The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent Cooke was awarded an NHL expansion franchise for Los Angeles on February 9, 1966, becoming one of the six teams that began play as part of the 1967 NHL expansion. The Kings played their home games at the Forum in Inglewood, California, a suburb of Los Angeles, for 32 years, until they moved to the Crypto.com Arena in Downtown Los Angeles at the start of the 1999–2000 season.
Pavol Demitra was a Slovak professional ice hockey player. He played nineteen seasons of professional hockey, for teams in the Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League (CSL), National Hockey League (NHL), Slovak Extraliga (SVK), and Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). A skilled offensive player, Demitra was a top-line forward throughout his career.
Ryan Alexander Borden Smyth is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played most of his career for the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was especially known for playing in the style of a power forward. He is currently one of the owners of the AJHL Spruce Grove Saints.
Luc Jean-Marie Robitaille is a Canadian–American professional ice hockey executive and former player. He currently serves as president of the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL).
David Andrew Taylor is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Los Angeles Kings from 1977 to 1994. He featured in the 1993 Stanley Cup Finals with the Kings.
Rogatien Rosaire "Rogie" Vachon is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played for the Montreal Canadiens, Los Angeles Kings, Detroit Red Wings and Boston Bruins in the National Hockey League between 1967 and 1982.
The 1981–82 NHL season was the 65th season of the National Hockey League. The William M. Jennings Trophy made its debut this year as the trophy for the goaltenders from the team with the fewest goals against, thus replacing the Vezina Trophy in that qualifying criteria. The Vezina Trophy would thereafter be awarded to the goaltender adjudged to be the best at his position. The New York Islanders won their third straight Stanley Cup by sweeping the Vancouver Canucks in four games.
The 1967–68 NHL season was the 51st season of the National Hockey League. The league expanded to 12 teams, putting the new six in the newly created West Division, while the "Original Six" were all placed in the newly created East Division. The regular season schedule was expanded to 74 games per team and featured the first time all twelve teams played games on the same day on October 18, 1967. The Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup against the new St. Louis Blues, in four games.
The 1968–69 NHL season was the 52nd season of the National Hockey League. Twelve teams each played 76 games. For the second time in a row, the Montreal Canadiens faced the St. Louis Blues in the Stanley Cup Finals. Montreal won their second consecutive Stanley Cup as they swept the Blues in four, an identical result to the previous season.
Bernard Irvine Nicholls is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre, who played over 1000 games in the National Hockey League (NHL). His junior career was spent with the Kingston Canadians, where he established himself as a dynamic scorer and a multi-faceted talent. He was selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the fourth round of the 1980 NHL Entry Draft, 73rd overall. Over his 17-year playing career, Nicholls played 1,127 games for the Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers, Edmonton Oilers, New Jersey Devils, Chicago Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks, scoring 1,209 points. He is one of only eight players in NHL history to score 70 goals in one season, and one of six to score 150 points. Nicholls was born in Haliburton, Ontario, but grew up in West Guilford, Ontario.
Tomas Sandström is a Finnish-born Swedish former professional ice hockey right winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1984 to 1999. Born in Finland, Sandström grew up in Fagersta, Sweden. A skilled power forward, he was effective when healthy but his career was marred by injuries due to his physical style of play.
Robert Thomas "Butch" Goring is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Los Angeles Kings, New York Islanders and Boston Bruins. A four-time Stanley Cup winner with the Islanders, he has been cited as a key figure of the Islander dynasty.
Aaron Michael Miller is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. Over the course of his 14-year career in the National Hockey League (NHL), which lasted from 1994 to 2008, Miller played for the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche, the Los Angeles Kings and the Vancouver Canucks. In 2002, he was selected as a member of United States hockey team at the 2002 Winter Olympics, where he won a silver medal. Prior to making his professional debut, Miller earned a degree in business from the University of Vermont.
Joseph Denis Emile DeJordy, is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played goal for four National Hockey League teams, most notably the Chicago Black Hawks. In 1966–67, he and Glenn Hall won the Vezina Trophy for the best goals-against average in the NHL.
Garry Noel Price is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played in the National Hockey League with seven teams between 1957 and 1976. He also spent considerable time in the minor American Hockey League during his career, which lasted from 1956 to 1976.
Dale Gordon Hoganson is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 344 games in the National Hockey League and 378 games in the World Hockey Association between 1969 and 1982. He played for the Los Angeles Kings, Montreal Canadiens, Quebec Nordiques, and Birmingham Bulls. He was traded along with Denis DeJordy, Noel Price and Doug Robinson from the Kings to the Canadiens for Rogie Vachon on November 4, 1971. In 1973 Dale was included with Montreal Canadiens official Stanley Cup winning picture, and was awarded a Stanley Cup ring. His name was left off the Stanley Cup, because did not officially qualify. He is cousin with Paul Hoganson.
Norman James Johnson was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre. He played eight seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, and Los Angeles Kings from 1964 to 1972. He went on to play three seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA) with the Minnesota Fighting Saints and Indianapolis Racers from 1972 to 1975.
The 1984–85 Los Angeles Kings season, was the Kings' 18th season in the National Hockey League. Following a fifth-place finish the previous season under three different coaches, Pat Quinn was hired as the new head coach of the Kings. In his first season, he returned them to the playoffs after a three-year absence with a 23-point improvement in the standings. But despite the goal scoring brilliance of Marcel Dionne and Bernie Nicholls, the Kings could not duplicate their Miracle on Manchester performance this time, losing to the Edmonton Oilers in three straight games in the Smythe Division semi-finals.
The 1973–74 Los Angeles Kings season was the Kings' seventh season in the National Hockey League.
The history of the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League begins in 1966, as the league prepared a major expansion for the upcoming season, and awarded a new team to Los Angeles-based entrepreneur Jack Kent Cooke, who also owned the Los Angeles Lakers. While the Los Angeles Kings awaited construction to be completed on their future home, The Forum in Inglewood, California, they played their first two games during their inaugural 1967–68 season at the Long Beach Arena. The first game in Kings history was played on Oct. 14, 1967 and the Kings defeated the fellow expansion Philadelphia Flyers 4–2 in front of 7,023. They also played 14 games at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena while awaiting the completion of the construction of the Forum. The Kings hosted their first game at the Forum on Dec. 30, 1967, a 2–0 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. They went on to play their first 32 seasons at Forum before moving to the Crypto.com Arena in Downtown Los Angeles in 1999.
