My Favorite NHL Team – The Los Angeles Kings

Scroll below and enjoy

presents a
Shut Up And JAM! Sports Section Article
My Favorite
NHL Team

A Frozen Oasis In The California Sun

“ALL HAIL THE L.A. KINGS .” Ice hockey is freaking insane and I love it ! I mean, you’ve got dudes flying around on skates at high speeds plowing into each other repeatedly while also smacking a hard rubber disc like a bullet at each other’s faces all for the sake of glory and bragging rights. Injuries are frequent and losing teeth is almost expected so quite frankly, it requires a bit of insanity to even lace em’ up which garners high accolades from yours truly no matter what team or player(s) you root for. That being said, the respect level that I have now for my hometown Los Angeles Kings is as high as any of my other favorite teams thanks to a long-stemming tenure of mediocrity which tested my resolve throughout the years but paid off in spades with their ascension into the NHL’s championship tier with 2 Stanley Cups won in the 2010’s .

Going back to my childhood, ice hockey was the least translatable of the 4 major sports (baseball, football and basketball being the other 3) for me as it was the only game that I hadn’t ever played personally which made learning its nuances and intricacies a little tougher than the others. Despite this, the high speed slapshot scoring action combined with the relentlessly aggressive nature of being able to impact your opponent with your entire body (similar to football) made the game at least entertaining right off the bat regardless of my lack of in-depth knowledge. I may not have totally understood what a “power play” was or why they called “icing” and stopped everything like every other minute but the absolute destruction derby-like chaos that unfolded in front of my eyes once play started was enough to get me hooked instantly into deciphering all I could about this contest from the north. Luckily (for me and many other out-of-touch Californians during the ‘tude era) the sport’s biggest superstar, Wayne Gretzky , was traded to our local squad, the L.A. Kings which sparked an eruption in popularity for those of us in the “sun belt” and helped to raise the overall awareness of hockey and the NHL as a whole. Plus, their kick-ass black and white color scheme combined with a “new kid in town” motif screamed cool to The ‘Tude Dude right away which galvanized further my love as a new but devote fan.

Despite the lack of a robust history that compared to other franchises in the city or the sport, those early years of contention were enough to at least plaster the upstart Kings onto the NHL map and present the championship gluttonous L.A. fanbase with a true underdog to pull for in a sport that we were still figuring out. Joining forces with other memorable stars such as “Lucky” Luc Robitaille , Jari Kurri and Rob Blake , Wayne “The Great One” Gretzky and the rest of the Kings formed a solid unit who played hard and competed at a top-tier level while also entertaining the crowd in true Hollywood fashion. The peak during this run occurred during the 1992-93 season (coinciding with the first year I payed attention to) which saw Los Angeles make a push to the furthest point that the franchise had ever been to- the Stanley Cup final against the vaunted Montreal Canadiens who were almost an exact opposite team in terms of history and relevance to the sport. While the end result didn’t go our way (Montreal won the series 4-1), the plucky Kings franchise learned a lot that year from hockey’s greatest juggernaut and a new hunger was born to see our boys hoist the cup that the Canadiens were proudly celebrating with in our faces . Man, we have to got to get our hands on one of those!

Unfortunately enough, it wouldn’t be for quite a while until they were able to sate the famished feeling as the team struggled mightily through 2 decades of ineptitude following their first push to a Stanley Cup final. Gretzky and most of the other notable stars from the previous era were eventually traded away or let go in subsequent seasons which led to a natural recession in success and a lack of faith from the fanbase in the executives that ran the show. Playoff berths were scarce and success once they got there was even scarcer as in between their first Stanley Cup appearance clear into the 2010’s, the Kings only won 1 (…yes 1 ) playoff series which certainly tested the dedication and loyalty for those of us with an interest in an ice sport while living near the beach. Much like snow in L.A., the Kings seemed out of place among their contemporaries who all seemed to have more history and experience with the sport overall. Luckily for me, I was able to maintain my fanhood quite well during this time by playing hockey video games (most notably EA’s NHL series) and leading the badass virtual Kings to that elusive first championship quite often which always sparked my imagination about seeing it happen in real life. …Maybe someday?

