Joseph Pierre Stéphane Robidas (born March 3, 1977) is a Canadian 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 ...

who currently works as assistant coach for the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

. Robidas played over 900 games in the NHL, most of which came within the

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and were founde ...

' organization. He also played for the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

Anaheim Ducks The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Ducks compete in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division, and play their home games at Honda Center. ...

, and

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

Playing career

Amateur

As a youth, Robidas played in the 1990 and 1991

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament (french: Tournoi international de hockey pee-wee de Québec) is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, ...

s with a

minor ice hockey Minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from cla ...

team from

Sherbrooke Sherbrooke ( ; ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François and Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territory equivalent to a regional count ...

, Quebec.

Montreal Canadiens

Robidas was selected 164th overall by the

in the 7th round of the

1995 NHL Entry Draft The 1995 NHL Entry Draft was the 33rd NHL Entry Draft. It was held at Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton, Alberta. The drafting order was now set partially by a lottery system whereby teams would not be guaranteed first pick if they finished last. I ...

. During his three seasons with the Canadiens, Robidas recorded 23 points in 122 games.

Dallas Stars

On October 4, 2002, Robidas was claimed by the

Atlanta Thrashers The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL) on June 25, 1997, and became the League's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 seaso ...

as part of the NHL Waiver Draft, and subsequently was dealt to the Dallas Stars for a 6th round selection in 2002. He appeared in a career-high 76 games during the

2002–03 NHL season The 2002–03 NHL season was the 86th regular season of the National Hockey League. The Stanley Cup winners were the New Jersey Devils, who won the best of seven series 4–3 against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Regular season The regular se ...

Chicago Blackhawks

Robidas was traded to the

in November 2003 for

Jon Klemm Jonathan Darryl Klemm (born January 8, 1970) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League. , he is an associate coach for the Winnipeg Ice of the Western Hockey League, formerly known as the Koo ...

and a fourth round selection in the

2004 NHL Entry Draft The 2004 NHL Entry Draft was the 42nd NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 26 and 27, 2004 at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. It is especially notable because it was the last NHL event to take place before the beginning of the lockout, ...

. Robidas skated in 45 games for the Blackhawks during the subsequent season. Due to the

2004–05 NHL lockout The 2004–05 NHL lockout was a labor lockout that resulted in the cancellation of the National Hockey League (NHL) season, which would have been its 88th season of play. The main dispute was the league's desire to implement a salary cap to ...

, Robidas played for the

Frankfurt Lions The Frankfurt Lions were a German professional men's ice hockey club from Frankfurt, Germany that played in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. The club ceased operations in 2010 due to financial difficulty. History The hockey team was founded as a se ...

of the

Deutsche Eishockey Liga The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (for sponsorship reasons called "PENNY Deutsche Eishockey Liga") (; English: ''German Ice Hockey League'') or DEL, is a German professional ice hockey league and the highest division in German ice hockey. Founded in ...

(DEL) during the entire 2004–05 lockout season. Later in the season, he was joined on the team by fellow NHLer

Doug Weight Douglas Daniel Weight (born January 21, 1971) is an American professional ice hockey coach, executive and former player. He is also the former head coach and assistant general manager for the New York Islanders. During his 19-year National Hockey ...

, and the pair became fan favorites.

Return to Dallas

In August 2005, following the lockout, Robidas returned to the Stars by signing a two-year contract. In December 2006 the Stars signed him to a three-year, USD$4.5 million contract extension. On March 17, 2007, he was punched while charging

Jordin Tootoo Jordin John Kudluk Tootoo (; born February 2, 1983) is a Canadian former professional hockey player, who played for the Nashville Predators, Detroit Red Wings, New Jersey Devils and Chicago Blackhawks. Of Inuit, Ukrainian and English descent, h ...

of the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...

after

Mike Modano Michael Thomas Modano Jr. (; born June 7, 1970) is an American former professional ice hockey player, who played primarily for the Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars franchise. He spent the final season of his NHL career with his hometown Detroi ...

