Los Angeles Kings

The Los Angeles Kings are an NHL franchise in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference.

The Kings joined the NHL as part of the 1967 expansion. Los Angeles has struggled since joining the league, winning only one Division title and one Conference Championship. In the mid-70s, the Kings acquired some offensive talen in the form of Butch Goring and Marcel Dionne, who helped them to reach the playoffs on a more consistent basis for the next few seasons. In 1988, Los Angeles became one of the strongest teams in the Western Conference, adding superstars Wayne Gretzky and Jari Kurri from Edmonton. With Luc Robitaille, Rob Blake and Alexei Zhitnik heading up an offense in front of star goalie Kelly Hrudey, the Kings won their lone division title, in 1990-91. The Kings made a deep run at the Cup in ’92-93, beating Calgary and Vancouver on the way to the Conference Finals against Toronto. A tightly contested seven game series ended with a Kings victory on a Wayne Gretzky hat trick in Game 7. The Kings lost to Montreal in the Cup Finals in only 5 games.

Poor financial decisions in the rest of the 1990s led the Kings to some poor finishes. Zigmund Palffy helped lead a short revival in 1999-00, but the Kings were eliminated in the first round by Detroit. After a few more playoff appearances before the lockout, the Kings have failed to make the playoffs since 2002.

Los Angeles plays out of the Staples Center which seats 18,118 and also hosts the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers.

Stanley Cups won: none

Notable Players: Rob Blake, Mike Cammalleri, Pavol Demitra, Marcel Dionne, Butch Goring, Tony Granato, Wayne Gretzky, Kelly Hrudey, Jack Johnson, Anze Kopitar, Jari Kurri, Marty McSorley, Zigmund Palffy, Luc Robitaille, Jeremy Roenick, Rogie Vachon, Alexei Zhitnik

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