PAST DEVILS PODCASTS
SPEAK OF THE DEVILS PODCAST
David Gould Discusses His new HBSE Role
Chris Peters previews the draft
Recchi Joins the Devils Organization
John Madden discusses life after retirement
Special broadcasters episode
Walsh and Smith talk development and more
NHL's Davis and Scott discuss social justice and HBSE
TSN's Craig Button discusses 2020 NHL Draft propsects
As part of his ceremony and his number 19 raised into the rafters, Robinson was asked to select someone to introduce him, say a few words before Robinson accepted the honor.
"Everybody was wondering who I was going to get to come introduce me," he recalled, "And it's kind of ironic, that one of the guys that I look up to the most, or one of the people that I look up to the most was Lou for what he did for me."
Lou, of course, is Lou Lamoriello, the architect of the Devils three Stanley Cups, and the person who helped bring Robinson into the fold. In 1993, a year after Robinson retired from his playing days, Lou came calling.
"Lou called and he says, 'Well, I'm flying into Montreal. There's a hotel right there, I'll meet you there at such and such a time', I walk in and who is sitting there, but Jacques Lemaire," Robinson shared on the podcast, "I go 'Hey, Jacques, what are you doing here?' And then Lou went on to say that he had hired Jacques as the head coach and that Jacques had asked if he could try to get Larry Robinson to be a one of the assistants. So that's where it all started."
Robinson shared just how much learning there was to do on his part as he stepped behind the bench. He had had some marvelous coaches himself over the years, including the legendary Scotty Bowman, but this was a new beast, a new challenge he was able to tackle.
"The biggest, biggest change is when you're behind the bench," Robinson said, "Especially watching the game, you can't look at it, like, 'Oh, I should have done it that way.' You you've got to teach yourself 'okay, what are they doing? What can I tell this guy or what can I show this particular player to make him better?' And so that's the learning part."
What Robinson makes very clear on the podcast is his love for his time in New Jersey, which was certainly a time that made a significant impact on the Hall of Famer. He most recently was reunited with the 2000 Cup champions this past season, returning to New Jersey with the majority of his team to celebrate the 20th anniversary.
"I love reminiscing, especially about my days in Jersey," Robinson said, "whenever we have these get togethers, like the celebrations for 95 and all that, I mean, you can tell how close the guys are because they couldn't wait to see each other and start talking about stuff that happened and reminiscing. Those are those are things that you take to your grave. So, it's wonderful."