had been checked by Tootoo. Tootoo still had his gloves on when he punched Robidas, and he hit Robidas square in the face. Robidas went down hard and was taken off the ice on a stretcher. He was taken to a hospital for examination. He later checked out of the hospital after being diagnosed with a concussion and flew back to Dallas with the team. During the

2008 NHL playoffs The 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs of the National Hockey League (NHL) began on April 9, 2008, after the 2007–08 regular season. The 16 teams that qualified, eight from each conference, played best-of-seven series for conference quarterfinals, se ...

against the

in game 5, Robidas took a clearing shot from

Todd Marchant Todd Michael Marchant (born August 12, 1973) is an American former professional ice hockey player who played 17 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played nine seasons with the Edmonton Oilers and almost six seasons with the Anaheim D ...

off the face that broke his nose. He returned to the game after receiving stitches and had a solid outing even though Dallas came up short 5–2. The next game in Dallas, Robidas scored the game tying goal shortly before he would set up

Stu Barnes Stuart Douglas Barnes (born December 25, 1970) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward. He played 16 seasons at centre in the NHL with the Winnipeg Jets, Florida Panthers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Buffalo Sabres, and Dallas Stars. He curr ...

for the series-clinching goal, as Dallas went on to defeat the Anaheim Ducks 4–1 and take the series 4–2 on home ice. Robidas was selected to play in the 57th NHL All-Star Game in Montreal despite having suffered a broken jaw. Robidas won

TSN TSN may refer to: Science and technology * Translin, DNA binding protein involved in microRNA function * Taxonomic serial number, a stable and unique taxonomic serial number issued by the Integrated Taxonomic Information System * The Science Netwo ...

's "No Guts, No Glory" contest, an unofficial award for the

2008–09 NHL season The 2008–09 NHL season was the 92nd season of operation (91st season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). It was the first season since prior to the 2004–05 lockout in which every team played each other at least once during the sea ...

's toughest player. He was selected as the winner after a loose puck had broken his jaw in a game against the Phoenix Coyotes; Robidas missed only one shift after the incident and played more minutes than any skater in that game. He was also placed on a stand-by list by

Team Canada Canadian National Team or Team Canada may refer to: Canada at multi-sport events * Canada at the Olympics * Canada at the Paralympics * Canada at the Commonwealth Games * Canada at the Pan American Games Canada's national sport teams * Canada me ...

for the

2010 Winter Olympics )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...

should an injury occur during the tournament.

Anaheim Ducks

During the 2013–14 season, on November 29, 2013 against the

Robidas broke his right leg in a collision with the boards behind the net. Nearing a return to full health, Robidas was traded to the

for a

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

fourth-round draft pick on March 4, 2014. During the

2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs The 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs of the National Hockey League (NHL) began on April 16, 2014, and ended June 13, 2014 when the Los Angeles Kings defeated the New York Rangers four games to one in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Boston Bruins made the ...

, in his first game back in Dallas as a member of the Ducks, Robidas fractured his right leg again just above the previous fracture.

Toronto Maple Leafs

On July 1, 2014, Robidas signed a three-year, $9 million contract with the

. In poor health due to the two leg fractures sustained in the 13–14 season, Robidas, after one season with the Leafs, sat out the entirety of the following 2015–16 and 2016–17 seasons. Robidas joined the Maple Leafs' front office as a consultant in January 2017, effectively signalling his retirement from the league. He became an assistant director of player development in September 2017 and promoted to become the director of player development in August 2018.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Robidas, Stephane 1977 births Anaheim Ducks players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Finland Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Germany Canadian ice hockey defencemen Chicago Blackhawks players Dallas Stars players Frankfurt Lions players Fredericton Canadiens players French Quebecers HIFK (ice hockey) players Ice hockey people from Quebec Living people Montreal Canadiens draft picks Montreal Canadiens players Montreal Canadiens coaches National Hockey League All-Stars Quebec Citadelles players Shawinigan Cataractes players Sportspeople from Sherbrooke Toronto Maple Leafs coaches Toronto Maple Leafs players