The 1993–94 Los Angeles Kings season was the Kings' 27th season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The team finished in fifth place in the Pacific Division with a record of 27–45–12 for 66 points and missed the playoffs for the first time since 1986. The Kings played their home games at the Great Western Forum in Inglewood.

This season saw Kings captain Wayne Gretzky become the NHL's all-time leading goal scorer. He also won his 10th and final Art Ross Trophy as the league's leading scorer with 130 points. Despite Gretzky's achievements, the defending conference champion Kings regressed on the ice. They finished in 10th place in the newly-rebranded Western Conference, 16 points behind the San Jose Sharks, who clinched the eighth and final playoff spot. Notably, the Kings also finished five points behind their new local rivals, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, who were then in their first year of existence.

Offseason

Regular season

Wayne Gretzky's goal scoring record

  • March 20, 1994 – At 19:11 of the third period in a game against the San Jose Sharks, Gretzky scored the 801st goal of his career, tying the NHL's career goals record held by his idol, Gordie Howe. Gretzky jammed a rebound past San Jose goaltender Artūrs Irbe after a shot by Los Angeles defenceman Alexei Zhitnik had glanced off Irbe. The goal was the second of the game for Gretzky, who had earlier scored at 6:16 of the first period by stealing the puck from Sharks defenceman Sandis Ozoliņš and backhanding it through Irbe's legs. The record-tying goal, scored after the Kings had pulled their own goaltender, Kelly Hrudey, for an extra attacker, tied the game at 6-6. The game ended as a tie with the same score.[1][2]
  • March 23, 1994 – At 14:47 of the second period in a game against the Vancouver Canucks, Gretzky scored the 802nd goal of his career against Canucks goaltender Kirk McLean to break Howe's career NHL goals record. The goal came on a Kings power play, with Marty McSorley and Luc Robitaille picking up assists. Robitaille had started the play during a rush toward the Vancouver net with a drop pass to Gretzky, who passed across the ice to McSorley; McSorley fed the puck back to Gretzky, who shot the puck into an almost empty net. Gretzky's teammates poured onto the ice to congratulate him, and the game was halted for a ceremony to honour both Gretzky and Howe. Unfortunately for the Kings, the record-breaking goal came in a losing effort, as Vancouver defeated Los Angeles, 6-3.[3][4]

Final standings

Pacific Division
No. CR GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 3 Calgary Flames 84 42 29 13 302 256 97
2 7 Vancouver Canucks 84 41 40 3 279 276 85
3 8 San Jose Sharks 84 33 35 16 252 265 82
4 9 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 84 33 46 5 229 251 71
5 10 Los Angeles Kings 84 27 45 12 294 322 66
6 11 Edmonton Oilers 84 25 45 14 261 305 64

[5] Note: No. = Division rank, CR = Conference rank, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
       Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Western Conference[6]
R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 y- Detroit Red Wings * CEN 84 46 30 8 356 275 100
2 x- Calgary Flames * PAC 84 42 29 13 302 256 97
3 Toronto Maple Leafs CEN 84 43 29 12 280 243 98
4 Dallas Stars CEN 84 42 29 13 286 265 97
5 St. Louis Blues CEN 84 40 33 11 270 283 91
6 Chicago Blackhawks CEN 84 39 36 9 254 240 87
7 Vancouver Canucks PAC 84 41 40 3 279 276 85
8 San Jose Sharks PAC 84 33 35 16 252 265 82
9 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim PAC 84 33 46 5 229 251 71
10 Los Angeles Kings PAC 84 27 45 12 294 322 66
11 Edmonton Oilers PAC 84 25 45 14 261 305 64
12 Winnipeg Jets CEN 84 24 51 9 245 344 57

Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific

bold – Qualified for playoffs; x – Won division; y – Won Conference (and division); * – Division leader


