The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles, California. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL) and are the current Stanley Cup Champions. The team was founded on February 9, 1966, when Jack Kent Cooke was awarded an NHL expansion franchise for Los Angeles,[1] becoming one of the six teams that began play as part of the 1967 NHL expansion. The Kings called The Forum in Inglewood, California (a suburb of Los Angeles), their home for thirty-two years until they moved to the Staples Center in Downtown Los Angeles to start the 1999–2000 season.

The Kings won their division for the only time in their history in 1990–91.[3] They have qualified for post-season play in twenty-seven seasons, advancing past the first round eleven times, and past the second round twice.[4] The franchise has won the Western Conference twice.

Their first appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals was in the 1992–93 season, losing to the Montreal Canadiens in five games.

On May 22, 2012, the Kings beat the Phoenix Coyotes 4–3 in overtime in Phoenix to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1993. On June 11, 2012, the Kings beat the New Jersey Devils 6–1 in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals to win the franchise's first-ever Stanley Cup, becoming the first ever 8th seeded team in North American professional sports to win a championship.

Franchise history

Hockey in Los Angeles
Prior to the Kings arrival in the Los Angeles area, both the Pacific Coast Hockey League (PCHL) and the Western Hockey League (WHL) had several teams in California, including the PCHL's Los Angeles Monarchs of the 1930s and the WHL's Los Angeles Blades of the 1960s.[7] When the NHL decided to expand for the 1967–68 season amid rumblings that the WHL 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.[8] Los Angeles has a large number of expatriates from both the Northeastern United States and Canada, which Cooke saw as a natural fan base.

LA Kings primary logo from 1967–82.
Cooke was thus awarded one of the six new NHL expansion franchises, which also included the California Seals, Minnesota North Stars, Philadelphia Flyers,Pittsburgh Penguins and St. Louis Blues.[8] He named his team the Kings, and picked the original team colors of purple (or "Forum Blue," as it was later officially called) and gold because they were colors traditionally associated with royalty. The same color scheme was worn by the Los Angeles Lakers of theNational Basketball Association (NBA), which Cooke also owned.

The "Forum Blue and Gold" years (1967–68 to 1974–75)
Cooke named Larry Regan the first General Manager of the Kings, and Red Kelly the first head coach in franchise history. Cooke wanted his new NHL team to play in the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, home of the Lakers, but the Los Angeles Coliseum Commission, which manages the Sports Arena and the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to the present day, had already entered into an agreement with the Blades (whose owners had also tried to land the NHL expansion franchise in Los Angeles) to play their games at the Sports Arena.[12] Frustrated by his dealings with the Coliseum Commission, Cooke said, "I am going to build my own arena...I've had enough of this balderdash."[12]
Construction on Cooke's new arena, the Forum, was not yet complete when the 1967–68 season began, so the Kings opened their first season at the Long Beach Arena in the neighboring city of Long Beach on October 14, 1967, defeating the Philadelphia Flyers 4–2.[13] For the next two months, the Kings played their home games both at Long Beach and at the Sports Arena.[1] The "Fabulous Forum" finally opened its doors on December 30, 1967, with the Kings being shut out by the Flyers, 2–0.

The Kings made the Forum their home for the next 32 seasons.[2] 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 none other than Cooke himself.

LA Kings crown logo, used on their purple jerseys from 1967–88. A purple version was used on their gold jerseys.
In their first season, the Kings finished in second place in the Western Division, just one point behind the Flyers.[14] 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 The Forum on April 18, 1968, 9–4.[15] In their second season behind Red Kelly, the Kings finished fourth in the West Division—the final playoff berth.[16] 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. Kings general managers established a history of trading away first-round draft picks, usually for veteran players (many of them NHL stars on the downside of their careers), a problem that would hinder the development of the franchise for years to come.[17] The Kings' attendance also suffered during this time, leading Cooke to muse that the reason so many Northeasterners and Canadians moved to Southern California was that "they hated hockey."

