Los Angeles Kings
Los Angeles Kings
Founded	1967-1968
Home ice	Staples Center
Based in	Los Angeles
Colors	Purple, Black, Silver
League	National Hockey League
Head coach	Andy Murray
General manager	Dave Taylor
Owners	Philip F. Anschutz and Edward P. Roski, Jr.

The Los Angeles Kings are a National Hockey League team based in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Founded: 1967

Arena: Staples Center

Uniform colors: Purple, black, and silver

Logo design: A silver crown outlined in purple

Stanley Cups won: none

Added in the NHL's 1967 expansion, along with the Minnesota North Stars, Oakland Seals, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and St. Louis Blues.

File:Oldkingslogo.gif

The Pacific Coast Hockey League had many teams in the Southern California area, and minor pro hockey found success there. However, the lack of a major arena in the area was the primary factor in the National Hockey League's decision before the Sixties to not expand to Los Angeles.

When the PCHL threatened to turn itself into a major league and compete for the Stanley Cup, the Canadian entrepreneur Jack Kent Cooke paid the NHL $2 million to form a new team in Los Angeles as one of the expansion teams to be added for the 1967-68 NHL season, and on February 9, 1966, Cooke was awarded a new NHL franchise, behind his promise to build a new arena for his team.

The Kings opened the 1967-68 NHL season, their first in the NHL, at the Long Beach Arena on October 14, 1967, defeating the Philadelphia Flyers, 4-2. For the next two months, the Kings played their home games at Long Beach and at the Los Angeles Sports Arena.

File:Kingscrownlogo.gif

As for the new arena, Cooke stated that the new team would play in "the most beautiful arena in the world." True to his word, the first home of the Kings, the "Fabulous Forum" in Inglewood, California, opened to rave reviews on December 30, 1967, even though the Kings were shutout by the Flyers, 2-0.

The Kings made the Forum their home for the next 32 seasons. Players like Bill "Cowboy" Flett, Eddie "The Jet" Joyal, Eddie "The Entertainer" Shack, and Real "Frenchy" Lemieux helped introduce the Los Angeles area to the NHL in the team's first few seasons. Such player nicknames were the brainchild of owner Cooke, who felt that colorful nicknames would make hockey more user-friendly to the Southern California market. He even insisted that his radio and television commentators use the nicknames in preference to the players' given names.

In their first season, the Kings finished a very respectable second place in the Western Division, just one point behind the Flyers, but would be eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Minnesota North Stars in seven games.

In their second season behind head coach Red Kelly, the Kings would finish fourth in the Western Division. But after eliminating the Oakland Seals in the first round of the playoffs in seven games, the Kings were swept out of post-season play in the second round by the St. Louis Blues.

After two fairly successful seasons, the Kings hit hard times, mostly due to poor management, who would establish a history of trading away first-round draft picks, usually for veteran players, some of them NHL stars, on the downside of their careers.

In 1972, the Kings moved to bring some credibility back to the franchise when they hired former Kings' defenseman Bob Pulford as their head coach. It took him just two seasons to lead the Kings back into the playoffs (lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in five games), and he would eventually lead the team to five of the most successful seasons in franchise history.

Despite qualifying for post-season action in the 1973-74 and 1974-75 seasons (eliminated in the first round in both years), the Kings finally moved to substantially upgrade their offensive firepower when they acquired center Marcel Dionne on June 23, 1975, in a trade with the Detroit Red Wings.

Dionne, already a superstar in the NHL, had an immediate, resounding impact in the 1975-76 season, scoring 40 goals and adding 54 assists for 94 points in 80 regular season games. He lead the Kings to a 38-33-9 record (85 points), earning them a second place finish in the James Norris division.

Behind Dionne's offensive prowess, the stellar goaltending of Rogatien Vachon (better known as "Rogie"), and the speed and scoring touch of forward Butch Goring, the Kings swept the Atlanta Flames out of the first round of the playoffs, but were eliminated in second round by the Boston Bruins in seven games.

The Kings would beat the Flames and lose to the Bruins the following season as well.

Three seasons later, the Kings had still not advanced past the second round of the playoffs. But on January 13, 1979, Dionne found himself on a new line with two young, mostly unknown players, second-year right wing Dave Taylor, and left wing Charlie Simmer, who had been a career minor-leaguer. But this line combination would go on to become one of the highest-scoring line combinations in the history of the NHL.

After that first season that the "Triple Crown Line" played together, Dr. Jerry Buss purchased the Kings, the National Basketball Association's Los Angeles Lakers, and the Forum for $67.5 million, but the Triple Crown Line remained intact.

