Charlie Simmer

It took him a few seasons, but by 1979-80 Charlie Simmer had established himself as one of the most prolific scorers of his time.

Then tragedy struck.

Despite scoring 45 goals and 99 points in his only season of major junior hockey with the Soo Greyhounds, "Chaz" wasn't drafted until 39th overall in 1974. The California Golden Seals selected him in the 4th round.

Simmer never got untracked in California or Cleveland (the Seals moved to Ohio in 1976). He was released and signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Kings, the team where he would become famous.

It wasn't an instant hit though. Simmer spent a year and a half in the minors. In fact he almost quit hockey altogether before finally catching on with the Kings full time in 1978-79. He finished the year with a very impressive 21 goals and 48 points in 38 games.

Moved to the left wing, Simmer was a perfect match on a line with Marcel Dionne and Dave Taylor. The trio were quickly dubbed the Triple Crown line - one of the most famous units in hockey history.

For those who didn't notice Simmer's late season exploits, Simmer continued his excellence in the following season, leading the league in goal scoring with 56 goals. He added 45 assists for 101 points in just 64 games. He set the modern day NHL record with goals in 13 consecutive games.

In 1980-81, Simmer and New York Islanders superstar Mike Bossy both chased down Maurice "Rocket" Richard's legendary mark of 50 goals in 50 games. Bossy equaled the record, but Simmer fell just short. Simmer scored a hat trick in the 50th game of the year, but fell one shy with 49 goals in 50 games. He ended up with just 7 more goals, as he was limited to just 65 games.

A terrible injury ended Simmer's dream season on March 2, 1981. During a game in Toronto, Simmer's right leg was shattered. He didn't skate again until late November. His damaged leg was held together by a metal plate and nine screws.

Simmer's 1981-82 season was a tough one. He spent most of the year learning to play with his bad leg. He got into 50 games, scoring 15 times. Much of his ice time was limited to spot duty and power play shifts. By the playoffs he was regaining his old form, scoring 4 goals and 11 points in 10 games.

"I had to start out early with spot duty and power play shifts. And the biggest thing was to develop confidence that I could depend on the leg. You've got to be able to play without even thinking about it."

Simmer did learn to trust his leg, and also regained his speed. He wasn't a speedy player by any means, but for a man of his size, he had a surprising, powerful burst in his stride.

Simmer returned to a point a game form in 1982-83, scoring 80 points in a full 80 games. However only 29 of those points were goals. While he played his first full healthy season, the goal scoring machine seemed to be missing some of its potent cogs.

Simmer was able to return to his goal scoring form in 1983-84. He scored 44 times in 79 games, while adding 48 assists for 92 points. Most of his goals, as always, were garbage goals. He had a powerful wrist shot and fired the puck from anywhere, but like Tim Kerr he learned he was immovable in front of the net and a scoring machine in the slot.

Following an ugly contract dispute, the Kings traded Charlie to Boston after just 5 games in 1984-85. In Boston Charlie put together some nice seasons. He scored 34 goals his first year. In 1985-86 he was having one of his best seasons ever, but as usual he saw it ended by injury. Simmer got into only 55 games, but scored 36 goals.

Simmer appeared in all 80 games in '86-87, scoring 29 goals and 69 points. He spent one more year in the NHL, with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He bowed out quietly, scoring just 11 goals in 50 games with Mario Lemieux and company.

Simmer spent the 1988-89 season getting hockey out of his system by playing in Germany. He later returned to North America, playing in parts of two seasons with the IHL's San Diego Gulls.

Simmer was a two time NHL All Star, and was also given the Bill Masterton trophy in 1986 for his dedication to the game. Despite so many injuries, Charlie always battled back.

Luc Robitaille

"Cool Hand Luc" Robitaille is one of the most popular athletes on the Hollywood sports scene ever. However when the Los Angeles Kings made Robitaille their ninth round pick (171st pick overall) of the 1984 NHL Entry draft, they didn't expect much from the left winger. The Kings got a bit "lucky" themselves when "Lucky Luc" Robitaille's career blossomed following his draft year.