In 1972, the Kings made two key acquisitions. First, the rise of rookie goaltender Ken Dryden in Montreal made goaltender Rogie Vachon expendable,[18] and the Kings obtained him in a trade with the Canadiens on November 4, 1971.[18] After years of a "revolving door" in goal, Vachon solidified the position, often in spectacular fashion. For the next five years, the Forum was often filled with chants of "Rogie!,Rogie!" as Vachon made many a great save. In addition, the Kings obtained former Toronto Maple Leafs winger Bob Pulford, first as a player and then as their head coach.[1] Under Pulford's disciplined direction, the Kings went from being one of the worst defensive teams in the league to one of the best. It took him just two seasons to lead the Kings back to the playoffs and in 1974, they faced the Chicago Blackhawks, only to be eliminated in five games.[15] Pulford eventually led the team to three of the most successful seasons in franchise history, including a 105-point season in 1974–75that is still a franchise record. They finished second behind Montreal in the Norris Division, which was relatively strong compared to the other divisions. Also in 1975 that season, the NHL introduced a new playoff structure due to the addition of new teams, and introduced a best of three preliminary rounds to the playoffs for the bottom eight of the qualifying twelve teams (the winners of each division automatically receiving a bye into the second round). With the fourth-best record in the league, the Kings were heavy favorites against the Maple Leafs, who finished with 78 points. Despite winning Game 1 at home in the Forum, the Kings lost Game 2 in Toronto on April 10. Due to scheduling conflicts, and owner Jack Kent Cooke's refusal to play an afternoon game on April 12, Game 3 was played at the Forum the next day, April 11, instead, giving each team less rest between the games. The Kings, being an older team than the Maple Leafs, simply did not have the energy due to lack of rest and recovery, and were upset in the deciding game by the lowly but younger Maple Leafs.

Marcel Dionne and the "Triple Crown Line" (1975–76 to 1987–88)
After being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in both 1973–74 and 1974–75, the Kings moved to significantly upgrade their offensive firepower when they acquired center Marcel Dionne on June 23, 1975, in a trade with theDetroit Red Wings. Dionne was already a superstar in the NHL and he made an immediate impact in the 1975–76 season, scoring 40 goals and adding 54 assists for 94 points in 80 regular season games.[20] He led the Kings to a 38–33–9 record (85 points), earning them a second place finish in the Norris Division.

LA Kings primary logo from 1982–88.
Behind Dionne's offensive prowess, the strong goaltending of RogieVachon, and the speed and scoring touch of forward Butch Goring,[22] 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.[15] The Kings would defeat 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.[1]This line combination, known as the "Triple Crown Line," would go on to become one of the highest-scoring line combinations in NHL history.

After the Triple Crown Line's first season together, Dr. Jerry Buss purchased the Kings, the Lakers, and the Forum for $67.5 million, but the Simmer-Dionne-Taylor combination remained intact.[7] The next season, the Triple Crown Line dominated the NHL, scoring 146 goals and 182 assists, good for 328 points. They did even better in the 1980-81 NHL season, scoring a total of 161 goals and 191 assists, good for 352 points.[1] The entire line, along with goalie Mario Lessard, was selected to play in the 1981 NHL All-Star Game that season, which was played at the Forum. The Kings finished the 1980-81 season with an impressive 43 wins and 99 points, good for second in the Norris Division. But once again, an impressive season was washed out by a first round upset, this time by the New York Rangers, who eliminated them in four games.

The 1981-82 Kings saw the Kings slump to 17th overall and fourth in their division with 63 points, only making the playoffs due to being in the same division as the Colorado Rockies, who finished with 49 (in those days, the top 4 teams in each division were guaranteed a playoff berth) during that time, the team replaced head coach Bob Berry with assistant coach Parker MacDonald. 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. By the 1981–82 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 fourStanley Cup championships in the 1980s.[24] The Oilers finished with 111 points.[25] Few expected the Kings to stand a chance, but it was the Kings who won Game 1 in Edmonton on April 7, 1982, 10–8, in the highest scoring Stanley Cup Playoff game ever.[26] The Oilers recovered to win in overtime in Game 2,[15] 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 and it seemed like the Kings were headed for a blowout loss. But the Kings began an unbelievable comeback in the third period, scoring four goals and finally tying the game on a goal by left wingerSteve Bozek at 19:55 of the third period and sending the game into overtime.

Bozek's goal set the stage for what was to come. At 2:35 of the overtime period, Kings left winger Daryl Evans fired a slap shot off a face-off in the right circle of the Edmonton zone, passing Oilers goaltender Grant Fuhr over his right shoulder to give the Kings an incredible come-from-behind, overtime victory, 6–5.[27][28] The Miracle on Manchester, the greatest comeback in NHL playoff history,[29] is also the greatest moment in Kings franchise history as of 2007.[1] Not only did the Kings complete a miraculous comeback against the vaunted Oilers, but they also went on to eliminate them from the playoffs in five games, winning the decider in Edmonton, 7–4,[28] however the Kings would lose in the next round to the Vancouver Canucks in five games.

