the economic centre of the region, ...
. He lives with his wife, Isabel, in the Buffalo area; the couple also has a second home in Mexico. When not working with the Sabres, Robitaille is the vice president of development and community affairs for his wife's company, Robitaille Real Estate. He has two daughters—Sarah, a salesperson with her mother's company,
and Anique, a recording artist in Toronto. Mike Robitaille is distantly related to former NHLer
Luc Robitaille
Luc Jean-Marie Robitaille (born February 17, 1966) is a Canadian–American professional ice hockey executive and former player. He currently serves as president of the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL).
During his 19-season N ...
. Mike's 6th great-grandfather and Luc's 8th great-grandfather were brothers.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robitaille, Mike
1948 births
Buffalo Bisons (AHL) players
Buffalo Sabres announcers
Buffalo Sabres players
Canadian ice hockey defencemen
Cincinnati Swords players
Detroit Red Wings players
Ice hockey people from Ontario
Kitchener Rangers players
Living people
New York Rangers players
Omaha Knights (CHL) players
People from Midland, Ontario
Vancouver Canucks players