File:Kings1980homejersey.jpg

The next season, the Triple Crown Line dominated the NHL, 146 goals and 182 assists, good for 328 points. The entire line, along with goalie Mario Lessard, was selected to play in the NHL All-Star Game that season, which was played at the Forum. In that 1979-80 season, Dionne won the Art Ross Memorial Trophy for winning the NHL scoring title that season with 137 points on 53 goals and 84 assists.

But even with the Triple Crown Line's ability to dominate, the Kings still could not get out of the first round of the playoffs until the 1981-82 NHL season.

That year, the Kings opened the playoffs against the Edmonton Oilers, who were led by a young, but fast-rising star by the name of Wayne Gretzky.

Gretzky was only in his third year in the league, but he dominated the NHL like no other had before from the moment he stepped onto NHL ice in his rookie season. And by the 1981-82 NHL season, he was already the most dominant player in the league, and he made the Oilers one of the elite teams in the NHL, on their way to winning four Stanley Cup championships in the 1980's.

Given that background, what happened in Game 3 of the Kings' first-round playoff matchup against the vaunted Oilers was truly unbelievable.

File:Robitaillevintagehomejersey.jpg

In that game, played on April 10, 1982 at the Forum, Gretzky led the Oilers to a commanding 5-0 lead after two periods, and had the game locked up. But the Kings did not give up. They scored five unanswered goals in the third period to tie the game, and then Kings' forward Daryl Evans scored at 2:35 of overtime to win it for the Kings, 6-5.

The "Miracle on Manchester," arguably one of the greatest comebacks in NHL playoff history, is the greatest moment in Kings' franchise history to date. And not only did the Kings complete a miraculous comeback against the mighty Oilers, but they also went on to eliminate the Oilers in five games.

Despite Dionne's leadership, the Kings missed the playoffs the next two seasons, and were quickly swept out of the playoffs by the Oilers in the 1984-85 NHL season, when the Oilers won their second straight Stanley Cup championship.

Dionne's time with the Kings ended on March 10, 1987, when he was traded to the New York Rangers. But by this time, the Kings had new skaters to help lead them into the next decade, including star forwards Bernie Nicholls, Jimmy Carson, Luc Robitaille, and defensemen Steve Duchesne, and eventual Hall-of-Famer Larry Murphy.

The Kings continued to be bounced out of the first round of the playoffs until 1988-89, a season that would be a big turning point for the franchise.

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File:KingsSilver Logo.gif

In 1987, Bruce McNall purchased the Kings from Buss, and he turned the team into a Stanley Cup contender almost overnight when he pulled off the unthinkable on August 9, 1988, when he acquired Wayne Gretzky from the Oilers in a blockbuster trade that rocked the hockey world, especially north of the border, where Canadians mourned the loss of what they considered a national treasure.

In Gretzky's first season with the Kings, The Great One led the team in scoring with 168 points on 54 goals and 114 assists, and won his ninth Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's most valuable player. He led the Kings to a second place finish in the Smythe Division with a 42-31-7 record (91 points), and they ranked fourth in the NHL overall.

File:Kings1988roadjersey.jpg

In the 1989 playoffs, Gretzky led the Kings to a seven-game series win against the Oilers in the first round, but the Kings were quickly swept out of the playoffs in the second round by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Calgary Flames.

Over the next two seasons, Gretzky would lead the way, only to see his team bounced out of the playoffs in the second round by his former team, the Oilers, who won the Stanley Cup in 1990.

Gretzky led the Kings to their first division title in franchise history in the 1990-91 season with a 46-24-10 record (102 points), but that would not be the pinnacle of his career in Los Angeles.

The Kings would reach new heights in the 1992-93 NHL season, but the year started badly for the team when it was learned that Gretzky had suffered a career-threatening herniated thoracic disk before the season began. The concern was not only if Gretzky would be able to play that season, but if he would ever be able to play again.

But without their captain and leading scorer, the Kings got off to a blistering 20-8-3 start, with left wing Luc Robitaille filling in as captain for the ailing Gretzky. Robitaille led the team until Gretzky returned after missing the first 39 games.

Robitaille and Gretzky, along with former Oilers' winger Jari Kurri, forwards Tony Granato and Tomas Sandstrom, defensemen Rob Blake and Alexei Zhitnik, and goalie Kelly Hrudey, would lead the Kings through a rough middle portion of the season until they found their game once again in the last three months of the season to qualify for post-season action.

Although Gretzky came back to score 16 goals and 49 assists (65 points) in just 45 games, it was Robitaille who was the Kings' impact player that season, leading the team in scoring with 63 goals and 62 assists (125 points) in 84 regular season games, setting new NHL all-time records for goals and points scored by a left winger in a single season.