Despite Dionne's leadership, the Kings missed the playoffs in the next two seasons, on January 30, 1984, RogieVachon became general manager of the Kings during the 1984, he coach the team for 2 games in 1984 after replacing Don Perry,Roger Neilson coach the teams final 28 games until after the season named Pat Quinn head coach. But the Kings were quickly swept out of the playoffs by the Oilers in 1985, when the Oilers won their second straight Stanley Cup championship.[15] Vachon also became the first player in team history to have his jersey retired on February 14, 1985. Dionne's time with the Kings ended on March 10, 1987, when he was traded to the New York Rangers.[30] 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.

Even before the Dionne trade the Kings were sent reeling when coach Pat Quinn signed a contract to become coach and general manager of the Vancouver Canucks with just months left on his Kings contract. NHL President John Ziegler suspended Quinn for the rest of the season and barred him from taking over Vancouver's hockey operations until June. Ziegler also barred him from coaching anywhere in the NHL until the 1990–91 season. In Ziegler's view, Quinn's actions created a serious conflict of interest that could only be resolved by having him removed as coach.[31]
Despite these shocks, Mike Murphy who played 13 season with the Kings and was their captain for 7 years replaced Quinn as coach. The Kings made the playoffs in the next two seasons, but they were unable to get out of the first round. After a slow start to the 1987–88 season, Murphy was fired, Vachon coached the team for 1 game until promoting AHL's New Haven Nighthawks coach Robbie Ftorek as new head coach. Part of the problem was that the way the playoffs were structured (teams were bracketed and seeded by division) made it very likely that they would have to get past either the powerful Oilers or Calgary Flames (or both) to reach the Conference Finals. In fact, the Kings faced either the Oilers or the Flames in the playoffs four times during the 1980s.
However, the 1988–89 season would be a big turning point for the franchise.

McNall brings Gretzky to LA (1988–89 to 1995–96)
 

LA Kings logo from 1988–98. Coinciding with the return to the silver and black scheme, the wordmark returned full-time on the helmets in the 2011–12 season.

In 1987, coin collector Bruce McNall purchased the Kings from Buss and turned the team into a Stanley Cup contender almost overnight. On August 9, 1988, McNall acquired the league's best player, Wayne Gretzky, in a blockbuster trade with the Edmonton Oilers. The trade rocked the hockey world, especially north of the border where Canadians mourned the loss of a player they considered a national treasure.[32] McNall also changed the team colors to silver and black.

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 Flames. Gretzky also had a clash and feuded with his first Kings head coach Robbie Ftorek, at seasons end Ftorek was fired and was replaced by Tom Webster.
The next season saw Gretzky become the league's all-time leading scorer. On October 15, 1989, in Edmonton, he assisted on a Bernie Nicholls goal to tie Gordie Howe's career record of 1,850 points, then broke it late in the contest on a game-tying goal against Bill Ranford. The goal forced overtime, where Gretzky capped a spectacular night by scoring again to win the game for Los Angeles.[33] At season's end, the Kings finished fourth and faced the defending champion Flames in the first round. This time, they defeated Calgary in six games, two of which had dramatic overtimes — Game 3 was won with a shorthanded goal by Tony Granato, and Game 6 ended with a strange goal by Mike Krushelnyski while he was flat on his back. However, the Kings were swept in the second round by the eventual champion Oilers, who were seeking revenge for the loss of the previous year.

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). Notably, it was the first time in 10 years that a team from Alberta had not finished first in the Smythe. However, the heavily favored Kings struggled in the playoffs, winning the first round against the Vancouver Canucks in six games but losing a close series against Edmonton in the second round that saw four games go into overtime. The 1991–92 season, the Kings' 25th as a franchise, witnessed seven Kings players score over 20 goals; Gretzky himself had a then-career low in scoring yet still finished third in the league behind Pittsburgh Penguins star Mario Lemieux and Kevin Stevens, in that same year; Gretzky was also reunited with his former Edmonton Oiler teammates Jari Kurri, Paul Coffey, and Charlie Huddy. Despite this, Los Angeles again failed to thwart their Edmonton rivals in the post-season, losing to the Oilers in the first round. This marked the third straight year that the Gretzky-led Kings were eliminated from the playoffs by Gretzky's former teammates, and at the end of the season, Tom Webster was relieved from head coach, and general manager RogieVachon was moved to a different position in the organization and named Nick Beverley as his successor.