Robitaille would be returned to junior hockey for the following two seasons where he dominated with the Quebec league's Hull Olympiques. In his magnificent junior career, Luc played in 197 games recording 155 goals, 270 assists for 425 points! 191 of those points came in his final season with Hull, a season in which he was named the Canadian Major Junior Player of the Year.

Doubts of his skating ability still plagued him but he managed to shake that reputation in 1987 as he won the Calder trophy as the National Hockey League's best rookie, outdistancing Flyers rookie goalie Ron Hextall in voting. He also was named to the NHL Second All Star Team in just his first year, scoring 45 times and totaling 84 points.

Robitaille made up for any skating deficiencies with one of the most accurate shots in NHL history. He was a regular leader in shooting percentage, thanks to a number of reasons. He worked himself into high percentage scoring areas, often down low and in tight. Though a defender might have been draped all over him, he always kept his stick unchecked. He would release his shot in the blink of an eye, usually just burying passes and rebounds with no backswing at all.

There was no sophomore jinx for Lucky Luc, either, as he improved his performance in year 2 to 53 goals and 111 points and was named to the NHL's First All Star Team for the first of 4 times.

Robitaille's best season came in 1992-92 when he established NHL records for goals (63) and points (125) by a left winger and was named the Kings MVP as he elevated his game to the highest level as Wayne Gretzky missed half the season with a back injury. Robitaille also served as team captain during Gretzky's absence.

Robitaille, an under-noticed physical player, continued to be almost unquestioningly the league's best left winger for 8 seasons, consistently scoring goals. He scored at least 44 goals in 8 consecutive seasons (only Gretzky and Mike Bossy had better streaks), and also managed to shake his playoff jinx as he became a genuine playoff threat in 1992 with 12 goals in 12 games and in 1993 when he was a major part of the Kings "Cinderella" Cup run.

Just one year after coming so close to winning Lord Stanley's Grail, the Kings missed the playoffs. Robitaille played for Canada's national team at the 1994 World Championship in Italy. It was Robitaille who scored the gold medal winning goal in a shootout, giving Canada its first world championship in 33 years.

Back in Los Angeles changes were afoot following the disappointing playoff no-show. In the biggest trade of all, perhaps the most popular King of all time to Pittsburgh where he would join Mario Lemieux and the league's best collection of sharpshooters. However it wasn't meant to be in Pittsburgh. First Mario announced he wouldn't play that season to rest his ailing back, and then the NHL lock-out resulted in just a 48 game schedule. Luc managed 23 goals and 42 points, and despite scoring 7 times in 12 playoff games, he was dealt to the NY Rangers.

Robitaille's performance in the Big Apple dipped to average only 24 goals in his two seasons. Despite briefly being reunited with Wayne Gretzky, Robitaille wasn't used regularly because his style never really fit in with the Rangers. His lack of quickness was again becoming an issue as he got older.

At the beginning of the 1997 season, Luc was returned to the Los Angeles Kings where he is now a veteran counted on for leadership. With another injury riddled year, he scored only 16 times and many had written off Robitaille, which only proved to be a mistake.

Robitaille found his scoring touch again in 1998-99, lighting the lamp 39 times. He followed that up with seasons of 37 and 36 goals.

One of these goals stood out more than the others. He reached the 500-goal milestone in a game against the Buffalo Sabres on January 9, 1999. Only the sixth left winger in league history to reach the plateau, Robitaille scored the goal in his 928th NHL game, making him the 12th fastest ever to accomplish the feat.

In a surprise move, Robitaille became a un-restricted free agent and opted to sign with Detroit Red Wings in 2001. In his first season with the Wings, Robitaille registered 30 goals surpassing the 600-goal club and captured his first Stanley Cup and the Wings third cup in six years. Interestingly, with his day with the Stanley Cup, Robitaille brought the Cup back to Los Angeles, taking the trophy up into the hills by the famous "Hollywood" sign.

After two seasons and one Stanley Cup in Detroit, Robitaille was returned once again to the Los Angeles Kings for his third stint with the club in the summer of 2003. Luc Robitaille played his last game on April 17, 2006 with the Los Angeles Kings after 19 seasons of NHL competition.