Kings' head coach Barry Melrose had his team's offense running on all cylinders when the 1993 playoffs began, and they scored a whopping 33 goals in the series against the Calgary Flames.

In the second round, the Kings faced the heavily-favored Vancouver Canucks, a team that had beaten the Kings rather handily five times in seven games during the regular season, and had not lost to the Kings in their four meetings in Vancouver.

But the Kings would go on to eliminate the Canucks in six games, with the pivotal victory coming in Game 5 at Vancouver, which was tied, 3-3 at the end of regulation play.

The teams were still tied after the first overtime period, but winger Gary Shuchuk scored at 6:31 of the second overtime period, giving the Kings a 3-2 series lead, and dealing the Canucks an emotional blow they would not recover from.

In the Campbell Conference Finals, the Kings were even more of an underdog against the Doug Gilmour-led Toronto Maple Leafs. But with Gretzky leading the team, the Kings eliminated the Leafs in a hard-fought seven game series that included two overtime games and a Game 6 win for the Kings, who were facing elimination after losing Game 5 in overtime--they trailed the Leafs in the series, 3-2.

In Game 6, the teams were tied, 4-4 at the end of regulation play, only to have Gretzky score in overtime to give his team a dramatic 5-4 victory, sending the teams back to Toronto for Game 7, when Gretzky scored a hat trick (three goals), and an assist to lead the Kings to a 5-4 win and a berth in the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in franchise history.

File:LAKings1993celebration.jpg

In the Stanley Cup Finals, the Kings faced the Montreal Canadiens, who breezed through the playoffs and were very well-rested. The Kings defeated the Canadiens in Game 1, 4-1, only to suffer three agonizing overtime losses in Games 2-4.

And in Game 5, the Canadiens, who were led by superstar goalie Patrick Roy throughout the series, had a fairly easy time defeating the demoralized Kings, 4-1 to win their 24th Stanley Cup championship.

Despite the stinging defeat at the hands of the Canadiens in the finals, Gretzky and the Kings had generated excitement about hockey and the NHL that had never been seen before in Southern California. As soon as Gretzky donned a Kings jersey, the Forum was sold out for every game--virtually overnight, a Kings game became the hottest ticket in town.

The Kings' 1993 playoff run made hockey even more popular in Southern California, as new youth and adult ice and roller hockey leagues popped up across the region, attracting new players in droves, and the sport remains extremely popular in Southern California to this day.

Gretzky's and the Kings popularity also led to the NHL awarding an expansion team to Anaheim, California. And in the 1993-94 NHL season, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim would become the Kings nearest rival, just 35 miles to the south.

Gretzky's popularity in Southern California also led to the NHL expanding into other cities such as Phoenix, Arizona, Dallas, Texas, Tampa Bay, Florida, Sunrise, Florida (not far from Miami), and Nashville, Tennesee.

The next four seasons would be major disappointments, as the Kings failed to qualify for the playoffs. It was during this period that owner Bruce McNall's criminal activities came to light, and he would eventually be convicted of bank fraud. McNall's mismanagement put the Kings in dire financial straits, forcing the team to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy--they were even unable to meet player payroll.

While he was headed to prison, McNall sold the team to Joseph Cohen and Jeffrey Sudikoff, but even they were unable to lift the Kings out of their financial woes, and the Kings were unable to spend the money needed to bring in talent.

The Kings' financial woes resulted in a depleted roster with little talent, and created a ripple effect for the next few years--the Kings missed the playoffs for four seasons, from 1993-94 to 1996-97, even though the team was purchased in October, 1995 by Philip Anschutz and Edward P. Roski Jr., who would lead the franchise into a new era.

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Now under the ownership of the Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), the Kings began a rebuilding phase. Meanwhile, Gretzky, who was by this time on the downside of his career, stated publicly that he wanted the team to acquire a forward capable of scoring fifty goals per season and an offensive defenseman. If they failed to do that, he wanted to be traded to a team that was a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.

After all he had done for the game by that time, Gretzky probably deserved another chance to win the Stanley Cup before retirement. But his public statements forced the Kings' hand, since no team would now give them equal value in a trade because of his demands--the Kings would be at a huge disadvantage in any trade, and this would badly hurt their rebuilding program.

On February 27, 1996, The Great One was traded to the St. Louis Blues for forwards Craig Johnson, Patrice Tardif, Roman Vopat, a first-round pick in the 1997 draft (Matt Zultek) and a fifth-round choice in the 1996 draft (Peter Hogan).

