The Kings president joined the "NHL @TheRink" podcast Wednesday and talked to co-hosts Dan Rosen and Shawn P. Roarke about the season they're having and how he knows interest is growing.
"You know, it's funny," Robitaille said. "I always tell my friends that I know a lot of people in L.A., and sometimes throughout (COVID-19), and a lot of times you miss people and so forth, but suddenly it seems like the last three weeks I get a lot of calls or texts saying, 'Hey, how you doing? The team is playing well.' I'm like, 'I haven't heard from you in two years, what happened?' But it is our city. You've got to understand your market and it's fun to see the buzz that we're creating around town right now."
Robitaille spoke to Rosen and Roarke about reasons why the Kings (45-23-10) are having a successful season. They're third in the Pacific Division, three points behind the Edmonton Oilers and four back of the Vegas Golden Knights. He talked about the impact of center Anze Kopitar, who is second on the Kings with 68 points (26 goals, 42 assists). Robitaille said the Los Angeles captain should be a favorite for the Selke Trophy, which goes to the best defensive forward, and gave him credit for the impact he's had on forwards Adrian Kempe and Quinton Byfield.
Kempe has 36 goals and could become the Kings' first 40-goal scorer since Robitaille scored 44 in 1993-94.
Robitaille also discussed the potential of the Kings facing franchise icon Jonathan Quick in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Quick is playing for the Golden Knights. He was traded by the Kings to the Columbus Blue Jackets and then sent to Vegas before the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline.
The wide-ranging interview also included Robitaille's thoughts on defenseman Drew Doughty, reasons why scoring is up in the NHL and how coaches have adapted to the young players coming into the game.
In addition, Rosen and Roarke discussed the playoff races in both conferences, the Oilers as a Stanley Cup contender, reasons why the Minnesota Wild might rotate goalies Marc-Andre Fleury and Filip Gustavsson in the playoffs and much more.
The podcast is free, and listeners can subscribe on all podcast platforms. It is also available on
NHL.com/multimedia/podcasts
and the NHL app.
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Listen: New episode of NHL @TheRink
