Hockey and sports in general can be broken down into moments. Some moments are bigger than others and chart the course of a franchise, and an entire league for that matter. These moments can define a team’s destiny for years to come. Last Word on Hockey’s Summer Series looks at these defining moments. Today we feature the biggest defining moment of the Los Angeles Kings.
Top Los Angeles Kings Franchise Defining Moments
The defining moment for the Los Angeles Kings franchise was August 9th, 1988, the Wayne Gretzky trade, let’s be real. However, the wheels were set in motion for The Trade years before in fact.
Perhaps the real defining moment was a secret flight for Gretz to L.A., to hook up with one of the hottest actresses in Hollywood, Janet Jones, back in 1985. We are all welcome to surmise as we wish…
Leading up to The Trade, consider the run of success the Edmonton Oilers franchise had been on. They won four of the previous five Stanley Cup championships. In some ways, the timing of it made sense. Edmonton, the City of Champions, had had their time. Now, they were due to pass the torch on. Also, Gretzky had just married his famous wife. All the stars were aligned for Gretzky to move.
In some sense, Peter Pocklington was lucky to get so much out of the deal. At the time, you could say that $15 million in cash was a lot of money. However, in today’s climate, a mere one-season salary for a superstar would hardly be worth it. Back then, that money would’ve stretched a lot farther.
At the time of The Trade, Gretzky was the premier figure in his sport, some could make the case for all sport. Bo Jackson probably was in that conversation. The one Gretzky stat that gets me, is that four times he eclipsed 200 points in a season. No one else hit 200 (Mario Lemieux had 199 in 1988-89). For brevity, Bo Jackson slugged .523 and ran for 5.6 average-yards-per-carry in 1990.
Those who watched him in his prime, knew there was something about him on another level. Gretzky had exceptional vision, an uncanny ability of knowing where to be and with speed. He had a tremendously accurate slapshot that was dynamite off the rush. Furthermore, for Wayner, it was really about his stamina. A couple of the greats of the sport from more recent times, Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid would possess that similar trait.
The Trade
We gave some insight into The Trade so far, but what did happen? Back in 1985, a deal very similar to what the deal ended up being was proposed by then main Kings owner Jerry Buss. Buss also had ownership stakes in the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers. Apparently, Oilers owner Peter Pocklington had got cold feet that go around. Moreover, there were always rumours that Pocklington did it for the money, to help support his other businesses. However, as Pocklington stated in later years, it was more about the Oilers themselves, and keeping them successful and profitable. Regardless, the delay in the deal did really work out in the Oilers favour, as they won the cup in ’87 and ’88, before Gretzky then being traded.
When Bruce McNall gained main ownership of the Kings, he was quick to make a similar offer as Buss had done three years ago. This time around the transaction went through successfully. The full trade saw Marty McSorley and Mike Krushelnyski join Gretzky in traveling to L.A. In return, Edmonton received Jimmy Carson, Martin Gelinas, and of course the cash, $15M.
The Trade had varying impacts, as both Carson and Gelinas had some success early on in Edmonton. It took some time, but L.A. turned themselves into a success as well. We will dive into that deeper later.
But the bigger picture, was that The Trade also led to the rise of hockey in California as a whole, to what it is today. Back in the 60s and 70s, the California Golden Seals couldn’t catch on, and in 1976, they finally shipped off and became the Cleveland Barons.
Fast forward to today, and the Anaheim Ducks, the San Jose Sharks, and the Kings have all brought success to the state. There are even five American Hockey League teams currently residing in Cali. At one time, that would’ve been a pipe dream, but today, is reality. All of this growth in the game began with that one trade back in 1988.
The Honourable Mentions of the Kings Defining Moments and a Beaver
If we look back at the Kings past, historically, they never had a lot of success in the playoffs. One of the best scorers of the 1970s, Marcel Dionne, never endured a lot of team success. On the other hand, was his individual stardom. The Little Beaver would retire as one of the all-time leaders on the career point list.