To illustrate how lopsided that trade was, only Johnson played for a significant length of time in the NHL, and none of those players made significant contributions to the Kings--with the exception of Johnson, they all floundered in the minor leagues and never panned out.

Shortly after Gretzky was traded, the often-maligned general manager Sam McMaster was fired and was replaced by Dave Taylor. But the rebuilding phase for Taylor was a tough one, as the Kings continued to flounder--they failed to make the playoffs until the 1997-98 season.

After another disappointing season in 1998-99, then head coach Larry Robinson, who also played two seasons for the Kings from 1990-1992, was not re-hired.

Taylor turned to Andy Murray, who became the Kings' 19th head coach on June 14, 1999. Taylor's hiring of Murray was immediately criticized by media across North America because of Murray's perceived lack of experience--up to that point, his only head coaching experience had been at the international level with the Canadian National Team and at the US high school level. Indeed, Taylor took a gamble on Murray, hoping it would pay off.

But Taylor was not finished dealing that summer. Shortly after hiring Murray, Taylor acquired star right wing Zigmund Palffy and veteran center Bryan Smolinski on June 20, 1999, in exchange for center prospect Olli Jokinen, forward prospect Josh Green, defenseman prospect Mathieu Biron and the Kings' first-round pick in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft.

The Kings also made an even bigger move in the 1999-2000 NHL season, as they left the Great Western Forum and moved to Staples Center in Downtown Los Angeles, which was built by Anschutz and Roski.

Staples Center was a state-of-the-art arena, complete with luxury suites and all the modern amenities that fans and athletes wanted in a new facility.

With a new home, a new head coach, a potential 50-goal scorer in the fold, and players such as Rob Blake, Luc Robitaille, * Glen Murray, Jozef Stumpel, Donald Audette, Ian Laperriere, and Mattias Norstrom, the Kings improved dramatically, finishing the season the 1999-2000 season with a 39-31-12-4 record (94 points), good for second place in the Pacific Division.

But in the 2000 playoffs, the Kings were once again eliminated in the first round, this time by the mighty Detroit Red Wings in a four-game sweep. Clearly, the Kings were still not one of the NHL's elite teams, capable of contending for the Stanley Cup.

The 2000-01 season was a controversial one, as fans began to question AEG's commitment to the success of the Kings, as they failed to significantly improve the team during the off-season. Adding fuel to the fire was the February 21, 2001 trade of star defenseman Rob Blake, who won the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the NHL's best defenseman in the 1997-98 NHL season.

In that deal, the Kings sent Blake and forward Steven Reinprecht to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for right wing Adam Deadmarsh, defenseman Aaron Miller, center prospect Jared Aulin and a first-round pick in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft (David Steckel).

Deadmarsh and Miller became impact players for the Kings, who finished the 2000-01 season with a 38-28-13-3 record (92 points), good for a third place finish in the Pacific Division and another first-round playoff date with the still-mighty Detroit Red Wings.

The heavily-favored Red Wings--many predicted a four-game sweep--made easy work of the Kings in Games 1 and 2 in Detroit, but the Kings got back in the series with a 2-1 win in Game 3 at Staples Center.

File:Kings2003homejersey.jpg

In Game 4, played on April 18, 2001, the Red Wings took a commanding 3-0 lead after two periods, seemingly restoring order to a series they were supposed to win easily. And in the third period, it looked like nothing would change.

But all that set the stage for yet another unbelievable playoff comeback for the Kings, highly reminiscent of the "Miracle on Manchester," back in 1982.

Seldom-used forward Scott Thomas, a career minor-leaguer, scored a power play goal at 13:53, to give the Kings a bit of life. Jozef Stumpel would follow with another power play goal at 17:33, and then Bryan Smolinski tied the game at the 19:07 mark.

And in overtime, Deadmarsh stole the puck from Red Wings' star defenseman Chris Chelios in the right corner, and threw a centering pass to center Eric Belanger, who scored the game-winning goal at 2:36 to lift the Kings to a miraculous come-from-behind win, now known as the "Frenzy On Figueroa."

File:Kings2003roadjersey.jpg

The amazing win by the Kings in Game 4 took all the wind out of the Red Wings' sails, and the Kings eliminated them in Game 6 in Detroit, having won four straight games after going down 2-0 in the series.

In the second round, the Kings went up against another elite team, the Colorado Avalanche, led by superstars like Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, Patrick Roy, and of course, Rob Blake. And despite taking the Avalanche to seven games, the Kings would not get out of the second round once again, while the Avalanche would go on to win the Stanley Cup that year.