First trip to the Stanley Cup Final (1992–93)
The Kings would reach new heights in the 1992–93 season, but the season 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,[34] with left-winger Luc Robitaille, who won theCalder 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.[35] 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.[36]
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 make the playoffs. Although Gretzky came back to score 16 goals and 49 assists (65 points) in just 45 games, it was Robitaillewho 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.[34]The Kings finished with a 39–35–10 record (88 points), clinching third place in the Smythe Division.

First-year 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.[37] 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.[38] 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 to give his team a dramatic 5–4 victory and send the teams back to Toronto for a Game 7. The game was not without controversy, just prior to the winning goal Wayne Gretzky clipped Gilmour in the face with his stick, but referee Kerry Fraser did not call a penalty and Gretzky scored the winning goal moments later.[39] In the final contest, Gretzky scored a hat trick(three goals) and had 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.

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, however, proved to be the turning point in the series. Late in the contest, with the Kings leading by a score of 2–1, Canadiens coach Jacques Demers requested a measurement of Kings defenseman Marty McSorley's stick blade. His suspicions proved to be correct, as the curve of blade was too great, and McSorley was penalized. The Canadiens pulled their goalie, Patrick Roy, giving them a two-man advantage, and Eric Desjardins scored on the resulting power play to tie the game. Montreal went on to win the game in overtime on another goal by Desjardins, and the Kings never recovered. They dropped 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.

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. During the Stanley Cup Finals, more people in the Los Angeles area were tuned into the television broadcasts than any other station. 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 or moving into other Sun Belt cities such as Dallas, Phoenix, Tampa, Miami and Nashville.

Bankruptcy and Decline (1993–94 to 1998–99)

Kings' primary logo from1998–2002. (Would later serve as the team's alternate logo from (2002–2011).
The next chapter after the 1993 playoff run for the Kings was tough for Kings fans. Wayne Gretzky returned to form for the 1993–94 season, and continued to lead the team with 38 goals and 92 assists for 130 points, winning his final Art Ross Trophy as the league's leader in points that season. On March 23, 1994, Gretzky surpassed Gordie Howe's record for goals and became the all time leader in goals, assists and points. But despite Gretzky's leadership, and the individual efforts by Robitaille, Kurri and Blake, the Kings slumped to 5th place in the Pacific Division with only 66 points and failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 1986.

The Kings logo appearing on an alternate jersey used during the1995-96 season.
By 1992, Bruce McNall was elected chairman of the NHL's Board of Governors, the second-most powerful post in the league. His support of Gary Bettman tipped the scales in favor of Bettman's election as the league's first Commissioner. However, in December 1993, McNall defaulted on a loan from Bank of America, who threatened to force the Kings into Bankruptcy unless he sold the team. McNall sold the team to IDB Communications founder Jeffrey Sudikoff and former Madison Square Garden president Joseph Cohen in the wake of a federal investigation into his financial practices. He also resigned from his position on the NHL Board of Governors. He ultimately pled guilty to five counts of conspiracy and fraud, and admitted to obtaining $236 million in fraudulent loans from six banks over 10 years.

It later emerged that McNall's free-spending ways put the Kings in serious financial trouble. At one point, Cohen and Sudikoff were even unable to meet player payroll, and were ultimately forced into bankruptcy in 1995.[43] They were forced to trade many of their stronger players: in 1994, Tomas Sandstrom would be traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins for the return of McSorley (who had been traded to Pittsburgh before the beginning of the 1993-94 season), and Luc Robitaille would be traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1994 for Rick Tocchet; in 1995, key defensemen Alexei Zhitnik and Charlie Huddy would be sent to Buffalo for several lowly players and an aging Grant Fuhr. While the Kings still had some talent on their roster in the forms of Gretzky, Blake, Kurri and McSorley, they had little else. Before the lockout-shortened 1994–95 season, general manager Nick Beverley left the Kings to work as a scout for the Toronto Maple Leafs and his replacement was Sam McMaster. However, the team continued to stumble, and a late season cold streak hindered their playoff chances, putting the Kings within one game of clinching the 8th playoff spot, but they lost their final game to the Blackhawks 5–1 to finish in 9th place with 41 points, one point under the 8th place Dallas Stars. During that time, the Kings fired Barry Melrose, leaving RogieVachon to coach the team's final 7 games in the 1994–95 season. After the season, Larry Robinson who played three seasons for the Kings from 1989–92, was named head coach after winning the 1995 Stanley Cup as an assistant coach with the New Jersey Devils.

