- 1967
- 1967
- 1987
- 1988
- 1999
- 2012
- 2014
-
Los Angeles Kings Team Formation
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. When the NHL decided to expand for the 1967 – 1968 season amid rumblings ... -
“Fabulous” Forum Opens
Construction on Cooke’s new arena, the Forum, was not yet complete when the 1967 – 1968 season began, so the Kings opened their first season at the Long Beach Arena in the neighboring city of Long Beach on October 14, 1967, defeating the Philadelphia Flyers 4–2. For the next two months, the Kings played their home games both at Long ... -
Bruce McNall Ownership
In 1987, coin collector Bruce McNall purchased the Kings from Buss and turned the team into a Stanley Cup contender almost overnight. McNall bought a 25 percent stake in the Kings from Jerry Buss in 1986 and bought an additional 24 percent in 1987 to become the team’s largest shareholder. He was named team president that September, and purchased Buss’ ... -
Gretzky to Los Angeles
On August 9, 1988, McNall acquired the league’s best player, Wayne Gretzky, in a blockbuster trade with the Edmonton Oilers. The trade rocked the hockey world, especially north of the border where Canadians mourned the loss of a player they considered a national treasure. McNall also changed the team colors to silver and black. On August 9, 1988, when he ... -
Staples Center Opens
The Kings also made an even bigger move in 1999, along with the Los Angeles Lakers, as they left the Great Western Forum and moved to Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles which was built by Anschutz and Roski. Staples Center was a state-of-the-art arena, complete with luxury suites and all the modern amenities that fans and athletes would want ... -
Stanley Cup Winner 2012
The 2012 Stanley Cup Final was the championship series of the National Hockey League (NHL) 2011 – 2012 season, and the culmination of the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs. This was the 119th year of the Stanley Cup’s presentation. The Western Conference playoff champion Los Angeles Kings defeated the Eastern Conference playoff champion New Jersey Devils four games to two, capturing ... -
Stanley Cup Winner 2014
The 2014 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League (NHL)’s 2013 – 2014 season and the culmination of the 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs. This was the 121st year of the Stanley Cup’s presentation. The league realigned its divisions prior to the season and changed the structure of the playoffs, but the championship series remained the ...
History of the Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The team 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 called The Forum in Inglewood, California (a suburb of Los Angeles), their home for thirty-two years until they moved to the Staples Center in Downtown Los Angeles to start the 1999–2000 season.
Established
1967
City
Los Angeles
League History
1967 – Present / National Hockey League
Team History
1967 – Present / Los Angeles Kings
Nickname
Kings – Owner Jack Kent Cooke chose Kings as the team nickname from entries submitted in a fan contest receiving more than 7,000 potential names. He wanted his club to take on “an air of royalty” with the team wearing the same colors as the NBA franchise Cooke owned, the Los Angeles Lakers.
Championship
Stanley Cup 2
2014, 2012
Arena
1999 – Present / Staples Center
1967 – 1999 / The “Fabulous” Forum
Owner
1995 – Present / Philip Anschutz and Edward Roski, Jr.
1994 – 1995 / Joseph Cohen and Jeffrey Sudikoff
1987 – 1994 / Bruce McNall
1979 – 1987 / Jerry Buss
1967 – 1979 / Jack Kent Cooke
To qualify as the greatest player for this team, the player must have played one season for this team. If not, we will remove the player.
* verifies that player has played for this team as an added player by a fan.
Retired Number
4 / Rob Blake
16 / Marcel Dionne
18 / Dave Taylor
20 / Luc Robitaille
30 / Rogie Vachon
99 / Wayne Gretzky
*Blue is this team’s history