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.
Darryl John Sutter is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former player. He most recently served as head coach of the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is one of seven Sutter brothers, six of whom made the NHL ; all but Rich and Gary worked alongside Darryl in some capacity during his first tenure with the Flames.
Brent Colin Sutter is a Canadian former National Hockey League (NHL) player and former head coach of the New Jersey Devils and Calgary Flames. Selected by the New York Islanders 17th overall at the 1980 NHL Entry Draft, Sutter played over 1,000 games for the Islanders and Chicago Blackhawks during his 18-year career. Regarded as one of the best face-off specialists of his generation, Sutter won the Stanley Cup twice with the Islanders and was an All-Star. He represented Canada on numerous occasions, winning the Canada Cup three times.
Robert Jesse Pulford is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Los Angeles Kings in the National Hockey League. He later served as head coach of the Kings before spending 30 years with the Chicago Blackhawks as a coach and general manager.
John A. Stevens is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He is an assistant coach of the Vegas Golden Knights. He is the former head coach of the Los Angeles Kings and the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Stevens was a defenceman for the Flyers and Hartford Whalers during his playing career. Stevens was born in Campbellton, New Brunswick, but grew up in Turkey Point in Norfolk County, Ontario.
The 2012 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 2011–12 season, and the culmination of the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Western Conference playoff champion Los Angeles Kings defeated the Eastern Conference playoff champion New Jersey Devils four games to two, capturing the first Stanley Cup title in the team's 45-year history, dealing the Devils just their second Stanley Cup Finals defeat in five tries and first since 2001. Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Most Valuable Player of the playoffs.
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.
