The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles, California. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). Founded on February 9, 1966, when Jack Kent Cooke was awarded an expansion franchise in Los Angeles,
The Kings' closest rival is the Anaheim Ducks, who play approximately thirty-five miles (56.3 km) to the south in Anaheim.

Franchise history
Prior to the Kings arrival in the Los Angeles area, both the Pacific Coast Hockey League (PCHL) and the Western Hockey League (WHL) had several teams in California, including the PCHL's Los Angeles Monarchs of the 1930s and the WHL's Los Angeles Blades of the 1960s.

The "Forum Blue and Gold" years (1967–68 to 1987–88)
In 1987, coin collector 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 the league's best player, Gretzky himself, in a blockbuster trade with the Oilers that rocked the hockey world, especially north of the border, where Canadians mourned the loss of a player they considered a national treasure. They were forced to trade many of their stronger players, resulting in a roster comprised of Gretzky, Blake and little else. The Kings missed the playoffs for four seasons, from 1993–94 to 1996–97.

Black and silver era (1988–89 to 1997–98)
Phillip Anschutz and Edward Roski bought the Kings out of bankruptcy court in October 1995 and 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 wanted another chance to win an elusive fifth 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, Gretzky was traded, this time 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).
In the 2007–2008 off-season, the Kings signed six unrestricted free agents, including center Michal Handzus, left wings Ladislav Nagy and Kyle Calder, and defensemen Tom Preissing, Brad Stuart and Jon Klemm.
Like all NHL teams for the 2007-08 season, the Kings changed jerseys to new Rbk Edge jerseys. The Kings kept their logo, and only made two minor changes to the striping; the shoulder trim was curved to fit the new style and the bottom (purple) stripe was removed, with "Los Angeles" remaining along the bottom edge (silver was changed to purple lettering on the road jerseys, and silver lettering remained on the home jerseys).

Staples Center era (1998–present)
This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by the Kings. For the full season-by-season history, see Los Angeles Kings seasons
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses/Shootout losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes
As of the 2005-06 NHL season, all games will have a winner; the OTL column includes SOL (Shootout losses).

Los Angeles Kings Communications Department (2005). 2005–06 Los Angeles Kings Media Guide. Los Angeles Kings, 129, 210-211.  Season-by-season record

Notable players
As of February 7, 2008.

Current roster



Bob Wall, 1967-69
Larry Cahan, 1969-71
Bob Pulford, 1971-73
Terry Harper, 1973-75
Mike Murphy, 1975-81
Dave Lewis, 1981-83
Terry Ruskowski, 1983-85
Dave Taylor, 1985-89
Wayne Gretzky, 1989-96
Luc Robitaille, 1992-93
Rob Blake, 1996-2001
Mattias Norstrom, 2001-07
Rob Blake, 2007- present Hall of famers

16 Marcel Dionne, C, 1975-87, number retired November 8, 1990
18 Dave Taylor, LW/RW, 1977-94, number retired April 3, 1995
20 Luc Robitaille, LW, 1986-94, 1997-2001, & 2003-06, number retired January 20, 2007
30 Rogatien "Rogie" Vachon, G, 1972-78, number retired February 14, 1985
99 Wayne Gretzky, C, 1988-96, number retired by the league on February 6, 2000 and by the team on October 9, 2002 Retired numbers
As voted by the media and fans, an all time Kings team was selected to celebrate the club's 40th anniversary in the NHL The first and second teams were as follows:
Goalies: 1st team - Rogatien "Rogie" Vachon, 2nd team - Kelly Hrudey Defensemen: 1st team - Rob Blake and Steve Duchesne, 2nd team - Larry Murphy and Bob Murdoch Centers: 1st team - Wayne Gretzky, 2nd team - Marcel Dionne Forwards: 1st team - Dave Taylor and Luc Robitaille, 2nd team, Charlie Simmer and Mike Murphy Coach: 1st team - Bob Pulford, 2nd team - Barry Melrose

All time Kings team



1967: Rick Pagnutti (1st overall)
1968: Jim McInally (7th overall)
1969: None
1970: None
1971: None
1972: None
1973: None
1974: None
1975: Tim Young (16th overall)
1976: None
1977: None
1978: None
1979: Jay Wells (16th overall)
1980: Larry Murphy (4th overall) & Jim Fox (10th overall)
1981: Doug Smith (2nd overall)
1982: None
1983: None
1984: Craig Redmond (6th overall)
1985: Craig Duncanson (9th overall) & Dan Gratton (10th overall)
1986: Jimmy Carson (2nd overall)
1987: Wayne McBean (4th overall)
1988: Martin Gelinas (7th overall)
1989: None
1990: Darryl Sydor (7th overall)
1991: None
1992: None
1993: None
1994: Jamie Storr (7th overall)
1995: Aki Berg (3rd overall)
1996: None
1997: Olli Jokinen (3rd overall) & Matt Zultek (15th overall)
1998: Mathieu Biron (21st overall)
1999: None
2000: Alexander Frolov (20th overall)
2001: Jens Karlsson (18th overall) & Dave Steckel (30th overall)
2002: Denis Grebeshkov (20th overall)
2003: Dustin Brown (13th overall), Brian Boyle (26th overall), & Jeff Tambellini (27th overall)
2004: Lauri Tukonen (11th overall)
2005: Anze Kopitar (11th overall)
2006: Jonathan Bernier (11th overall) & Trevor Lewis (17th overall)
2007: Thomas Hickey (4th overall) First-round draft picks
These are the top-ten point-scorers in franchise history. Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season.
Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game; * = current Kings player

Franchise scoring leaders
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl
Art Ross Trophy
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy
Calder Memorial Trophy
Hart Memorial Trophy
James Norris Memorial Trophy
King Clancy Memorial Trophy
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy
Lester B. Pearson Award
Lester Patrick Trophy
NHL Plus/Minus Award



1992–93
Marcel Dionne: 1979–80
Wayne Gretzky: 1989–90, 1990–91, 1993–94
Butch Goring: 1977–78
Bob Bourne: 1987–88
Dave Taylor: 1990–91
Luc Robitaille: 1986–87
Wayne Gretzky: 1988–89
Rob Blake: 1997–98
Dave Taylor: 1990–91
Marcel Dionne: 1976–77
Butch Goring: 1977–78
Wayne Gretzky: 1990–91, 1991–92, 1993–94
Marcel Dionne: 1978–79, 1979–80
Terry Sawchuk: 1970–71
Bruce McNall: 1992–93
Wayne Gretzky: 1993–94
Marty McSorley: 1990–91 (shared with Theoren Fleury of the Calgary Flames) NHL awards and trophies

Most Goals in a season: Bernie Nicholls, 70 (1988–89)
Most Assists in a season: Wayne Gretzky, 122 (1990–91)
Most Points in a season: Wayne Gretzky, 168 (1988–89)
Most Points in a game: Bernie Nicholls, 8 (1988–89)
Most Penalty Minutes in a season: Marty McSorley, 399 (1992–93)
Most Points in a season, defenseman: Larry Murphy, 76 (1980–81)
Most Points in a season, rookie: Luc Robitaille, 84 (1986–87)
Most Wins in a season: Mario Lessard, 35 (1980–81)
Most Shutouts in a season: Rogie Vachon, 8 (1976–77) Franchise individual records

General managers

1967 NHL Expansion
List of NHL players
List of NHL seasons