Mike Robitaille

Mike Robitaille
Born	February 12, 1948 (1948-02-12) (age 63) Midland, ON, CAN
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight	195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb)
Position	Defence
Shot	Right
Played for	New York Rangers Detroit Red Wings Buffalo Sabres Vancouver Canucks
Playing career	1968–1977

Michael James David Robitaille (born February 12, 1948 in Midland, Ontario) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman. He played in the National Hockey League with the New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks. Currently, he works as a studio analyst on Buffalo Sabres hockey broadcasts on the MSG Network with Rob Ray and Kevin Sylvester.

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 of the Pittsburgh Penguins, which caused nerve damage in his neck. He would later win a lawsuit against the Canucks for mistreating his injuries.

Robitaille was one of the founders of Hockey Hotline, the Buffalo Sabres' postgame show on Empire Sports Network, in 1991 and has worked for the Sabres and various sister outlets ever since. He is known for his colorful analogies and exaggerations.

In recent years, Robitaille has been the fill-in commentator whenever Rick Jeanneret, Jim Lorentz, or Harry Neale cannot 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 since, doctors and Robitaille say that he is not at 100% yet as of September 2010. However he feels ready and will return to his broadcast duties in time for the start of the 2010-11 NHL season with the Sabres.[1]

Personal life

Robitaille lives with his wife, Isabel, in the Buffalo area. When not working with the Sabres, Robitaille is the vice president of development and community affairs for his wife's company, Robitaille Real Estate.[2] He has two daughters—Sarah, a salesperson with her mother's company [3], and Anique, a recording artist in Toronto.[4]

External links

• Mike Robitaille's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Cichon, Steve. The Mike Robitaille Birthday Mix. A compilation of some of Robitaille's commentary from his time on WNSA. Retrieved 2010-05-03.

Persondata
Name	Robitaille, Mike
Alternative names
Short description	Canadian ice hockey defenceman
Date of birth	February 12, 1948
Place of birth	Midland, ON, CAN
Date of death
Place of death