Schedule and results

1993–94 regular season[7]
October: 6–5–2 (home: 4–1–1; road: 2–4–1)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
1 L October 6, 1993 2–5 Vancouver Canucks (1993–94) 0–1–0 Recap
2 W October 9, 1993 10–3 Detroit Red Wings (1993–94) 1–1–0 Recap
3 W October 10, 1993 5–2 San Jose Sharks (1993–94) 2–1–0 Recap
4 W October 12, 1993 7–5 New York Islanders (1993–94) 3–1–0 Recap
5 T October 14, 1993 4–4 OT Edmonton Oilers (1993–94) 3–1–1 Recap
6 W October 16, 1993 8–4 Calgary Flames (1993–94) 4–1–1 Recap
7 T October 19, 1993 2–2 OT @ Florida Panthers (1993–94) 4–1–2 Recap
8 W October 20, 1993 4–3 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1993–94) 5–1–2 Recap
9 L October 22, 1993 3–6 @ Washington Capitals (1993–94) 5–2–2 Recap
10 L October 24, 1993 2–3 @ New York Rangers (1993–94) 5–3–2 Recap
11 L October 26, 1993 0–7 @ New York Islanders (1993–94) 5–4–2 Recap
12 L October 27, 1993 3–8 @ Detroit Red Wings (1993–94) 5–5–2 Recap
13 W October 29, 1993 4–3 OT @ Winnipeg Jets (1993–94) 6–5–2 Recap
November: 3–8–0 (home: 3–2–0; road: 0–6–0)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
14 W November 3, 1993 3–2 New Jersey Devils (1993–94) 7–5–2 Recap
15 W November 6, 1993 8–3 Pittsburgh Penguins (1993–94) 8–5–2 Recap
16 L November 9, 1993 2–3 @ Calgary Flames (1993–94) 8–6–2 Recap
17 L November 10, 1993 0–4 @ Vancouver Canucks (1993–94) 8–7–2 Recap
18 W November 13, 1993 6–3 St. Louis Blues (1993–94) 9–7–2 Recap
19 L November 18, 1993 2–3 Toronto Maple Leafs (1993–94) 9–8–2 Recap
20 L November 20, 1993 1–4 @ St. Louis Blues (1993–94) 9–9–2 Recap
21 L November 21, 1993 4–7 @ Dallas Stars (1993–94) 9–10–2 Recap
22 L November 25, 1993 6–8 @ Quebec Nordiques (1993–94) 9–11–2 Recap
23 L November 27, 1993 0–4 @ Montreal Canadiens (1993–94) 9–12–2 Recap
24 L November 30, 1993 6–8 Winnipeg Jets (1993–94) 9–13–2 Recap
December: 5–7–1 (home: 3–3–0; road: 2–4–1)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
25 W December 2, 1993 3–2 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1993–94) 10–13–2 Recap
26 L December 4, 1993 4–5 Tampa Bay Lightning (1993–94) 10–14–2 Recap
27 L December 8, 1993 5–6 Florida Panthers (1993–94) 10–15–2 Recap
28 W December 11, 1993 9–1 St. Louis Blues (1993–94) 11–15–2 Recap
29 L December 13, 1993 2–5 @ Ottawa Senators (1993–94) 11–16–2 Recap
30 L December 14, 1993 2–4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1993–94) 11–17–2 Recap
31 L December 17, 1993 0–2 @ Buffalo Sabres (1993–94) 11–18–2 Recap
32 L December 18, 1993 1–4 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1993–94) 11–19–2 Recap
33 W December 20, 1993 5–4 OT @ Calgary Flames (1993–94) 12–19–2 Recap
34 L December 23, 1993 1–2 Dallas Stars (1993–94) 12–20–2 Recap
35 W December 26, 1993 3–2 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1993–94) 13–20–2 Recap
36 W December 28, 1993 6–5 Vancouver Canucks (1993–94) 14–20–2 Recap
37 T December 31, 1993 4–4 OT @ Detroit Red Wings (1993–94) 14–20–3 Recap
January: 5–5–3 (home: 3–2–1; road: 2–3–2)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
38 W January 1, 1994 7–4 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1993–94) 15–20–3 Recap
39 W January 4, 1994 5–1 Quebec Nordiques (1993–94) 16–20–3 Recap
40 L January 8, 1994 3–6 Detroit Red Wings (1993–94) 16–21–3 Recap
41 T January 11, 1994 2–2 OT @ San Jose Sharks (1993–94) 16–21–4 Recap
