49 Fun Facts About Los Angeles Kings

Which Canadian entrepreneur paid the NHL $2 million to found the Los Angeles Kings as a 1967 expansion team?

Jack Kent Cooke also owned the Lakers; after feuding with the city's Coliseum Commission he told an aide he'd had "enough of this balderdash" and built his own arena, the Forum.

Why did the Kings' first owner choose purple and gold as the team's original colours?

They were associated with royalty, to suit the name Kings, and the owner dressed his other team, the Lakers, in the same purple and gold.

Where did the Kings play their first game in October 1967 while the Forum was still unfinished?

Long Beach Arena hosted a 4-2 win over fellow newcomers Philadelphia; when the Forum finally opened that December 30, the same Flyers spoiled the night with a 2-0 shutout.

Which goaltender's 1971 arrival from Montreal turned the Kings into a contender?

Rogie Vachon had lost Montreal's net to rookie Ken Dryden during the 1971 Cup run; traded west that November, he later became the first King to have his number retired.

Which two wingers flanked Marcel Dionne on the 'Triple Crown Line'?

Charlie Simmer and Dave Taylor were little known until their coach juggled his lines in 1978-79; Simmer, a career minor-leaguer, then scored 56 goals in each of the next two seasons.

Which owner bought the Kings, the Lakers and the Forum for $67.5 million in 1979?

Jerry Buss got his chance because the seller needed cash for a then-record divorce settlement of about $41 million, ordered by Judge Joseph Wapner, later of TV's The People's Court.

Which rookie, later a Kings radio analyst, scored the overtime goal that completed 1982's 'Miracle on Manchester' comeback?

Daryl Evans scored 2:35 into overtime to beat Edmonton 6-5; the Kings had trailed 5-0 after two periods, and Steve Bozek tied it with five seconds left.

Which coach was suspended in 1986-87 for signing with Vancouver while still under Kings contract?

Pat Quinn argued the Kings had missed a deadline in his contract, but NHL president John Ziegler removed him in January 1987 and barred him from coaching Vancouver until 1990-91.

Bruce McNall, who bought the Kings in 1987, made his fortune in what?

He defaulted on a Bank of America loan and the club went bankrupt in 1995.

When the Kings dropped purple and gold in 1988, they adopted the colours of which other Los Angeles team?

Raiders silver and black replaced the purple and gold just as Wayne Gretzky arrived: he modelled the new sweater at the August 1988 press conference announcing his trade.

Through 2026, the Kings' only division title came in 1990-91, in which old division?

Smythe Division champions with 102 points, the Kings then lost in round two to a third-place team that finished 22 points behind them, four of the six games going to overtime.

Which coach, hired from the AHL's Adirondack Red Wings, took the Kings to the 1993 Final?

Barry Melrose got there in his first season as an NHL head coach, even though Wayne Gretzky missed 39 games with a herniated disc in his back.

Which Kings defenseman's illegal stick curve in Game 2 of the 1993 Final turned the series?

Marty McSorley was penalised with 1:45 left and the Kings leading 2-1; Éric Desjardins tied it on the power play, won it 51 seconds into overtime, and Montreal took the next three games.

Whose goals record did Gretzky break as a King with his 802nd goal in March 1994?

Gordie Howe was Gretzky's idol and the reason for his 99: Howe's No. 9 was already taken on his junior team, so his coach suggested doubling it.

To which team did the Kings trade Wayne Gretzky in February 1996?

St. Louis Blues kept Gretzky for only 31 games, playoffs included; that summer he signed with the Rangers, where he played his last three seasons.

Fans nicknamed the Kings' unpopular 1995-96 alternate sweater after which fast-food chain?

Burger King was the fans' name for the crest's bearded, crowned face; the sweater proved unpopular from the start and was scrapped after one season.

What helped push the Kings to a purple-based scheme in 1998?

Their old colours had become associated with gangs, and some schools had banned students from wearing them; the club spent 20 months on the redesign, testing it on focus groups.