When he retired, only Gordie Howe, and oh yeah, Wayne Gretzky had more than his 1,771 career regular season points. However, amazingly at it may seem, Gretzky only past the great Dionne in Dionne’s last season, 1988-89. Yeah, Gretzky’s first season as a King. Sometimes the symmetry in the sports world is crazy. As a note, Dionne remains sixth on the all-time point list. It is possible that Sidney Crosby, at 1,687 points, passes him in the next year or two. In any sense, one of the Kings franchise honourable mention defining moments, was the Dionne acquisition via trade from the Detroit Red Wings way back in 1975.
Even he wasn’t enough to attract much attention to the Los Angeles Kings, or the entire state of California for that matter, to follow hockey. Honestly, playing a game on ice in the Mediterranean climate of South California, it does make some sense in the big picture.
The Kings First Taste of Something More
This leads to the next big defining moment for the Kings franchise. That was the franchise’s first big shot at success. After Gretzky had arrived on the scene in 1988, he began to mold the team around him. We already mentioned Marty McSorley joined him from Edmonton to L.A., which could be seen as a form of protection for the GOAT.
The year following the Gretzky trade, the Kings had a 23-point jump in the standings, from 68 to 91. The Kings were undergoing a metamorphosis. Some of their older guys, like Dave Taylor, Ron Duguay, or John Tonelli were passing on the torch. There to receive it was the like of Bernie Nicholls and Luc Robitaille. Nicholls exploded for 70 goals and 150 points in Wayne’s first season in L.A. Nicholls was never really able to duplicate, but Gretzky had made his stamp on the organization. A stamp that was a mark of a winner.
Another big trade for the Kings, was the acquisition of Kelly Hrudey in 1989 from the New York Islanders. L.A. was giving up on their hot goaltender prospect Mark Fitzpatrick, in favour of someone who was ready to win sooner. Moreover, young players like Tony Granato, Tomas Sandstrom, and Rob Blake all developed well over the next few years. Then, by the time the 1992-93 season rolled around, Gretzky had some familiar friends join forces. Teammates from his Oiler days, including Charlie Huddy, Paul Coffey, and don’t forget, Jari Kurri, had all joined the Kings. The franchise was loading up for a run.
They would eventually fall short to the Patrick Roy led Montreal Canadiens that season. However, they had accomplished something that few King teams had done before them. That was, they had found post-season success. It would be years before the Kings would eventually capture a Stanley Cup championship, or even get close, but they had created a foundation of winning hockey in the state of California.
Finally, the Cups
That is a great Segway to the final honourable mention for the Kings franchise. That last moment is what culminated into the 2012 Stanley Cup title. The team that year was loaded with great players. Players like Drew Doughty, Anze Kopitar, and captain Dustin Brown, were respected by their peers as consummate professionals. The team was loaded with depth and skill. However, the true defining moment for that team’s success, was one move in particular. That is the hiring of Darryl Sutter as head coach in December of 2011.
After starting the season 13-12-4, the team fired coach Terry Murray. The Kings would go on a run to just barely squeak into the playoffs as the eighth seed in the Western Conference. For Sutter, and his hard-nosed style, combined with the talent on the club, it was enough. With playoff hero Justin Williams and the Conn Smythe winner for that year between the pipes, Jonathan Quick, the Kings were a force. They would go on to defeat the New Jersey Devils in six games to capture the organization’s first Stanley Cup title. In fact, that group was so strong, they even won the cup two years later. Again, Darryl Sutter was at the helm. So, that is why, his hiring will go down as one of the top defining moments in the Kings franchise history.
For a franchise that had the greatest player of the sport for many years, it was easy to pick a top defining moment in some sense. Acquiring Gretzky not only transformed the Kings franchise it bred life into the entire state of California. It truly revolutionized the sport, and brought the game to a new geography. All of this would eventually lead to team success, even if it was year’s later.
Well, there you have, the defining moment for the Los Angeles Kings NHL franchise. It was, and probably always will be, The Trade. Stayed tuned with us for our next installment of our summer series, as we stay the course in alphabetical order. Next up, for tomorrow, the Minnesota Wild. Hope you enjoy, and oh yeah, even if there’s ice in your cup, keep your stick on the ice.
Main Photo Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
The post Los Angeles Kings Summer Series and the Franchise’s Defining Moment appeared first on Last Word On Hockey.