Los Angeles Kings

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Los Angeles Kings
File:LosAngelesKings.png
ConferenceWestern
DivisionPacific
Founded1967
HistoryLos Angeles Kings
1967-present
Home arenaStaples Center
CityLos Angeles, California
Team colorsPurple, Silver, and Black
MediaFSN West
FSN Prime Ticket
KTLK (1150 AM)
Owner(s)United States Philip Anschutz
United States Edward Roski, Jr.
General managerUnited States Dean Lombardi
Head coachCanada Marc Crawford
CaptainVacant
Minor league affiliatesManchester Monarchs (AHL)
Reading Royals (ECHL)
Stanley Cupsnone
Conference championships1992-93
Division championships1990-91

The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles, California, USA. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Franchise history

The "Forum Blue and Gold" years (1967–68 to 1987–88)

Both the Pacific Coast Hockey League and the Western Hockey League had had several teams in California, and minor pro hockey found success there in the early 1960s. There was also a sizable colony of Canadian expatriates in the state. However, the lack of a suitable arena in the area was one of the primary factors in the National Hockey League's decision before the Sixties to not expand to Los Angeles, even though it was the third-largest city in the United States at the time.

File:LosAngelesKingsOld.png
LA Kings primary logo from 1967–82.

When the NHL decided to expand for the 1967–68 season amid rumblings that the Pacific Coast Hockey League was proposing to turn itself into a major league and compete for the Stanley Cup, Canadian entrepreneur Jack Kent Cooke paid the NHL $2 million to place one of the six expansion teams in Los Angeles. On February 9, 1966, Cooke was awarded a new NHL franchise, behind his promise to build a new arena for his team. The terms of a new television agreement with CBS called for two of the new teams to be located in California; hence, another new team in the 1967 expansion was the California Seals (later known as the Oakland Seals, and then the California Golden Seals), who represented the Bay Area. The Kings opened their first season in the NHL at the Long Beach Arena in the neighboring city of Long Beach 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 Memorial Sports Arena.[1]

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 shut out by the Flyers, 2-0.[2] Cooke chose the colors of purple (or "Forum blue," as he called it) and gold for his new team; the colors had long been associated with royalty. They were also the same colors worn by the Los Angeles Lakers, which Cooke also owned.

LA Kings primary logo from 1982–88.

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.[1]

In their first season, the Kings finished a very respectable second place in the Western Division, just one point behind the Flyers. The Kings were the only expansion team that had a winning record at home, but were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Minnesota North Stars, losing the seventh game at home 9-4.

In their second season behind head coach Red Kelly, the Kings finished fourth in the West Division—the last playoff position. 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 upon hard times, mostly due to poor management. Managers 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 Toronto Maple Leafs winger Bob Pulford as their head coach. It took him just two seasons to lead the Kings back into the playoffs, where they lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in five games. Pulford eventually led the team to five of the most successful seasons in franchise history.

File:LosAngelesKingsCrown.png
LA Kings crown logo, used on their jerseys from 1967–88. The logo was based on the crown from Spanish soccer team Real Madrid.

In 1973, the Kings brought in Bob Miller as the team's new play-by-play announcer. He has held that post continuously since that time, and has gone on to become a Hall of Fame announcer.[3][4]

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, made 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 led 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 Rogie Vachon, 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 the second round by the Boston Bruins in seven games. The Kings would beat the Flames and lose to the Bruins in the following year's playoffs as well.

On January 13, 1979, Dionne found himself on a new line with two young, mostly unknown players: second-year right winger Dave Taylor, and left winger Charlie Simmer, who had been a career minor-leaguer. But this line combination, known as the "Triple Crown Line," would go on to become one of the highest-scoring line combinations in the history of the NHL.[1][5]

After that first season that the Triple Crown Line played together, Dr. Jerry Buss purchased the Kings, the Lakers, and the Forum for $67.5 million, but the Simmer-Dionne-Taylor combination remained intact.

The next season, the Triple Crown Line dominated the NHL, scoring 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 a 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 1982.