The 2001-02 NHL season was started off with tragedy as team scouts Ace Bailey and Mark Bavis were both casualties of the September 11th attack. The team honored the two by wearing "AM" patches on their jerseys. Earlier in the season, the team acquired Jason Allison who was involved in a contract dispute along with Mikko Eloranta from the Boston Bruins in return for Jozef Stumpel and * Glen Murray. At midseason they held the 2002 NHL All-Star Game while still fighting for a playoff spot in which they clinched 7th place in the Western Conference where they were matched with the heavily favoured Colorado Avalanche. After being bounced out of the playoffs in the first round by the Avalanche, the next two seasons would be major disappointments, as the team failed to make the playoffs in both seasons.

But even though the Kings refused to use it as an excuse, injuries were the primary reason for the team's failures. In the 2002-03 NHL season, the Kings just missed breaking the unofficial NHL record for the most man-games lost to injury in a season with 536. But they would easily surpass the record in the 2003-04 NHL season with 629 man-games lost.

File:Kings20033rdjersey.gif

With the 2004-05 NHL season lost because of the labor strife between the NHL and the National Hockey League Players Union, and with a tentative agreement in place as of mid-July, 2005, there are lots of unknowns regarding what a new Collective Bargaining Agreement will mean in terms of players moving around the league. Without question, the near future is very much an uncertain one for the Kings and the rest of the NHL.

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• Goals, Single Season: Bernie Nicholls, 1988-89: 70
• Assists, Single Season: Wayne Gretzky, 1990-91: 122
• Points, Single Season: Wayne Gretzky, 1988-89: 168
• Penalty Minutes, Single Season: Marty McSorley, 1992-93: 399 (Dave Schulz had 405 PIM in 77-78, but split the season with the Pittsburgh Penguins.)
• Games, Career: Dave Taylor, 1111
• Goals, Career: Marcel Dionne, 550
• Assists, Career: Dionne, 757
• Points, Career: Dionne, 1307
• Penalty Minutes, Career: McSorley, 1846
• Goaltending Games, Career: Rogatien Vachon, 389
• Goaltending Wins, Career: Vachon, 151
• Shutouts, Career: Vachon, 32

Los Angeles Kings official web site

• Valeri Bure
• Pavol Demitra
• Alexander Frolov
• Aaron Miller
• Mattias Norstrom
• Luc Robitaille
• Jeremy Roenick

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• Bob Wall 1967-69
• Larry Cahan 1969-71
• Bob Pulford 1971-73
• Terry Harper 1973-75
• Mike Murphy 1975-81
• Dave Lewis 1981-83
• Terry Ruskowski 1983-85
• Dave Taylor 1985-89
• Wayne Gretzky 1989-95
• Wayne Gretzky and Rob Blake 1995-96 (Blake was named captain after Gretzky was traded to St. Louis)
• Rob Blake 1996-01
• Mattias Norstrom 2001-present

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• Marcel Dionne
• Wayne Gretzky
• Jari Kurri
• Larry Murphy
• Larry Robinson

Non players:

• Former head coach Roger Neilson was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on November 4, 2002, in the Builders category.

• Former general manager Jake Milford was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1984.

• Long-time Kings' broadcaster Bob Miller was the recipient of the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award, earning him induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2000.

• The Kings' first broadcaster, Jiggs McDonald, was also a recipient of the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award, earning him induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1990.

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• Bob Berry
• Steve Duchesne
• Jim Fox
• Butch Goring
• Mark Hardy
• Kelly Hrudey
• Mario Lessard
• Marty McSorley
• Bob Murdoch
• Glen Murray
• Bernie Nicholls
• Charlie Simmer
• Tomas Sandstrom
• Juha Widing

including date of retirement

• 30 Rogie Vachon (February 14, 1985)
• 16 Marcel Dionne (November 8, 1990)
• 18 Dave Taylor (April 3, 1995)
• 99 Wayne Gretzky (October 9, 2002)
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File:Reading Royals.gif

• Larry Regan: 1968-1973
• Jake Milford: 1973-1977
• George Maguire: 1977-83
• Rogie Vachon: 1983-92
• Nick Beverley: 1992-94
• Sam McMaster: 1994-97
• Dave Taylor: 1997-present

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• Manchester Monarchs, American Hockey League
• Reading Royals, East Coast Hockey League
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• List of Los Angeles Kings players
• Head Coaches of the Los Angeles Kings
• List of NHL seasons
• List of NHL players
• 1967 NHL Expansion

• USA Today's Franchise History
• Team Website
• Kingshockey.com-Fan Site/Team News