nicknamed ""big bird"" in part for his size (6'4" and 225 pounds), robinson was a big and strong yet highly mobile defenceman. he played 17 seasons for the montreal canadiens and another three seasons for the los angeles kings, until his retirement after the 1992 season. he won the james norris memorial trophy twice (1976-77 and 1979-80) as the league's most outstanding defenceman and won the conn smythe trophy as the most valuable player of the 1978 playoffs. he was named to the league's first all-star team thrice and the second all-star team also thrice. his peak years were 1976-77 to 1980-81, although he had a strong comeback season at age 34 in 1985-86 when he was again named to the second all-star team and scored 82 points, just three shy of his career high of 85 (1976-77). robinson was a dominant player whose talent and leadership helped lead the canadiens to six stanley cups.