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 had made the Oilers one of the elite teams in the NHL, on their way to winning four Stanley Cup championships in the 1980s. The Oilers finished with 111 points, the second-best record in the league, while the Kings barely made the playoffs with only 63 points. The Kings won Game 1 in Edmonton, 10-8, in the highest scoring Stanley Cup Playoff game ever. The Oilers recovered to win in overtime in Game 2, and the teams headed to Los Angeles for Games 3 and 4.

Game 3 would be one of the most amazing in hockey history and was later dubbed the "Miracle on Manchester" (the Kings arena, the Forum, was on Manchester Boulevard). In that game, played on April 10, 1982, Gretzky led the Oilers to a commanding 5-0 lead after two periods, including two shorthanded goals on the same Kings power play. But the Kings did not give up. They scored a couple of goals early in the third period, but to many observers appeared to be only salvaging some pride. However, when they scored midway through the period to make it 5-3, the team and the crowd suddenly started to believe. Suddenly the Kings were firing shot after shot, while the Oilers were losing their poise. With just over three minutes to play, Oiler veteran Garry Unger was called for a five-minute major high sticking penalty for drawing blood. Now the Kings had a power play for the remainder of the game. They quickly scored to make it 5-4, and pulled their goalie with a minute left to gain a two-man advantage. Rookie Steve Bozek tucked a rebound under Oiler goalie Grant Fuhr with just five seconds remaining to tie the score at five. The Kings' comeback was almost all for naught, however. At the beginning of overtime, Kings' goalie Mario Lessard came about 30 feet out of the net to try to smother a long pass by the Oilers, but fumbled the puck right to Edmonton's Glenn Anderson. With only defenseman Mark Hardy between himself and an open net, Anderson's shot went high and wide. The Kings breathed a huge sigh of relief, and then Kings' forward Daryl Evans scored at 2:35 of overtime to win it for the Kings, 6-5.

The "Miracle on Manchester," the greatest comeback in NHL playoff history, is probably the greatest moment in Kings' franchise history to date. Not only did the Kings complete a miraculous comeback against the mighty Oilers, but they also went on to eliminate them in five games.[6]

Despite Dionne's leadership, the Kings missed the playoffs in the next two seasons, and were quickly swept out of the playoffs by the Oilers in the 1985, 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 defenseman Steve Duchesne.

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.

Black and Silver Era (1988–89 to 1996–97)

File:LosAngelesKings1988.png
LA Kings logo from 1988–98.

In 1987, Bruce McNall purchased the Kings from Buss, and he turned the team into a Stanley Cup contender almost overnight on August 9, 1988, when he acquired the league's best player, Gretzky himself, in a blockbuster trade with the Oilers that rocked the hockey world, especially north of the border, where Canadians mourned the loss of a player they considered a national treasure.[6]

In Gretzky's first season with the Kings, he 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.

The Kings faced Gretzky's old team, the Oilers, in the first round of the 1989 playoffs. They fell behind 3 games to 1, but rallied to take the series in seven games, helped in no small part by nine goals from Chris Kontos, a little-known player who had just recently been called up from the minor leagues. However, the Kings were quickly swept out of the playoffs in the second round by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Calgary Flames. Over the next three seasons, Gretzky would lead the way, only to see his team bounced out of the playoffs each time by his former team, the Oilers, who won the Stanley Cup in 1990. Despite their eventual second-round loss to Edmonton, Gretzky spearheaded the Kings to their first regular season division title in franchise history in the 1990–91 season with a 46-24-10 record (102 points, the second best point total in franchise history), but that would not be the pinnacle of his career in Los Angeles.

The Kings would reach new heights in the 1992–93 season, but the campaign started badly when it was learned that Gretzky had suffered a career-threatening herniated thoracic disk before the season began. The concern was not mainly whether Gretzky would be able to play that season, but if he would ever be able to play again. But even without their captain and leading scorer, the Kings got off to a blistering 20-8-3 start,[7] with left-winger Luc Robitaille, who won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the 1986–87's NHL Rookie of the Year, filling in as captain for the ailing Gretzky. Robitaille led the team until Gretzky returned after missing the first 39 games.[8] Robitaille would go on to retire at the end of the 2005–06 season as the highest-scoring left winger in National Hockey League history.[9]

Robitaille and Gretzky, along with former Oilers' winger Jari Kurri, forwards Tony Granato and Tomas Sandstrom, defensemen Rob Blake, Marty McSorley, and Alexei Zhitnik, and goalie Kelly Hrudey, guided 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.[7] The Kings finished with a 39-35-10 record (88 points), clinching third place in the Smythe Division.