Which two players from the 2001 Rob Blake trade with Colorado became key Kings?

Adam Deadmarsh and Aaron Miller arrived that February; two months later Deadmarsh's overtime goal in Game 6 knocked out heavily favoured Detroit, the Kings' first series win since 1993.

Which defenseman did the Kings draft second overall in 2008, one pick after Steven Stamkos?

Drew Doughty grew up a Kings fan with kid-sized Wayne Gretzky and Kelly Hrudey jerseys in his bedroom, and buried his face in his hands when he saw the Kings' GM chatting with a rival just before the pick.

Which coach replaced Terry Murray in December 2011 and won two Cups in three years?

Darryl Sutter was hired by general manager Dean Lombardi for the second time: Lombardi had brought him to San Jose in 1997 and fired him there in 2002.

Whose overtime goal in Game 5 against Phoenix sent the 2012 Kings to their first Final since 1993?

Dustin Penner had been a punchline since January, when his back seized up as he leaned over his wife's "delicious pancakes"; in Phoenix he scored 17:42 into overtime.

Whom did the Kings beat in six games to win the 2012 Stanley Cup?

New Jersey Devils trailed the series 3-0, won twice, then lost Game 6 6-1 after Steve Bernier's boarding major gave the Kings a five-minute power play and three goals.

The 2012 Kings were the first Stanley Cup champions to enter the playoffs as what?

An eighth seed had never won the Cup: the Kings beat the West's top three seeds in order and won ten straight road games on the way to the title.

Which opposing player's hit on Jarret Stoll got him suspended for the rest of the Kings' 2013 second-round series?

Raffi Torres, already a repeat offender, was banned for the rest of the round for his Game 1 hit to the head; the Kings won in seven, the home team taking every game.

In 2014 the Kings won a playoff series after losing the first three games, against which rival?

San Jose Sharks won the first three games by a combined 17-8, then lost four straight; before the Kings, only the 1942 Maple Leafs, 1975 Islanders and 2010 Flyers had done it in the NHL.

Whose overtime goals won both Game 7 of the 2014 conference finals and Game 5 of the Final?

Alec Martinez ended the conference final in Chicago 5:47 into overtime, then won the Cup at home in double overtime by burying a rebound on a three-on-two rush.

Which King, nicknamed 'Mr. Game 7', won the 2014 Conn Smythe Trophy?

Justin Williams had points in all three Game 7s the Kings won on the road that spring; he retired with a record 15 points in Game 7s, his teams winning eight of nine.

Whom did the Kings beat in five games in the 2014 Stanley Cup Final?

New York Rangers led by two goals in each of the first two games in Los Angeles and lost both in overtime; three of the Kings' four wins in the series needed extra time.

The 2014-15 Kings were the first defending Stanley Cup champions to miss the playoffs since which team eight years earlier?

Carolina Hurricanes had been the last, in 2006-07; the Kings fell two points short when a loss in Calgary in their second-last game clinched a playoff spot for the Flames instead.

Who succeeded Dustin Brown as Kings captain in June 2016?

Anze Kopitar, the first Slovenian to play in the NHL, wore the C for ten seasons until he retired in 2026; Brown lost the captaincy but stayed with the Kings for six more years.

Which defenseman did Vegas take from the Kings in the 2017 expansion draft?

Brayden McNabb had the last word the next spring: his goal was the only one of Game 4 as Vegas completed a first-round sweep of the Kings.

Which King scored the first hat trick in an NHL outdoor game, at the 2020 Stadium Series?

Tyler Toffoli scored all three goals in a 3-1 win over Colorado at the Air Force Academy, two of them in the final minute, and was traded to Vancouver two days later.

Which forward joined the Kings from Winnipeg in 2023 on an eight-year, $68 million deal and lasted one season?

Pierre-Luc Dubois managed only 16 goals and 40 points in 82 games, and a year after he signed the Kings traded him to Washington for goalie Darcy Kuemper.