This was definitely different for me also in the sense that all of my other favorite teams had experienced championship success at some point before which magnified the underdog status even further for the Kings yet my heart was already attached to these rebellious party crashers attempting to make their way in a world that perhaps they didn’t belong in. I recall guys like Jozef Stumpel , Ziggy Palffy and Mattias Norstrom doing their best to bring the cup home to Tinseltown during this time yet legitimate contention seemed as farfetched a thought as frozen temperatures did in southern California with no true light at the end of the tunnel to give fans hope for anything more than a first round playoff exit for a cruelly sustained period. While this era indeed sucked for L.A. fans, the hunger to climb to the NHL’s mountaintop kept me and the rest of the loyal fanbase fixated to the sport as we watched other deep-rooted hockey mainstays like the Detroit Red Wings win a ton during this time and give us an example of the kind of team that was needed to win multiple championships in a league as tough as this. It would take excellent leadership like the way Steve Yzerman supplied, stellar defensive prowess like that shown from the great Nicklas Lidstrom and a steady hand in net to stopgap the opposing team’s offense with authority just like Chris Osgood provided between the pipes. Watching these (and many other) stalwarts of the game during this time provided yet more comprehension to the overall scope of ice hockey as a whole and increased even further the desire I had to see my favorite team join the pantheon of greatness by winning their first Stanley Cup.

After many years of repugnant play and disappointing non-playoff finishes to long regular seasons, things started to turn a corner in the late 2000’s-early 2010’s as the team reverted its look back to more closely resemble the original black and white design from the Wayne Gretzky era which seemed to both shed the mediocre stigma that tainted the team during the purple shield and crown jersey days as well as give a new hope for a brighter future to those of us who were still hanging on that they could eventually cross the NHL’s respect threshold. Regardless of their intentions, these jerseys instantly got me excited for the prospects of a new outlook and direction for my team and they currently rank as my favorite of all time for any sport so thank you for that ! On top of the awesome new flag logo and retro color scheme, newcomers to the roster such as Anze Kopitar , Drew Doughty and Jonathan Quick instantly gave fans a renewed enthusiasm which paired beautifully with the design change and helped to create a wave of momentum not felt since the early 90’s which resulted in the team breaking a near decade long playoff drought (…finally) in the 2009-2010 season though another first round exit that year (to the extremely talented Vancouver Canucks ) felt all too familiar and once again left us wanting more. Even though the first season back into the playoff fold ultimately ended in disappointment, one thing was for sure if nothing else, this squad seemed like it was built to compete for the long haul which certainly gave me a refreshed outlook after so many years of misery.

The following year ended the same with another first round defeat (this time to the division rival San Jose Sharks ) however back-to-back seasons strung together with playoff berths felt a rewarding enough step in the right direction considering the desolate past that haunted the franchise. There was no denying the seeds that were obviously being sown for a great and competitive team looking to break the playoff series win drought, but to predict the Kings ascension to Stanley Cup glory the next season would be a near-impossible task for even the most clairvoyant. After a somewhat tumultuous year that saw the team make a coaching change due to a less-than-stellar start to the season (here we go Darryl Sutter ), L.A. finished strong and squeaked into the 2011-2012 playoffs as the lowly #8 seed in the Western Conference where they would face the President’s Trophy winning Vancouver Canucks who didn’t inspire much confidence in our side for much success having beaten us out of the postseason two years prior in a similar situation. What followed next however will live in the mind and heart of The ‘Tude Dude forever and helped to cement the feelings of loyalty paying off as my excitement for the NHL playoffs grew to exponential proportions.

Somehow, the usually bereft L.A. Kings upset the top-seeded Canucks 4-1 to win their first playoff series since the 2000-2001 season and finally got the monkey off of the back of this starving franchise looking to compete with the rest of this proud league. Even though it was more than satisfying just to be in the second round again, these Kings operated with a “we want more” attitude that certainly agreed with the famished L.A. fans yet seemed unlikely given the blatant lack of success experienced over the course of the franchises tenure. Continuing a strong wave of momentum picked up after the first round series win, Los Angeles left little to chance by sweeping the #2 seeded St. Louis Blues in surprising fashion and furthered their pursuit of that slippery first championship by dominating the opposition with excellent goaltending combined with impressive 2-way play displayed by virtually everyone on their roster. I was in absolute amazement as my out-of-nowhere Kings advanced to their first Western Conference Final since the ’93 season in doing so being the first #8 seed to defeat the top 2 ranked teams in the conference to get there. What an already memorable achievement and certainly one that could keep the used-to-losing Kings fans happy enough after enduring a lifetime of mediocrity however winning championships requires a certain level of insatiability that was being showcased by this great team at the time so why not make it through all the way if you can.