Kings head coach Barry Melrose had his team's offense running on all cylinders when the 1993 playoffs began, and they scored an amazing 33 goals in their first-round series against the Calgary Flames.[10] 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 and, as it turned out, fatal blow.

In the Campbell Conference Finals, the Kings were even more of an underdog against the Doug Gilmour-led Toronto Maple Leafs. But with Gretzky at the helm, 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.[11] In Game 6, Toronto scored two third period goals and tied the game at 4-4 at the end of regulation play. But in overtime, Luc Robitaille fed Gretzky a perfect pass and Gretzky scored in overtime to give his team a dramatic 5-4 victory and sending the teams back to Toronto for a Game 7. In the final contest, 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.[11][6]

In the Stanley Cup Finals, the Kings faced the Montreal Canadiens, who had breezed through the playoffs and were well-rested. The Kings defeated the Canadiens in Game 1, 4-1. Game 2 proved to be the turning point in the series. Late in the contest, with the Kings leading by a score of 2-1, the Canadiens coach, Jacques Demers, requested a measurement of Kings defenseman Marty McSorley's stick blade. Demers' suspicions proved to be correct, as the curve of blade was too great, and McSorley was penalized. The Canadiens scored on the resulting power play and won the game in overtime. The Kings never recovered. They lost the next two games in overtime, and were shelled 4-1 in Game 5 as the Canadiens won their 24th Stanley Cup in franchise history.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).

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 popularity of Gretzky and the Kings also led to the NHL awarding an expansion team to Anaheim, California; in 1993 the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (who became the Anaheim Ducks on June 22, 2006) 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 Sun Belt cities such as Phoenix, Dallas, Tampa, Miami, and Nashville.

The next four seasons would be major disappointments, as the Kings failed to qualify for the playoffs. It was during this period that McNall's criminal activities came to light, and he would eventually be convicted of a whopping 236 counts 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.[12]

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 roster with almost no talent outside of Gretzky 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.

Staples Center Era (1996–97–present)

File:LosAngelesKingsAlternate.png
The Kings' alternate logo. (Was the team's primary logo from 1998–2002.)

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 an elusive fifth 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, this time 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).[13] None became stars for the Kings, although Gretzky himself was an unrestricted free agent by season's end, and only played 18 regular season games for the Blues. Like Marcel Dionne before him, Gretzky ended up with the New York Rangers.

Shortly after Gretzky was traded, the often-maligned general manager Sam McMaster was fired and was replaced by former Kings winger Dave Taylor.[14] 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.[11] After another disappointing season in 1998-99, then-head coach Larry Robinson, who also played three seasons for the Kings from 1989-92 and had been an assistant coach on the New Jersey Devils' 1995 Cup team, 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.[15]

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, winger prospect Josh Green, defenseman prospect Mathieu Biron and the Kings' first-round pick in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft.

Staples Center, viewed from Figueroa Street, the southeast side of the arena.

The Kings also made an even bigger move in 1999, 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 would want in a brand-new facility.

With a new home, a new 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 because 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 had won the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the NHL's best defenseman in 1998.[16]

In that deal, the Kings sent Blake and center 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 (Dave 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.[17]

The heavily-favored Red Wings — many predicted another four-game sweep — made easy work of the Kings in Games 1 and 2 at the Joe Louis Arena, but the Kings got back in the series with a 2-1 win in Game 3 at Staples Center.[11]

In Game 4, 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. The Red Wings were called for a penalty with just under three minutes to play and Kings' coach Andy Murray gambled and pulled his goalie to give his team a man advantage. The gamble paid off as Jozef Stumpel would follow with another power play goal at 17:33. Finally, Bryan Smolinski tied the game at the 19:07 mark.

