Los Angeles Kings History.

Los Angeles Kings, professional ice hockey team and one of five teams in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Kings play the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, and wear uniforms of black, white, and silver. The team’s name was chosen by their founding owner, Jack Kent Cooke.

The Kings made their first appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals in 1993 with a lineup featuring center Wayne Gretzky, defenseman Paul Coffey, and left wing Luc Robitaille. While playing for Los Angeles in 1994, Gretzky, known as The Great One, became the most prolific scorer in NHL history when he broke the record set by forward Gordie Howe for career goals.

The Kings joined the NHL as an expansion team in 1967. Under the direction of head coach Red Kelly, they finished second in their division in their opening season. In their second year the Kings upset the Oakland Seals in the first round of the playoffs before being eliminated by the St. Louis Blues. Center Eddie Joyal starred on the Kings’ early squads.

After a four-year postseason drought, Los Angeles qualified for the playoffs nine consecutive years from 1974 to 1982. Marcel Dionne became one of the NHL’s most dominating centers, amassing more than 100 points in 7 of his 11 full seasons with the Kings. In both 1979 and 1980 Dionne was awarded the Lester B. Pearson Trophy as the NHL’s outstanding player. Starring with Dionne during the 1970s and 1980s were center Bernie Nicholls, left wing Charlie Simmer, and goalie Rogie Vachon.

The Kings’ finest regular-season performance during that nine-season stretch came in 1974-75, when they finished with a win-loss-tie record of 42-12-21. Kings head coach Bob Pulford was awarded the Jack Adams Award as NHL coach of the year, and Vachon was one of the top goaltenders in the league. The Kings, however, were defeated in the first round of the playoffs by the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Los Angeles struggled from 1982 to 1988, posting several losing records. Dionne left in 1986, but the Kings’ fortunes changed in 1988 when they acquired Gretzky from the Edmonton Oilers. Gretzky led the Kings in scoring in each of his seven full seasons with the team, won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player (MVP) in 1989, and won the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s leading goal scorer in 1990, 1991, and 1994. Skating with wings Luc Robitaille and David Taylor, he led the Kings to winning seasons in four of five years from the 1988-89 season to the 1992-93 season. In 1993 Los Angeles advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals to play the Montréal Canadiens. The Kings won the first game 4-1 but lost the subsequent four games—three of them in overtime. Gretzky was traded to the St. Louis Blues in 1996, and the franchise’s performance declined. In 1997-98 the Kings recovered to post a 38-33-11 regular-season record, returning to the playoffs. The Blues, however, swept the Kings in the first round. Notable players for the Kings in the late 1990s included goalie Stephane Fiset, defenseman Rob Blake, and center Ian Laperriere.