Which coach did the Kings fire in February 2024, months after an NHL-record 11 straight road wins to open the season?

Todd McLellan's team won its first 11 road games, breaking a record Buffalo set in 2006-07, then won only three of 17 before the All-Star break; assistant Jim Hiller took over.

Which team eliminated the Kings in the first round four straight years from 2022 to 2025?

Edmonton Oilers won in seven, six, five and six games; in 2025 the Kings led the series 2-0 and Game 3 late, until a failed coach's challenge handed Edmonton the winning power play.

Which former Oilers executive replaced Rob Blake as Kings general manager in 2025?

Ken Holland played just four NHL games as a goaltender, three of them for Detroit, then built three Stanley Cup winners there as general manager.

Which dubious NHL record did the Kings break on April 2, 2026, with their 19th of the year?

Most overtime/shootout losses: a 5-4 shootout defeat by Nashville took the Kings past four teams stuck on 18, and they finished with 20, each worth a point in a season they narrowly made the playoffs.

Why does Bailey, the Kings' lion mascot, wear No. 72?

It is the average temperature in Los Angeles, in Fahrenheit; the name honours Ace Bailey, the Kings' scouting director, who was killed aboard United Flight 175 on September 11, 2001.

Which snow leopard preceded Bailey as Kings mascot and later joined the Ontario Reign?

Kingston was the Kings' mascot in the early 1990s, the Gretzky years, and was later retired; he then came out of retirement to work the crowd for the Reign, the club's top farm team.

Which 'Voice of the Kings' called games from 1973 to 2017 and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame?

Bob Miller waited 39 years for a Kings title, and when it came NBC's exclusive rights kept him off the air, so the club had him record his own call of the Cup-clinching game for fans.

Under what name did the Kings' downtown arena open in October 1999?

Staples Center cost the office-supply chain a reported $116 million for 20 years of naming rights; in 2021 the name went to Crypto.com in a 20-year deal reported at $700 million.

Which music awards show has the Kings' home arena hosted most often?

The Grammys made the arena their regular home in 2000, its first full year, and the Grammy Museum opened across the street in 2008.

Which future baseball Hall of Famer did the Kings draft in 1984?

Tom Glavine, a high-school hockey star from Massachusetts, went 69th overall but signed with baseball's Atlanta Braves; in the same draft Luc Robitaille lasted until 171st because scouts doubted his skating.

Kings great Luc Robitaille retired with 668 goals, then the NHL record for which position?

Left wing had never had such a scorer, though 170 players were drafted before Robitaille because scouts doubted his skating; Alex Ovechkin is the only left winger to pass him since.

With which team did Kings great Luc Robitaille finally win the Stanley Cup, in 2002?

Detroit Red Wings signed him after he turned down a Kings offer that carried a big pay cut; with his Cup won, he came back to Los Angeles in 2003 and retired a King.

Which 1970 acquisition from Toronto later coached the Kings to a club-record 105 points before feuding with the team's owner?

Bob Pulford won the 1975 Jack Adams Award as coach of the year, left in 1977 after constant feuding with the owner, and spent the next 30 years with the Chicago Blackhawks.

In Wayne Gretzky's first season in Los Angeles, which King scored a club-record 70 goals?

Bernie Nicholls had never scored more than 46; that season he hit 70 goals and 150 points, yet the Kings traded him to the Rangers the next January for Tomas Sandström and Tony Granato.

Which Denver billionaire bought the Kings out of bankruptcy in 1995 with partner Ed Roski and later built their downtown arena?

Philip Anschutz and Roski paid $113.5 million, a court approving the sale the day before the 1995-96 opener; the previous owners had at one point been unable to meet the player payroll.

Which ballpark hosted the Kings' first outdoor regular-season game, against Anaheim in January 2014?

Dodger Stadium drew 54,099, with Kiss playing and Vin Scully and Wayne Gretzky in the opening ceremony, but the hosts were shut out 3-0 as Anaheim's Jonas Hiller made 36 saves.