In the overtime, Deadmarsh stole the puck from Red Wings' star defenseman Chris Chelios in the right corner behind the Detroit net, 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," or the "Stunner at Staples."[16][6]

That amazing win took all the wind out of the Red Wings' sails, and the Kings eliminated them in Game 6 in Los Angeles, having won four straight games after going down 2-0 in the series. It was the Kings' first playoff series win since 1993.

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, Ray Bourque, and of course, Rob Blake. The Kings took the eventual champions to seven games but lost the series, 4-3.[11]. The most memorable game of that series was game 6. After the Kings fell behind 3 games to 1, they defeated the Avalanche in Colorado in game 5 to stave off elimination. Back in L.A. for game 6, goalies Patrick Roy of Colorado and Felix Potvin of the Kings were brilliant as the teams battled to a 0-0 tie. Through one overtime they played but still nobody could score. Finally the Kings got one past hall of famer Roy in the second overtime for a 1-0 win.

The 2001–02 started off with tragedy as team scouts Garnet "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 mid-season they held the 2002 NHL All-Star Game[18] while still fighting for a playoff spot in which they clinched seventh place in the Western Conference where they were matched with the heavily-favored 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 2002–03, 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 2003–04 with 629 man-games lost.

The Kings' 2004–05 NHL season was lost due to labor strife between the NHL and the NHL Players' Association.

League play resumed for the 2005–06 season and saw the Kings acquire Valeri Bure, Jeremy Roenick and Pavol Demitra. Los Angeles began the new season strongly challenging for the Western Conference title. However, the second half of the season saw the Kings once again stumble badly, freefalling from second in the Western Conference in early January to tenth place.

At the trade deadline, the Kings added another goal scorer in the New York Islanders' Mark Parrish, along with defenseman Brent Sopel, and they fired head coach Andy Murray on March 21, 2006, replacing him with interim head coach John Torchetti, but the moves failed to jumpstart the team, as they continued their losing ways. With three games left in the season, Luc Robitaille, the team's all-time leading scorer and the NHL's all-time highest-scoring left winger, announced that, at the end of the year, he would be retiring from pro hockey.[9]

Just one day after the end of the Kings' 2005-06 regular season, AEG decided to clean house on April 18, 2006, and they relieved President/Hockey Operations and General Manager Dave Taylor of his duties, along with Director of Player Personnel Bill O'Flaherty. Interim head coach John Torchetti and assistant coaches Mark Hardy and Ray Bennett, along with goaltending consultant Andy Nowicki, were also fired, and Vice President and Assistant General Manager Kevin Gilmore was re-assigned to other duties within AEG. Kings CEO Tim Leiweke also announced that he will no longer be the team's Chief Executive Officer.

On April 21, 2006, the Kings signed Philadelphia Flyers scout and former San Jose Sharks general manager Dean Lombardi as their new President and General Manager. He was signed to a five-year contract, signaling big changes in the near future for the franchise. Soon after he was hired, Lombardi quickly began to revamp the Kings' hockey operations and just barely over one month into his tenure as President and General Manager, he hired Marc Crawford to be the Kings' 21st head coach on May 22, 2006.

On January 13, 2007, hockey history was made when the Kings put Yutaka Fukufuji in goal for the 3rd period of their game with the St. Louis Blues. This marked the first time in hockey history that a Japanese-born player played in an NHL regular season game. The Kings lost the game and Fukufuji was assessed the loss.

On January 20, 2007, the Kings retired Luc Robitaille's jersey in an hour-long ceremony prior to the game with the Phoenix Coyotes. It was the fifth Kings jersey to be retired by the team.

The Kings and the NHL announced on February 28, 2007 that the Los Angeles Kings will open the 2007-08 National Hockey League regular season at the new O2 Arena (also owned by AEG) in London, England, with two games against the Anaheim Ducks on September 29 and 30, 2007. The special “NHL Premiere 2007” series will be the Kings’ first games ever outside of North America and the first NHL regular season games to be played in Europe.[19]

In the 2007–2008 off-season, the Kings signed five unrestricted free agents, including center Michal Handzus, left wings Ladislav Nagy and Kyle Calder, and defensemen Tom Preissing, Brad Stuart and Jon Klemm.

