Robinson lends Hall of Fame touch behind Blues bench

MONTREAL -- Larry Robinson was on the phone from St. Louis, the frightful weather on his mind.

"I'd be better if I were back home in the sun and warmth of Florida, that's for sure," he said recently. "It's terrible here -- it's 28 degrees."
It was little consolation for Robinson to learn that Montreal, where he was a pillar on the Canadiens defense from 1972-89, expected to be clobbered by a snowstorm the following day.
"We had snow here the other night," he said. "And in and around where some of the players live, they had tornado warnings."
Winter notwithstanding, Robinson is enjoying himself during his latest tour of duty at ice level, working as a St. Louis Blues assistant beside coach Craig Berube since Nov. 21.
Robinson will be behind the bench when the Blues host the Edmonton Oilers at Enterprise Center on "Wednesday Night Hockey" (8 p.m. ET, NBCSN, TVA).
On Nov. 19, with a record of 7-9-3, last in the Central Division, the Blues fired coach Mike Yeo. General manager Doug Armstrong named Berube his replacement and summoned Robinson from his home in Bradenton, Florida to work as an assistant until further notice.
Armstrong was on the phone to Robinson that day, not long after the Blues lost 2-0 at home to the Los Angeles Kings. It was a game that Robinson scouted on TV from Florida in his capacity as the Blues senior consultant to hockey operations, having joined St. Louis on Sept. 21 following five seasons with the San Jose Sharks as associate coach and director of player development.

"Doug said to me, 'What do you think?' " Robinson recalled of his conversation with Armstrong after the Blues had been shut out for a third time in four games (1-3-0), while scoring four goals.
"I said, 'I don't think we played that bad, but when you get shut out three times in four games, you're not going to win too many games.' Doug said, 'Well, I decided to make a (coaching) change,' and I'm thinking, 'Well, here we go…' So, here I am."
Robinson, 67, arrived behind the Blues bench with a serious pedigree: nine Stanley Cup championships -- six as a defenseman with the Canadiens and three with the New Jersey Devils as coach or in management -- as well as Norris Trophy wins as the NHL's best defenseman in 1977 and 1980 and the 1978 Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the postseason.
And the Hall of Famer arrived with a hastily packed suitcase.
Armstrong asked Robinson to meet the Blues in Nashville on Nov. 20 for a game against the Predators the next night, so the scramble was underway.
"I left Tampa (Nov. 20) for Nashville and got in there around 3 o'clock that afternoon," said Robinson, who jumped on the ice for the Blues morning skate ahead of their 4-1 loss the following night.
"Then I left Nashville the next day and flew back to Tampa, where (wife) Jeannette picked me up at the airport to go straight to our son's place in Plant City for a Thanksgiving dinner we'd planned. It was a nice visit; then we went back to our place that night, I packed and got up at 4 o'clock the next morning and flew at 6:30 a.m. to St. Louis because we were home to Nashville the following night (Nov. 23)."
Robinson says he's eager to help the team, even while admitting that travel long ago became a grind, having for decades shuttled from planes through airports to hotels and arenas across the continent.
"It's been fun, this is a good group of guys," Robinson said. "We just have to get playing up to our capabilities, we're not playing as well as we can. We're working at it. Mike (Yeo) is a good guy. He tried his best, but that's the way it is."

For now, home is midway between Blues arena and practice facility 25 miles away in Hazelwood, Missouri, his hotel room booked through Dec. 23.
"I'm back behind the bench and it's fine," Robinson said. "I don't think I want to do it for the rest of the year, but I'm happy to help out to see if we can get this team on track, then see what Doug (Armstrong) eventually wants to do. I told him I'd help him out until he decides what's going on."
In the meantime, Robinson is taking inventory of what he packed in Florida for a flight into winter, this trip for now without a return ticket.
"I have enough clothes to last me a little bit," he joked. "I might be getting a little low on shirts but my closet is full of suits. And I've got a chop house, a fish place, an Italian place, a First Watch (for breakfast) and a Starbucks nearby, so I won't go hungry."