Remembering Winnipeg and Wayne Gretzky's last game with the LA Kings

For several years in the mid 90's it seemed like the Kings were on a 'Closing Down the Arena' tour, as they made their final visits to old Chicago Stadium, Boston Garden, Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, the Capital Centre just outside Washington DC and several others.

However, it was their second-to-last skate around the ice at Winnipeg Arena in February 1996 that ended up meaning much more than what was originally intended. Coming at the end of a four game jaunt that went from Edmonton to Colorado then St. Louis, the Kings finally arrived in Manitoba on February 25th - having gone 0-2-1 on the trip. To say it was the worst of times wouldn't be much of a stretch, as the Kings had only won one game in 12 tries during the month of February.

Before we get to the events that unfolded in the next 48 hours though, let's take a quick look back at the beginning of the trip. I was on hand for the games in Canada and attended the Kings practices as well.

While the score in Edmonton was 7-2, these weren't the Oilers of old. Ryan Smyth was in his rookie season and goalie Bill Ranford had just been traded to the Boston Bruins the month prior.

The Oilers' seven goals that night came from seven different players - Zdeno Ciger, Mariusz Czerkawski, Greg de Vries, Donald Dufresne, Ralph Intranuovo, Todd Marchant and some guy named Doug Weight (one of the best American born players of his generation). On the receiving end of every one was Kings goalie Kelly Hrudey.

Down at the other end, Oilers netminder Curtis Joseph gave up goals to Vitali Yachmenev and, of course, Wayne Gretzky.

Kings vs Oilers - Game Preview w/ Kelly Buchberger

While Kelly Buchberger may not be the household name of Sidney Crosby or Alexander Ovechkin, hockey fans everywhere know the value of a player like him.

For those that may think calling him a poor man's Mark Messier is a putdown - it's not! - instead, think of him as Mess-light...a compliment of the highest standard. As a player, Buchberger was a winner and a leader. He knew what it took to win and did anything his team asked of him.

Although he spent much of his career with the Oilers (including a run as team captain), acquiring him from the Atlanta Thrashers in the spring of 2000 may have been one of the most important moves made by the Kings during their first 10 years at Staples Center (as written about here).

He won two Stanley Cups in Edmonton (1987, 1990) and finished his career with 1,182 NHL games.

These days he's back with the Oilers, now serving as their assistant coach.

He was kind enough to join us for a preview of tonight's contest.

MM:  Let's start with a just quick recap of how the season is going for the Oilers so far...

Kings lead the Atlanta Thrashers

Later tonight, head coach Terry Murray hopes his Kings are leading the Thrashers early and often.

Away from the scoreboard, the Kings have been leading the Thrashers from day one.

In their 11-year existence, Atlanta has had seven captains - including three former Kings.

At the time Kelly Buchberger was named their first captain, he had yet to play in LA.  However, he served as the Oilers captain for the prior four seasons and why they made him available in the expansion draft is a bit of a mystery. Nonetheless, his jersey included the 'C" when the Thrashers began play in 1999 and he rewarded the team by scoring the first goal in franchise history (against Bobby Holik's New Jersey Devils, more on that later).

Just 68 games into his career in hot-lanta he was traded to Los Angeles (along with Nelson Emerson) for Donald Audette and Frantisek Kaberle.

Adding Buchberger was a key piece to the Kings three year stretch of post-season play.  He was allowed to leave as a free agent in the summer of 2002 and until this past April, the Kings hadn't participated in the playoffs since.

Back to the Thrashers...Steve Staios wore the 'C' in Atlanta the following season and then it went to Ray Ferraro.

Best of the Decade: Acquisition

The following article was written by The Mayor as part of a special series for the LA Kings website.

As they said goodbye to the first decade of the 2000s, LAKings.com took EIGHT days to FIGURE out the best of the last 10 years.  This article focuses on the Best Acquisition made by the team via trade, free agency, etc.

Acquiring a player always comes with risk. Each guy brings his own set of issues - things like health, future productivity, chemistry with the current team, etc. Yet, often one of the most overlooked components has nothing to do with the player himself...timing.

When a GM gets it right, he's publicly praised as a genius. In turn, when he gets it wrong too many times, he's usually looking for a new job.

All factors united to create the perfect storm in early 2001 for then-GM Dave Taylor. Months earlier Rob Blake, the Kings captain, had resigned his 'C' as ongoing contract talks weren't to his liking. When a player of his caliber literally or figuratively asks for a trade publicly like that, the bargaining power of his current team is instantly weakened. (Fear not Blake lovers, this isn't an anti Rob rant, that's just an intelligent point of view.)

Such was the case facing Taylor on February 21st that year when he pulled off the Trade of the Decade for the Kings franchise. In a block-buster move he shipped Blake and Steve Reinprecht to Colorado for Adam Deadmarsh, Aaron Miller, two first round draft picks and prospect Jared Aulin.

The Kings franchise had a history of trading first round draft picks. Now, in the midst of jettisoning their captain to a conference rival they were ACQUIRING not one, but two first round picks. Shocking. But that wasn't all, the deal also included Miller, who had been a strong defenseman in the league for several years. In fact, it's been reported the Kings would only complete the trade if he was part of the package.

Then of course, there's the other guy - Adam Deadmarsh. In Deader they acquired a former number one draft pick with a Stanley Cup ring, a guy who was a consistent 20 goal scorer and had tons of international experience. Most of all, they picked up an elite power forward. Something the Kings had been lacking. Prior to this point, they never had that 5-tool player (a baseball reference just for Dean) that could change the game with his stick, a hit or his fists. There are only so many Roenicks, Iginlas and Doans to go around. Now the Kings had one.

The hockey world was stunned with what Taylor was able to accomplish. A fleecing of the highest order. One that earned him NHL Executive of the Year from the Hockey News.

And the timing? Rather than imploding a team when its' captain was traded, this was just the shot in the arm the Kings needed. They went on to upset Detroit in the first round and pushed Colorado to a 7th game of the second round.

Deader's tremendous efforts in the playoffs just weeks after first donning a Kings jersey will forever be what Kings fans remember most. He may have just been getting started though. He scored 29 goals the following season - his first full year in LA. Then, with optimism at nearly a ten year high, it all came crashing down 20 games into the third year. A series of concussions forced him out of the game far too early. Ah, what coulda been.

Second Place: Kelly Buchberger - Sure, it may be a bit off the board. But, let's go back to timing. When the Kings brought him in on March 13, 2000 they were hoping to win a playoff game in the months to come - something they hadn't done in seven long years. In KB they added a guy with grit and experience. Your talking about a guy that made his NHL debut in the Stanley Cup Finals! Look at the Kings roster they day before the trade - lots of talent, very short on proven winners. The Kings went on to make the playoffs all 3 years he was on the team and the leadership he brought to the Kings can't be understated.

Third place: Draft picks - Since I went trade on my first two selections, I have to give a tip of the hat to the draft picks that currently have stocked the entire franchise with a foundation for hope. Guys like Brown, Kopitar, Frolov, Doughty and Quick at the NHL level...on down to Schenn, Teubert, Voynov, Hickey and Bernier still to come. Like every other club, they haven't gotten them all right, but more picks from the last 10 years have worked out than at any point in franchise history. The Kings are working on something special and it's just about to bubble over.

The Mayor
www.twitter.com/Mayor119