Season-by-season record

This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by the Kings. For the full season-by-season history, see Los Angeles Kings seasons


Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses/Shootout losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes

Season GP W L T1 OTL Pts GF GA PIM Finish Playoffs
2001–02 82 40 27 11 4 95 214 190 1348 3rd in Pacific Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 3-4 (Colorado Avalanche)
2002–03 82 33 37 6 6 78 203 221 1146 3rd in Pacific Did not qualify
2003–04 82 28 29 16 9 81 205 217 1163 3rd in Pacific Did not qualify
2004–05 Season cancelled due to 2004–05 NHL Lockout
2005–061 82 42 35 -- 5 89 249 270 1440 4th in Pacific Did not qualify
2006–07 82 27 41 -- 14 68 227 283 -- 4th in Pacific Did not qualify
1 As of the 2005-06 NHL season, all games will have a winner; the OTL column includes SOL (Shootout losses).
  • Los Angeles Kings Communications Department (2005). 2005–06 Los Angeles Kings Media Guide. Los Angeles Kings. pp. 129, 210–211.

Notable players

Current roster

As of August 28, 2007. [20]

Goaltenders
# Player Catches Acquired Place of Birth
1 Canada Jean-Sebastien Aubin R 2007 Montreal, Quebec
35 Canada Jason LaBarbera L 2005 Langley, British Columbia
39 Canada Dan Cloutier L 2006 Mont-Laurier, Quebec
Defensemen
# Player Shoots Acquired Place of Birth
3 United States Jack Johnson L 2007 Indianapolis, Indiana
4 Canada Rob Blake – A R 2006 Simcoe, Ontario
6 Canada Brad Stuart L 2007 Rocky Mountain House, Alberta
17 Slovakia Lubomir Visnovsky L 2000 Topoľčany, Czechoslovakia
22 United States Joe Piskula L 2007 Antigo, Wisconsin
25 Canada Jon Klemm R 2007 Cranbrook, British Columbia
38 Canada Kevin Dallman R 2006 Niagara Falls, Ontario
42 United States Tom Preissing R 2007 Arlington Heights, Illinois
44 Czech Republic Jaroslav Modry L 2007 Ceske Budejovice, Czechoslovakia
Forwards
# Player Position Shoots Acquired Place of Birth
7 Canada Derek Armstrong C R 2002 Ottawa, Ontario
11 Slovenia Anze Kopitar C L 2005 Jesenice, Yugoslavia
13 Canada Michael Cammalleri C L 2001 Richmond Hill, Ontario
19 Canada Kyle Calder LW/RW L 2007 Mannville, Alberta
21 Canada Brian Willsie RW R 2006 London, Ontario
23 United States Dustin Brown RW R 2003 Ithaca, New York
24 Russia Alexander Frolov LW R 2000 Moscow, U.S.S.R.
26 Slovakia Michal Handzus C/LW L 2007 Banska Bystrica, Czechoslovakia
27 Canada Scott Thornton – A LW L 2006 London, Ontario
37 Slovakia Ladislav Nagy LW L 2007 Saca, Czechoslovakia
41 Latvia Raitis Ivanans LW L 2006 Riga, U.S.S.R.

Team captains


Hall of Famers

Players

Builders

Broadcasters (Foster Hewitt Memorial Award Recipients)

Retired numbers

All time Kings team

As voted by the media and fans, an all time Kings team was selected to celebrate the club's 40th anniversary in the NHL The first and second teams were as follows:

Goalies: 1st team - Rogatien "Rogie" Vachon, 2nd team - Kelly Hrudey
Defensemen: 1st team - Rob Blake and Steve Duchesne, 2nd team - Larry Murphy and Bob Murdoch
Centers: 1st team - Wayne Gretzky, 2nd team - Marcel Dionne
Forwards: 1st team - Dave Taylor and Luc Robitaille, 2nd team, Charlie Simmer and Mike Murphy
Coach: 1st team - Bob Pulford, 2nd team - Barry Melrose

First-round draft picks


Franchise scoring leaders

These are the top-ten point-scorers in franchise history. Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season.