Larry Robinson's first season as the Kings coach saw the Kings slump even further to sixth place in the Pacific Division with only 66 points for the 1995–96 season. During that season, Phillip Anschutz andEdward P. Roski bought the Kings out of bankruptcy court in October 1995 and began a rebuilding phase. Meanwhile, Gretzky, who was by this time on the twilight 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 wanted another chance to win an elusive fifth Stanley Cup before retirement. On February 27, 1996, Gretzky 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).[44] 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, who lost in the second round of the playoffs that year. Like Marcel Dionne before him, Gretzky ended up with the New York Rangers before retiring in 1999.

Shortly after Gretzky was traded, Rob Blake was named team captain, and the Kings then traded Marty McSorley, Jari Kurri and Shane Churla to the New York Rangers for Mattias Norstrom, Nathan LaFayette, Ian Laperriere, Ray Ferraro, and a draft pick. The oft-maligned general manager Sam McMaster was fired and replaced by former Kings winger Dave Taylor.[45] But the rebuilding phase for Taylor was a tough one, as the Kings continued their streak of forgettable seasons until 1997–98.[38] That season saw the Kings finish second in the Pacific Division with 87 Points. They were led by strong players Jozef Stumpel andGlen Murray, and Blake also became the first (and, as of today, the only) Kings defensemen to win the James Norris Trophy as the NHL's best defenseman after recording a career-high 23 goals and 50 points. Luc Robitaille would also return, though he would be plagued by injuries throughout the season. The Kings were matched against the highly skilled St. Louis Blues, and after losing the first two games on the road, had a chance to bring life back to the Kings for game 3. Leading 3–0 in the third with 11:28 left, Blues forward Geoff Courtnall charged into Kings goalie Jamie Storr while Storr was out playing the puck, in immediate response, Kings defenseman Sean O'Donnell viciously attacked Courtnall from behind, resulting in a 5 minute major penalty for O'Donnell and power play for St. Louis. The Blues rallied and scored 4 goals within 187 seconds during the power play to win Game 3, 4–3, and then won Game 4, 2–1 to sweep the Kings. Robitaille would return to his all-star form for the 1998–99 and lead the Kings with 74 points. However, the Kings once again finished last in their division and had another disappointing season, which head coach Larry Robinson was fired afterwards.

Move to Staples Center and three straight playoff appearances (1999–00 to 2001–02)
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, winger prospectJosh Green, defenseman prospect Mathieu Biron and the Kings' first-round pick in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft.

Staples Center, viewed fromFigueroa 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 Detroit Red Wings in a four-game sweep.

In the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, the Kings drafted in the first round Alexander Frolov with the 20th overall pick and in the fourth round drafted Lubomir Visnovsky 118th overall. 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 1998 Norris Trophy as the NHL's best defenseman in 1998.

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). After Blake's departure, MattiasNorstrom became the Kings' thirteenth Captain, then acquired Goaltender Felix Potvin from the Vancouver Canucks; 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 Detroit Red Wings.

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.

In Game 4, the Red Wings took a commanding 3–0 lead after two periods. This set the stage for yet another unbelievable playoff comeback for the Kings, highly reminiscent of the "Miracle on Manchester," back in 1982. Seldom-used forwardScott Thomas, a career minor-leaguer, scored a power play goal at 13:53. 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 two-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."[47][49] That win would help the Kings eliminate the Red Wings in Game 6 by winning 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 Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, Patrick Roy, Ray Bourque and Rob Blake. The Kings took the eventual champions to seven games but lost the series, 4–3.[38] The most memorable game of that series was Game 6 where goalies Patrick Roy of Colorado and Felix Potvin of the Kings battled to a 0–0 tie after regulation. The teams played through one overtime, and the Kings scored in the second overtime for a 1–0 win.

The Kings' logo since 1998. It was the primary logo from2002–2011 and now uses as an alternate logo since 2011, albeit devoid of purple.

The 2001–02 season 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. The Kings drafted Michael Cammalleri 49th overall in the second round of the 2001 NHL Draft. Earlier in the season, the team acquired Jason Allison who was involved in a contract dispute along withMikko Eloranta from the Boston Bruins in return for JozefStumpel and Glen Murray. At mid-season they hosted the 2002 NHL All-Star Game.[50] They clinched seventh place in the Western Conference, then met the heavily-favored Avalanche, who bounced them from the playoffs in the first round.