42 W January 12, 1994 6–4 Hartford Whalers (1993–94) 17–21–4 Recap
43 W January 15, 1994 5–3 @ New Jersey Devils (1993–94) 18–21–4 Recap
44 L January 16, 1994 2–5 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1993–94) 18–22–4 Recap
45 L January 18, 1994 3–5 @ Dallas Stars (1993–94) 18–23–4 Recap
46 T January 24, 1994 3–3 OT @ Calgary Flames (1993–94) 18–23–5 Recap
47 T January 25, 1994 4–4 OT Winnipeg Jets (1993–94) 18–23–6 Recap
48 L January 27, 1994 4–5 OT New York Rangers (1993–94) 18–24–6 Recap
49 W January 29, 1994 5–1 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1993–94) 19–24–6 Recap
50 L January 31, 1994 1–3 @ Vancouver Canucks (1993–94) 19–25–6 Recap
February: 2–8–3 (home: 1–5–2; road: 1–3–1)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
51 L February 2, 1994 4–6 @ Edmonton Oilers (1993–94) 19–26–6 Recap
52 L February 5, 1994 4–5 OT Calgary Flames (1993–94) 19–27–6 Recap
53 W February 9, 1994 4–2 Chicago Blackhawks (1993–94) 20–27–6 Recap
54 W February 11, 1994 5–3 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1993–94) 21–27–6 Recap
55 L February 12, 1994 1–6 Washington Capitals (1993–94) 21–28–6 Recap
56 L February 14, 1994 2–3 OT Boston Bruins (1993–94) 21–29–6 Recap
57 L February 18, 1994 3–4 Philadelphia Flyers (1993–94) 21–30–6 Recap
58 L February 19, 1994 3–4 @ San Jose Sharks (1993–94) 21–31–6 Recap
59 L February 21, 1994 4–6 Toronto Maple Leafs (1993–94) 21–32–6 Recap
60 T February 23, 1994 0–0 OT Dallas Stars (1993–94) 21–32–7 Recap
61 T February 25, 1994 5–5 OT @ Edmonton Oilers (1993–94) 21–32–8 Recap
62 L February 26, 1994 2–4 @ Calgary Flames (1993–94) 21–33–8 Recap
63 T February 28, 1994 3–3 OT Montreal Canadiens (1993–94) 21–33–9 Recap
March: 4–7–2 (home: 2–4–0; road: 2–3–2)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
64 W March 2, 1994 4–1 @ Hartford Whalers (1993–94) 22–33–9 Recap
65 L March 3, 1994 4–6 @ Boston Bruins (1993–94) 22–34–9 Recap
66 T March 6, 1994 3–3 OT @ Chicago Blackhawks (1993–94) 22–34–10 Recap
67 L March 9, 1994 0–4 Chicago Blackhawks (1993–94) 22–35–10 Recap
68 L March 12, 1994 3–5 Buffalo Sabres (1993–94) 22–36–10 Recap
69 W March 15, 1994 7–0 Ottawa Senators (1993–94) 23–36–10 Recap
70 L March 16, 1994 2–5 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1993–94) 23–37–10 Recap
71 W March 19, 1994 2–1 San Jose Sharks (1993–94) 24–37–10 Recap
72 T March 20, 1994 6–6 OT @ San Jose Sharks (1993–94) 24–37–11 Recap
73 L March 23, 1994 3–6 Vancouver Canucks (1993–94) 24–38–11 Recap
74 W March 25, 1994 4–3 OT @ Edmonton Oilers (1993–94) 25–38–11 Recap
75 L March 27, 1994 3–4 @ Vancouver Canucks (1993–94) 25–39–11 Recap
76 L March 30, 1994 2–5 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1993–94) 25–40–11 Recap
April: 2–5–1 (home: 2–2–1; road: 0–3–0)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
77 L April 2, 1994 3–5 Edmonton Oilers (1993–94) 25–41–11 Recap
78 W April 3, 1994 6–1 Edmonton Oilers (1993–94) 26–41–11 Recap
79 L April 5, 1994 1–2 San Jose Sharks (1993–94) 26–42–11 Recap
80 L April 7, 1994 2–6 @ St. Louis Blues (1993–94) 26–43–11 Recap
81 L April 9, 1994 3–4 @ Winnipeg Jets (1993–94) 26–44–11 Recap
82 L April 10, 1994 1–2 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1993–94) 26–45–11 Recap
83 W April 13, 1994 6–4 Calgary Flames (1993–94) 27–45–11 Recap
84 T April 14, 1994 2–2 OT Edmonton Oilers (1993–94) 27–45–12 Recap

Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring
Player GP G A Pts PIM
Wayne Gretzky 81 38 92 130 20
Luc Robitaille 83 44 42 86 86
Jari Kurri 81 31 46 77 48
Rob Blake 84 20 48 68 137
Alexei Zhitnik 81 12 40 52 101
Mike Donnelly 81 21 21 42 34
Tomas Sandstrom 51 17 24 41 59
Darryl Sydor 84 8 27 35 94
John Druce 55 14 17 31 50
Pat Conacher 77 15 13 28 71
Shawn McEachern 49 8 13 21 24
Tony Granato 50 7 14 21 150
Warren Rychel 80 10 9 19 322
Robert Lang 32 9 10 19 10
Charlie Huddy 79 5 13 18 71
Jimmy Carson 25 4 7 11 2
Kevin Todd 12 3 8 11 8
Marty McSorley 18 4 6 10 55
Tim Watters 60 1 9 10 67
Dixon Ward 34 6 2 8 45
Doug Houda 54 2 6 8 165
Dave Taylor 33 4 3 7 28
Gary Shuchuk 56 3 4 7 30
Dominic Lavoie 8 3 3 6 2
Brian McReynolds 20 1 3 4 4
Mark Hardy 16 0 3 3 27
Dan Currie 5 1 1 2 0
Jim Paek 18 1 1 2 10
Phil Crowe 31 0 2 2 77
Keith Redmond 12 1 0 1 20
Brent Thompson 24 1 0 1 81
Kelly Hrudey 64 0 1 1 6
Bob Jay 3 0 1 1 0
Guy Leveque 5 0 1 1 2
Rob Murphy 8 0 1 1 22
Donald Dufresne 9 0 0 0 10
David Goverde 1 0 0 0 0
Justin Hocking 1 0 0 0 0
Rick Knickle 4 0 0 0 0
Marc Potvin 3 0 0 0 26
Robb Stauber 22 0 0 0 18
Dave Thomlinson 7 0 0 0 21
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SA SV SV% SO
Kelly Hrudey 3713 64 22 31 7 228 3.68 2219 1991 .897 1
Robb Stauber 1144 22 4 11 5 65 3.41 706 641 .908 1
Rick Knickle 174 4 1 2 0 9 3.10 71 62 .873 0
David Goverde 60 1 0 1 0 7 7.00 37 30 .811 0
Team: 5091 84 27 45 12 309 3.64 3033 2724 .898 2

[8]

Awards and honors

Transactions

The Kings were involved in the following transactions during the 1993–94 season.[10]

Trades

June 26, 1993 To Los Angeles Kings
5th round pick in 1993 - Jason Saal 		To New Jersey Devils
Corey Millen
August 27, 1993 To Los Angeles Kings
Shawn McEachern 		To Pittsburgh Penguins
Marty McSorley
November 2, 1993 To Los Angeles Kings
Future considerations 		To Edmonton Oilers
Jeff Chychrun
November 3, 1993 To Los Angeles Kings
Doug Houda 		To Hartford Whalers
Marc Potvin
January 8, 1994 To Los Angeles Kings
Dixon Ward 		To Vancouver Canucks
Jimmy Carson
January 28, 1994 To Los Angeles Kings
Brad Tiley 		To New York Rangers
11th round pick in 1994 - Jamie Butt
February 15, 1994 To Los Angeles Kings
Marty McSorley
Jim Paek 		To Pittsburgh Penguins
Shawn McEachern
Tomas Sandstrom
March 19, 1994 To Los Angeles Kings
Donald Dufresne 		To Tampa Bay Lightning
6th round pick in 1994 - Dan Juden
March 21, 1994 To Los Angeles Kings
Kevin Todd 		To Chicago Blackhawks
4th round pick in 1994 - Steve McLaren