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game; * = current Kings player

Player Pos GP G A Pts P/G
Marcel Dionne C 921 550 757 1307 1.42
Luc Robitaille LW 1079 557 597 1154 1.07
Dave Taylor RW 1111 431 638 1069 .96
Wayne Gretzky C 539 246 672 918 1.70
Bernie Nicholls C 602 327 431 758 1.26
Butch Goring C 736 275 384 659 .90
Jim Fox RW 578 186 293 479 .83
Charlie Simmer LW 384 222 244 466 1.21
Rob Blake* D 734 152 311 463 .63
Mike Murphy RW 673 194 263 457 .68

NHL awards and trophies


Franchise individual records

Miscellaneous

General Managers

Known Fans

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Los Angeles Kings Communications Department. (2006). 2006–07 Los Angeles Kings Media Guide. Los Angeles Kings. p. 4.
  2. ^ Los Angeles Kings Communications Department. (1997). Los Angeles Kings 1997-98 Media Guide. Los Angeles Kings. p. 4.
  3. ^ Los Angeles Kings Communications Department. 2006–07 Los Angeles Kings Media Guide. p. 23.
  4. ^ "The Legends: Media Honourees: Foster Hewitt Memorial Winners". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved September 3. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ Miller, Bob. (2006). Bob Miller's Tales From The Los Angeles Kings. Sports Publishing LLC. pp. 105–109. ISBN 1-58261-811-9.
  6. ^ a b c d Miller, Bob. Bob Miller's Tales From The Los Angeles Kings. pp. 139–147. Cite error: The named reference "Miller" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  7. ^ a b Los Angeles Kings Communications Department. 2006–07 Los Angeles Kings Media Guide. p. 204.
  8. ^ Sadowski, Rick (1993). Los Angeles Kings: Hockeywood. Sagamore Publishing. p. 29. ISBN 0-915611-87-2.
  9. ^ a b "Kings All-Time Great Left Wing Luc Robitaille Announces His Retirement" (Press release). Los Angeles Kings. 2006-04-10. Retrieved 2007-05-07. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ Sadowski, Rick. Los Angeles Kings: Hockeywood. p. 145.
  11. ^ a b c d e Los Angeles Kings Communications Department. (2006). 2006–07 Los Angeles Kings Media Guide. Los Angeles Kings. p. 219.
  12. ^ Los Angeles Kings Communications Department (2002). Los Angeles Kings 2002–03 Media Guide. Los Angeles Kings. p. 8.
  13. ^ Los Angeles Kings Communications Department. 2006–07 Los Angeles Kings Media Guide. p. 167.
  14. ^ Los Angeles Kings Communications Department. 2006–07 Los Angeles Kings Media Guide. p. 5.
  15. ^ Los Angeles Kings Communications Department (2005). 2005–06 Los Angeles Kings Media Guide. Los Angeles Kings. p. 18.
  16. ^ a b Los Angeles Kings Communications Department. 2005–06 Los Angeles Kings Media Guide. p. 8.
  17. ^ Los Angeles Kings Communications Department. 2005–06 Los Angeles Kings Media Guide. p. 205.
  18. ^ Diamond, Dan. (2003). Total NHL: The Ultimate Source On The National Hockey League. Triumph Books: Printing Press. p. 420. ISBN 1-57243-604-2.
  19. ^ "Kings To Open 2007-08 NHL Regular Season In London" (Press release). Los Angeles Kings. 2007-03-01. Retrieved 2007-05-07. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  20. ^ "Los Angeles Kings - Roster". Los Angeles Kings. Retrieved August 28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  21. ^ Played in 60 games for the Kings, 1991–92 to 1992–93.
  22. ^ Played in 39 games for the Kings, 1969–70 to 1970–71.
  23. ^ Played in 14 games for the Kings, 1994–95.
  24. ^ Played in 36 games for the Kings, 1967–68.
  25. ^ Played in 59 games for the Kings, 1984–85.
  26. ^ Played in five games for the Kings, 1971–72.

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