Rebuilding (2002–03 to 2008–09)
The next two seasons would be major disappointments. The Kings suffered through injuries in both the 2002–03 season and the 2003–04 season as the team failed to make the playoffs. In 2003, Luc Robitaille returned to the Kings after two seasons with the Detroit Red Wings, and the team drafted Dustin Brown with the thirteenth pick in the first round of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. Following the resumption of play after the 2004–05 NHL lockout, the Kings drafted Anze Kopitar with the eleventh pick in the first round of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft and goaltender Jonathan Quick in the third round, 72nd overall. In free agency, the team acquired Valeri Bure, Jeremy Roenick and Pavol Demitra for the 2005–06 season. Los Angeles began the new season strongly, but the second half of the season saw the Kings stumble badly, freefalling from second place in the Western Conference in early January to tenth place. On March 21, 2006, the team fired head coach Andy Murray, replacing him with interim head coach John Torchetti. With three games left in the season, 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 retire.

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

On April 21, 2006, the Kings hired Philadelphia Flyers scout and former San Jose Sharks general manager Dean Lombardi as 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, on May 22, 2006, he hired Marc Crawford to be the Kings' 21st head coach. In the 2006 offseason, Roenick signed with the Phoenix Coyotes; Bure, who didn't play the 2005–06 season, retired; and Demitra was traded to the Minnesota Wild for Patrick O'Sullivan and Trevor Lewis and acquired the rights of Jack Johnson, along with Oleg Tverdovsky, from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Tim Gleason and Eric Belanger. In free agency, Rob Blake returned to the Kings.
There were few highlights during the 2006–07 season. On January 13, 2007, the Kings made hockey history by putting Yutaka Fukufuji in goal for the third period of a 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. On January 20, 2007, the Kings retired Luc Robitaille's jersey in an hour-long ceremony prior to a game with the Phoenix Coyotes. It was the fifth Kings jersey to be retired.

Before the 2007–08 season, the Kings drafted Wayne Simmonds in the second round, 61st overall, Alec Martinez, 95th Overall and Dwight King 109th overall in the fourth round of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft and signed six unrestricted free agents, including center Michal Handzus, left wings Ladislav Nagy and Kyle Calder, and defensemen Tom Preissing, Brad Stuart and Jon Klemm. Rob Blake was named the teams' fourteenth captain after longtime captain MattiasNorstrom was traded to the Dallas Stars in February 2007. However, despite opening the season with a win against the defending Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks in the first NHL regular season game in Europe at the new O2 Arena (also owned by AEG) inLondon, United Kingdom,[51] the new acquisitions did little to change the Kings' fortunes as the team finished with the second worst record in the league. On June 10, 2008, the team announced the firing of head coach Marc Crawford.

In the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, the Kings had a busy day, starting with a 3-way trade with the Calgary Flames and the Anaheim Ducks. The Kings traded Mike Cammalleri to the Flames, and the 28th overall pick to the Ducks. The Kings received the 12th overall pick (which eventually was traded to the Buffalo Sabres for the 13th overall pick). The Kings used the 2nd overall pick to select defenseman Drew Doughty, Colten Teubert was selected 13th overall and Vyacheslav Voynov in the 2nd round, 32nd overall. In the 2008 offseason, the Kings traded LubomirVisnovsky to the Edmonton Oilers for Matt Greene and Jarret Stoll and, after Rob Blake left for the San Jose Sharks, the team brought back in a trade from theAnaheim Ducks, Sean O'Donnell.

On July 17, 2008, the Kings hired Terry Murray, who became the 22nd head coach in franchise history.[53] On October 8, 2008, right wing Dustin Brown was named as the Kings' fifteenth captain in franchise history.[54] Brown, 23, was also the youngest captain and the first American-born captain in Kings' history.[54] In March 2009, the Kings acquired Justin Williams from the Carolina Hurricanes for Patrick O'Sullivan.

