Weird Islanders: The Podcast! - Randy Robitaille (with guest Adam Gretz)
The King of Student Discount Night. Also, Jagr to the Isles?! Joined by Penguins writer and fan Adam Gretz, Mike and Dan remember Randy Robitaille, who had a surprisingly productive NHL career for several teams.
From going undrafted and getting hurt in his first game to playing for a whole bunch of undermanned units - who needed stunts like student discount passes just to get people in the building - Robitaille was never a star. But when his tour was over, he played over 500 games and averaged about a half a point per contest, numbers that are eye-opening in context. Somehow, this guy who was on a different team every year had a knack for instantly making himself one of their most important players just before he moved on to the next place.
Adam tells us about Robitaille’s role on the pre-Crosby Penguins, how dire those seasons were in Pittsburgh and rumors or Jaromir Jagr getting traded to the Islanders that were news to us. We also hear why you should never ask Randy if he’s related to Luc Robitaille...
Thanks again to Adam for coming on. You can follow him on Twitter at @AGretz. He’s one of the good Penguins fans.
NOTE: This episode was recorded around the trade deadline and before the Penguins starting making a charge for the playoffs. We still had a good discussion about the state of the team so it was left in. This episode is also dedicated to the memory of Chris Simon.
WEIRD BONUS MATERIAL!
After signing with the Bruins right out of Miami of Ohio, Robitaille suffered a shoulder injury in a game against the Islanders on his first NHL shift, ending his debut stint.
Robitaille’s first tour on Long Island started when Mike Milbury acquired him from the Penguins for a 5th round pick on the same day he traded Claude Lapointe to Philly, also for a fifth round pick.
A fateful and eventful win over the Penguins in February of 2007. Ryan Malone hat trick, two goals from Chris Simon, a game-winner from Mike Sillinger and three assists from Randy Robitaille:
When he picked him up from the Flyers, Garth Snow called Robitaille a “strong playmaker” who would help the Islanders on the power play. Notably, he was not Luc Robitaille, despite who this picture is of.
He apparently liked playing against the Flyers. Here’s two goals from 2007, in January and in March (with awful quality).
Randy definitely had a knack for big moments like this game against Buffalo and this goal in a February 2007 shootout versus the the Leafs, which proved to be the game winner:
His last NHL stop was with his hometown Senators, who were happy to have “a veteran player and a local guy.”
But he wasn’t done! He played for AHL San Antonio before heading to the KHL for two seasons.
These days, Robitaille is an agent. One of this clients his Kings defenseman Brant Clarke.
What makes a “Weird Islander?”
We’re always open to suggestions about other Weird Islanders to discuss. Remember the criteria. Candidates must fulfill one of the two of the following:
Played one (1) season or less for the Islanders or very short stints over multiple seasons.
Be a veteran NHLer who is not generally associated with his time on Islanders.
Subscribe to our Patreon! Plans start as low as $2 a month and patrons get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more. Sign up for our Country Club tier through December to receive an Islanders Anxiety Club iron-on patch.
Visit our friends!
Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items.
The Pinot Project has Rosé, Pinot Grigio and a Pinot Noir that was named a 2022 Top 100 Best Buy by Wine Enthusiast Magazine. All are under $15 a bottle and are available at local wine shops and at UBS Arena.
Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).
Theme song: “Knuckles” by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.
Drum sfx via Zapsplat.com. Jingle bell sfx also via ZapSplat.
Please subscribe, download, rate, review or spread the word about Islanders Anxiety, Weird Islanders: The Podcast! and all of our podcasts any way you can. All of it helps to raise the show’s profile and maybe could get us another fancy sponsor to sell out to in the near future. Leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
All Islanders Anxiety podcasts are available on:
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Amazon Music
NEW! YouTube and YouTube Music
And everywhere podcasts are found
...
Want the trending hockey news in your inbox daily?.
Just add your email, and we'll start sending you the most important hockey news of the day.