Free agent signings

July 15, 1993 From Hartford Whalers
Brian Chapman
July 16, 1993 From Fort Wayne Komets (IHL)
Bob Jay
July 16, 1993 From Edmonton Oilers
Dan Currie
July 16, 1993 From Boston Bruins
Dominic Lavoie
July 22, 1993 From New York Rangers
Dave Thomlinson
July 29, 1993 From New York Rangers
Brian McReynolds
August 2, 1993 From Winnipeg Jets
John Druce
August 2, 1993 From Ottawa Senators
Rob Murphy
October 13, 1993 From Hull Olympiques (QMJHL)
Eric Lavigne
November 8, 1993 From Fort Wayne Komets (IHL)
Phil Crowe

Lost in expansion draft

June 24, 1993 To Anaheim Mighty Ducks
Jim Thomson
June 24, 1993 To Anaheim Mighty Ducks
Lonnie Loach

Draft picks

See also: 1993 NHL Entry Draft

Los Angeles' draft picks at the 1993 NHL entry draft held at the Quebec Coliseum in Quebec City, Quebec.[11] The Kings first pick, in the second round, was used to choose Shayne Toporowski from the Prince Albert Raiders of the Western Hockey League. Their first-round pick had been dealt to the Edmonton Oilers in the Wayne Gretzky trade.

Round Pick Player Nationality Pos GP G A Pts PIM
2 42 Shayne Toporowski  Canada RW 3 0 0 0 7
3 68 Jeff Mitchell  United States RW 7 0 0 0 7
4 94 Bob Wren  Canada C 5 0 0 0 0
5 105 Frederik Beaubien  Canada G
5 117 Jason Saal  United States G
5 120 Tomas Vlasak  Czech Republic LW 10 1 3 4 2
6 146 Jere Karalahti  Finland D 149 8 19 27 97
7 172 Justin Martin  United States RW
8 198 Travis Dillabough  Canada LW
9 224 Martin Strbak  Slovakia D 49 5 11 16 46
10 250 Kimmo Timonen  Finland D 1108 117 454 571 654
11 276 Patrick Howald   Switzerland LW

References

Sources
Notes
  1. ^ Georgatos, Dennis (March 21, 1994). "Gretzky Ties Howe's Mark with 2 Goals". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
  2. ^ Longman, Jere (March 21, 1994). "HOCKEY; Gretzky Ties Howe Mark On No. 801". The New York Times. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
  3. ^ Dillman, Lisa (March 24, 1994). "No. 99 Gets Goal No. 802 -- Now He's No. 1 on List: Hockey: The Great One Passes Gordie Howe in the second period, but the Kings lose again, 6-3". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
  4. ^ Privman, Jay (March 24, 1994). "HOCKEY; Great One Becomes N.H.L.'s Greatest". The New York Times. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
  5. ^ Standings: NHL Public Relations Department (2008). Dave McCarthy; et al. (eds.). THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Official Guide & Record Book/2009. National Hockey League. p. 154. ISBN 978-1-894801-14-0.
  6. ^ "NHL Hockey Standings". NHL.com. Retrieved August 17, 2024.
  7. ^ "1993-94 Los Angeles Kings Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved February 14, 2025.
  8. ^ "1993-94 Los Angeles Kings Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved May 27, 2009.
  9. ^ Collins gem Hockey Facts and Stats 2009-10, p.425, Andrew Podnieks, Harper Collins Publishers Ltd, Toronto, Canada, ISBN 978-1-55468-621-6
  10. ^ "Hockey Transactions Search Results".
  11. ^ "1993 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved February 14, 2025.
Allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1993%E2%80%9394_Los_Angeles_Kings_season
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