Return to the playoffs (2009–10 to present)
During the 2009 offseason, the Kings traded for forward Ryan Smyth,[55] known for his prowess in front of opposing goaltenders. They also signed defenseman Rob Scuderi, who won the Stanley Cup the previous year with Pittsburgh, and draftedBrayden Schenn in the first round, 5th overall, Kyle Clifford in the 2nd round, 35th overall, and Jordan Nolan, the son of former NHL coach Ted Nolan in the 7th round, 186th overall in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. The Kings were very successful during the 2009–10 NHL season, as they finished sixth overall in the Western Conference while in the midst of rebuilding. They established a franchise record with a nine-game unbeaten streak, and finished the season with 101 points, just the third 100-plus point season in franchise history. However, they lost to a highly skilled Vancouver Canucks team in six games in the first round. The Kings led the series, 2–1, and were ahead 3–2 after the 2nd period of game 4, only to let it slip away in part due to excellent goaltending by Roberto Luongo and late goals by the Sedin twins. Despite the series loss, many considered the season to be an outright success due to the age of the team and the setbacks from injuries to key players Ryan Smyth and Justin Williams. Forward AnžeKopitar spent most of the first half of the season in the top ten in the league in scoring, and finished 20th overall in points. Doughty was one of three finalists for the James Norris Trophy as the league's top defenseman and received the team's ‘Best Defenseman’ award. This was the first time in eight years that the Kings made it to the playoffs.

During the 2010 offseason, the Kings signed veteran and former on-ice captain for the Vancouver Canucks, Willie Mitchell, and added forward Alexei Ponikarovsky after losing out on the controversial free agent signing of Ilya Kovalchuk. Mitchell's signing created a top defensive pairing along with Norris Trophy favorite Drew Doughty and bolstered the chemistry of the locker room after the departure of veterans Sean O'Donnell and Alexander Frolov, in the trade deadline, the team acquired Dustin Penner from the Edmonton Oilers for ColtenTeubert, a first round pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, and a conditional second round pick in 2012.

