Gary “Chuck Norris” Roberts Hangs Up The Skates
March 11th, 2009 by sheashuAccording to TSN.ca, Gary Roberts has retired from the NHL for the second time.
He was placed on waivers by Tampa Bay last week prior to the trade deadline and no one claimed him.
I for one, am sad to see him go. I loved him when he was in Pittsburgh. He played with such a reckless abandon, despite his many injuries in his career. His playing style earned him the nickname of Chuck Norris around Pittsburgh and there was actually merchandise with “WWGRD?” (What Would Gary Roberts Do?” printed. Good times.
Nothing phased him at all. Opposing defensemen always looked over their shoulders when they went into the corners to fetch a puck that had been dumped in. You always knew Roberts was going to be flying in behind that poor d-man to put him through the boards and win that puck.
Roberts never took a shift off. He gave 110% every shift and his teammates fed of that. He made the team better with his gritty, take no prisoners style and he will be sorely missed.
For his career, Roberts played 1,224 games, registered 438 goals, 471 assists and 2,560 penalty minutes.
Is he a Hall of Famer? I’d tend to say yes with over 900 points in his career. Not too shabby if you ask me. He also has his name on the Stanley Cup from the 1989 champion Flames.
It’s too bad a contending team didn’t take a flier on Roberts for the playoffs. Part of me was hoping the Pens would claim him, but it wasn’t in the cards.
Congratulations on a great career Gary. Thanks for the memories.
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