In the next series, Los Angeles would have to face the #3 seeded Phoenix Coyotes and the seemingly insurmountable task of defeating the top 3 teams in a conference to make a run into the final round (only accomplished once before in NHL history) but if any squad had shown the grit and determination to achieve a rare feat such as this, it was these blue collar Kings who defied the odds already and looked to be like a steaming locomotive that wasn’t going to stop. Without much resistance, L.A. continued its amazing and improbable push through the Stanley Cup Playoffs by conquering the Coyotes 4-1 and blasting their way to only the franchises second appearance in a championship series which had any and all Kings fans abuzz for the possibilities of actually making it over the hump and bringing the cup home to Los Angeles for the very first time. In the final round, the Kings faced off against the New Jersey Devils who rightfully so, put up the biggest fight against L.A.’s aggressive chase for their first Stanley Cup by being the first team in these playoffs to last past 5 games in a series against these forceful boys in black. …However they lasted only 6 and with that my favorite team, the Los Angeles Kings had capped off one of the most memorable runs in NHL postseason history by coming completely out of nowhere to make all of the fans Stanley Cup dreams come true… YES !!! Holy crap we actually did it and the way it wrapped up couldn’t have possibly felt more right for this ‘tudey never-say-die franchise who refused to give up along the way. Now we can finally join the prestigious club of Stanley Cup champions and begin to etch our story into the stone slab of NHL history for the rest of the world to see!

Thoroughly fighting off complacency during an impressive 2 year run following the teams first ever Stanley Cup championship, Los Angeles continued to reach for the stars in year 2 which culminated in a deep playoff push that resulted in a Western Conference Finals appearance against another resurgent old franchise battling for supremacy, the Chicago Blackhawks who had won the cup 2 years before we won our first in 2010 and were looking to become the next great dynasty of the time. We fell to the eventual 2013 champions 4-1 in this series however we got sweet revenge in an epic Western Conference Finals rematch the following year by defeating the ‘Hawks in 7 games (thank you Alec Martinez ) to advance to our second Stanley Cup Final in 3 years which still ranks as my personal favorite series that I have ever experienced. By going toe-to-toe with the biggest dog in the yard at the time… and winning, the Kings had finally reached the pinnacle of respect from the rest of the hockey world that they weren’t just a fluke and were here to stay for good while at the same time throwing a claim against Chicago for best team of the decade which was more than pride-filling for me and a happy reward for many years of loyal fan service. Thanks to the rivalry that developed with the Blackhawks which honed both squads into a refined maestro of efficiency, my excitement level for hockey had reached a new and uncharted peak during this time which still hasn’t gone away and probably won’t anytime soon.

In the 2013-2014 Stanley Cup Final, Los Angeles made short work of the New York Rangers (…thanks again Alec Martinez ) dispatching them in 5 games en route to their second championship ever which catapulted the satisfaction for my cherished hockey squad up into the echelon of all of my other favorite teams which was an incredible moment that I’ll never forget personally for the rest of my life. After years of dreaming and using video games as an imagination booster for the possibilities of what seemed like a farfetched concept, the Kings had actually achieved what I always knew they could and in true ‘tude-filled fashion, did it there way every step. No matter what, their mark on history was now undeniable and the fraternity of multiple NHL championship franchises had no other choice but to welcome them with open arms as Los Angeles celebrated with its second Stanley Cup in 3 years which further separated the feelings that used to exist during their losing days. While the journey may have been tough, the destination turned out to be completely worth it even though I would have still been a fan regardless of whatever outcome they encountered however, to win in this fashion without question helped to increase even further the feelings of pride and happiness towards my team. Now we could finally be viewed of as a legitimate franchise to our peers instead of just an out-of-place weirdo trying to ice skate in a tropical climate.

While we have yet to taste from Lord Stanley’s chalice again having not won another championship since this incredible era, my pride remains fervent as I know that the Kings learned from the best about being insatiable for Stanley Cups the same way the greatest teams are which will keep them driving with full force forward. From the NHL’s forgotten basement up into the championship penthouse , the L.A. Kings have provided my fanhood with tons of great memories along the way that I know will continue well on into the future. Thank you for everything Los Angeles Kings, you will forever be my favorite NHL team.