With 557 of his 668 career NHL goals coming in a Los Angeles uniform he retired as the Kings all time leading goal scorer. He later became the fifth King to have his jersey #20 retired, joining Gretzky, Rogie Vachon, Marcel Dionne and Dave Taylor.

Kings Hockey Tickets

Marcel Dionne

Many of today's superstars of the professional sports world complain about a lack of privacy. The demands on their time because they are famous and worshipped by millions is probably the worst aspect of the life of a pro athlete.

Rarely does a superstar slip through the cracks of prestige and recognition as inconspicuously as Marcel Dionne.

Dionne finished his career ranked as the third highest scorer of all time with 731 goals, 1040 assists and 1771 points in 1348 games. Only Wayne Gretzky and Gordie Howe amassed more impressive totals at the time.

In fact, of all the greats to grace the ice, Dionne ranks as the highest scoring French Canadian of all time. Not Guy Lafleur or Rocket Richard or Jean Beliveau or Mario Lemieux. Marcel Dionne outscored them all.

Yet when fans endlessly debate who is the greatest player of all time, Marcel's name hardly ever gets as much as a whisper. In the recent "Top 50 NHL Players of All Time" issue of the Hockey News, the third highest scorer in NHL history was ranked only 38th.

Why is Dionne under-appreciated? For one, he spent most of his career in Los Angeles when hockey was little more than an a passing thought in the sunbelt of the United States.

Another reason is despite all of his spectacular scoring displays, he has very little in terms of trophies in his display case. He was overshadowed first by the powerful Montreal Canadiens in the 1970s, and then by Wayne Gretzky in the 1980s.

Probably the biggest reason why Dionne gets very little acknowledgment as one of the game's greatest is because his own team never really achieved much in terms of team success. Dionne appeared in the Stanley Cup playoffs in only 9 of his 18 years, never once getting close to appearing in the Stanley Cup finals. He appeared in 49 games and managed 45 points. This lack of Stanley Cup success often equates to a diminished status when discussing the greatest ever.

Marcel Dionne was perhaps the first great French Canadian not to play for Montreal. Back then it was considered destiny for a high scoring French Canadian to play for the Habs. However the fates never allowed Dionne to fulfill his destiny. The 1971 draft was quite the mini-drama in itself as Montreal acquired the 1st overall pick, and were faced with the tough decision of selecting two French Canadian scoring stars - Dionne or Guy Lafleur.

The Habs selected Lafleur, who initially struggled. Meanwhile Dionne went #2 to Detroit where he set the league on fire. Dionne, who was immediately dubbed "Little Beaver" because of his uncanny resemblance to a midget wrestler who used the stage name, set NHL rookie scoring records (since broken) and in fact scored 366 points in his first four seasons, more points in a four year period than any other player in history to that point.

Unfortunately he and the Wings had their differences, and after refusing to sign a contract he found the Los Angeles Kings were willing to pay $300,000 a season. That was the richest deal in hockey history to that point. A trade was worked out, and Dionne headed west.

Dionne instantly became the Kings shining jewel. Soon he would center one of the greatest lines in hockey history: the Triple Crown line with Dave Taylor and Charlie Simmer. His play on the ice was regal, winning the Art Ross and Lady Byng trophies.

Though Dionne's scoring prowess continued to impress on the California coast, he played in seemingly uninterrupted obscurity. Meanwhile Lafleur found his game, and was leading the Montreal Canadiens to multiple Stanley Cups.

Dionne would continue to play in Los Angeles until late 1987, when he accepted a trade to the New York Rangers. Dionne left, and continues to be, the Los Angeles Kings all time leading scorer. The Kings also retired his #16.

Dionne finished his career with the New York Rangers. Though he enjoyed his time on Broadway, his career came to a surprising end in the minor leagues. After being a healthy scratch many times in 1989, Dionne pushed for a minor league re-assignment, just wanting to play the game he loved. He would return to New York state and make it is home, opening up a dry cleaning business as well as promoting his own line of memorabilia.

Despite being one of the most prolific scorers in history, Dionne doesn't seem to get his due. Perhaps that's because he played in Los Angeles and never got the media attention he deserved. He never really played with a good team, as he was never part of a good playoff run or a Stanley Cup victory.

He is however, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the greatest hockey players of all time.