The Kings entered the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs as the 7th seeded Western Conference team and played San Jose in the first round. The team’s high scorer, AnzeKopitar, was injured and unavailable for the playoffs. On April 25, the Kings were eliminated by the San Jose Sharks in six games of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Kings Captain Dustin Brown Hoisting the Stanley Cup
First Stanley Cup victory (2011–12)
In the 2011 offseason, the Kings acquired Mike Richards and prospect Rob Bordson from the Philadelphia Flyers for Wayne Simmonds, Brayden Schenn and a 2012 second round pick, by personal request, traded Ryan Smyth to the Edmonton Oilers for Colin Fraser and a 7th round pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, and signed Simon Gagne from the Tampa Bay Lightning to play alongside former Philadelphia Flyer teammate Mike Richards.
The Kings started 5–1–1 to the 2011–12 NHL season, but went 8–11–3 which resulted in a 13–12–4 overall record and the firing of coach Terry Murray. Los Angeles named John Stevens interim coach for four games until on December 17, 2011, named Darryl Sutter the 24th head coach in franchise history. Before the trade deadline, the Kings acquired another former Philadelphia Flyer in Richards' friend and former teammate Jeff Carter from the Columbus Blue Jackets for Jack Johnson and a conditional first round draft pick. The Kings were much improved under Sutter, going 25–13–11. They also narrowly missed clinching their second divisional title in franchise history.
In their final two games the Kings lost both to the Sharks in overtime, allowing San Jose to edge them out by one point for the 7th seed in the Western Conference, while a five-game winning streak gave the Coyotes their first Pacific Division championship. The Kings settled for the 8th seed, having rounded out the season with a 40–27–15 record (95 points). The Kings headed into the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Presidents' Trophy-winning Vancouver Canucks. After playing two games in Vancouver and one in Los Angeles, the Kings were up 3–0 in the series, a franchise first. By winning game 5 in Vancouver, the Kings advanced to the semifinals for the first time since the 2000–01 season, where they swept the second-seeded St. Louis Blues and advanced to the Western Conference finals for only the second time in franchise history. In doing so, the Kings also became the first NHL team to enter the playoffs as the 8th seed and eliminate the 1st and 2nd seeded teams in the conference. They then defeated the Phoenix Coyotes in five games to reach the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals, becoming the second team in NHL history to beat the top three conference seeds in the playoffs (the Calgary Flames achieved the same feat in 2004 also under Darryl Sutter) and the first eighth seed to accomplish the feat.
They faced the New Jersey Devils in the Finals and defeated them in six games to win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. With the Game 6 victory occurring on home ice at Staples Center, the Kings became the first team since the2007 Anaheim Ducks to win the Stanley Cup on home ice, and the second Californian NHL team to do so.[56] Goaltender Jonathan Quick was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Most Valuable Player during the playoffs, and soon signed a ten-year contract extension on June 28, 2012.[57]
Uniforms
The Los Angeles Kings debuted in the NHL wearing Forum Blue and gold uniforms.[11] The original design was simple and straightforward, featuring monochrome striping on the shoulders and tail, as well as purple pants with white and gold trim. Later on, white trim was added on the numbers, and names were also added, while tail stripes were adjusted. At one point, gold pants were used to pair with the gold uniforms during the 1970s. A variation of the original crown logo, with a contrasting color background, was used with this uniform.[11]
From 1980–88, the Kings modified their uniforms to include a contrasting yoke that extends from sleeve to sleeve. White was also added to the socks, on the tail stripes, and at the bottom of the yoke, but the color was removed from the pants. The names and numbers were also modified to a standard NHL block lettering.[11]
Just in time for Wayne Gretzky's arrival, the Kings' colors changed to black and silver. The new uniforms didn't deviate much from the prior design, save for the color scheme, a new primary Kings logo, and a switch from a contrasting yoke color to sleeve stripes. With minor changes to the text and pant striping, the uniforms were used until 1998.[11]
The Kings briefly reintroduced purple and gold to the scheme upon unveiling an alternate jersey for the 1995–96 season. The uniform featured a gradually fading black splash, medieval-inspired serif text, and a logo of a bearded figure wearing a golden crown. The so-called "Burger King" jersey was not well received by fans, and was scrapped after only one season.[11]
For the 1998–99 season, the Kings unveiled a new logo and color scheme, substituting Forum Blue for a lighter shade of purple. The uniforms feature the primary shield logo with hints of purple on the yoke, sleeve stripes and tail. The bottom of the uniform reads the city name. A purple alternate uniform featuring the updated secondary crown logo was unveiled for the 1999–2000 season. In 2002, the crown logo became the primary while the shield logo was demoted to alternate status. The socks on the dark uniforms also switched designations to match their counterparts. Upon moving to the Reebok Edge design in 2007, the uniforms were updated without the tail stripes. The purple-tinged road uniforms were used until the 2010–11 season, while the home uniform was demoted to alternate status in 2011 and remained in use until 2013.[11][58]
In 2008, the Kings unveiled an alternate uniform inspired from the 1990s Kings motif. The current logo, now in a black and silver banner with the updated crown logo and 'LA' abbreviation on top, made its debut with the uniform. Three years later, the Kings completed the transition back to the classic black and silver by unveiling a new away uniform, which unlike the home uniform, features a black and silver tail stripe. The helmets also feature the Kings wordmark from their 1988–98 logo.[11]
Since the 2010–11 season, the Kings have also worn their classic purple and gold uniforms from the late 1970s as part of "Legends Night" on select home dates. Minor changes in the uniform include the NHL shield logo on the neck piping, as well as the use of the Reebok Edge design.[59]
Regular season records
• Most goals in a season: Bernie Nicholls, 70 (1988–89)
• Most assists in a season: Wayne Gretzky, 122 (1990–91)
• Most points in a season: Wayne Gretzky, 168 (1988–89)
• Most points in a game: Bernie Nicholls, 8 (1988–89)
• Most penalty minutes in a season: Marty McSorley, 399 (1992–93)
• Most points in a season by a defenseman: Larry Murphy, 76 (1980–81)
• Most points in a season by a rookie: Luc Robitaille, 84 (1986–87)
• Most wins in a season: Jonathan Quick, 39 (2009–10)
• Most shutouts in a season: Jonathan Quick, 10 (2011–12)
Team records
• Most points in a season: 105 (1974–75)
• Most wins in a season: 46 (1990–91)
• Longest season-ending win streak: 11 (2005–06)
Broadcasters
In 1973, the Kings hired Bob Miller as their play-by-play announcer, and he has held that post continuously since that time. Miller, considered by many to be one of the best hockey play-by-play announcers in the NHL, is often referred to as the "Voice of the Kings". He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on November 13, 2000,[81][86] and his first book, Bob Miller's Tales of the Los Angeles Kings, was published in 2006.[87]
Television: Fox Sports West and Prime Ticket
• Bob Miller – play-by-play
• Jim Fox – color commentator
• Patrick O'Neal – Kings Live anchor
Radio: KTLK
• Nick Nickson – play-by-play
• Daryl Evans – color commentator
Public address:
• David Courtney 1989-2012
• Dave Joseph