Los Angeles Kings Franchise History

The "Forum Blue and Gold" Years

The Western Hockey League had several teams in California, and minor pro hockey found success there in the early 1960s. There was also a sizeable colony of Canadian expatriates. However, the lack of a suitable arena in the area was the primary factor 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. The only major arena in the area, the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, was certainly large enough to accommodate an NHL team, but its sight lines were inadequate.

When the NHL decided to expand for 1967-68 amidst 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 form a new team in Los Angeles as one of the expansion teams to be added for the 1967-68 NHL season, and on February 9, 1966, Cooke was awarded a new NHL franchise, behind his promise to build a new arena for his team. The terms of a new television agreement with CBS called for two of the new teams to be located in California, the other being the California Seals who would represent the Bay Area.

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

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

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.

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

The Black and Silver Era

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 Wayne Gretzky in a blockbuster trade that rocked the hockey world, especially north of the border, where Canadians mourned the loss of a player they considered a national treasure.

Gretzky led the Kings to their first division title in franchise history in the 1990-91 season with a 46-24-10 record (102 points, 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 NHL season, but the year started badly for the team when it was learned that Gretzky had suffered a career-threatening herniated thoracic disk before the season began. The concern was not only if Gretzky would be able to play that season, but if he would ever be able to play again. But without their captain and leading scorer, the Kings got off to a blistering 20-8-3 start, with left wing Luc Robitaille filling in as captain for the ailing Gretzky. Robitaille led the team until Gretzky returned after missing the first 39 games.

In the Campbell Conference Finals, the Kings were even more of an underdog against the Doug Gilmour-led Toronto Maple Leafs. But with Gretzky leading the team, the Kings eliminated the Leafs in a hard-fought seven game series that included two overtime games and a Game 6 win for the Kings, who were facing elimination after losing Game 5 in overtime--they trailed the Leafs in the series, 3-2. In Game 6, the teams were tied, 4-4 at the end of regulation play, only to have Gretzky score in overtime to give his team a dramatic 5-4 victory, sending the teams back to Toronto for Game 7, when Gretzky scored a hat trick (three goals), and an assist to lead the Kings to a 5-4 win and a berth in the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in franchise history.

The popularity of Gretzky and the Kings also led to the NHL awarding an expansion team to Anaheim, California; in the 1993-94 NHL season, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim would become the Kings nearest rival, just 35 miles to the south. Gretzky's popularity in Southern California also led to the NHL expanding into other Sun Belt cities such as Phoenix, Dallas, Tampa, Miami, and Nashville.

The Staples Center Era

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 another Stanley Cup before retirement. But his public statements forced the Kings' hand, since no team would now give them equal value in a trade because of his demands--the Kings would be at a huge disadvantage in any trade, and this would badly hurt their rebuilding program.

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

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

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

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

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

The 2001-02 NHL season was 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 midseason they held the 2002 NHL All-Star Game while still fighting for a playoff spot in which they clinched 7th place in the Western Conference where they were matched with the heavily favoured Colorado Avalanche. After being bounced out of the playoffs in the first round by the Avalanche, the next two seasons would be major disappointments, as the team failed to make the playoffs in both seasons.

The Kings' 2004-05 NHL season was lost due to labor strife between the NHL and the National Hockey League Players Union.