MayorsManor Podcast - featuring Mark Hardy

When it comes to the Kings blueline, there's Rob Blake at 805 games played, followed by Mattias Norstrom at 780.

Next on that list is Mark Hardy with 616.

He also has the second most assists, third most points and fifth most penalty minutes by a defenseman in franchise history.

His career saw him go from being drafted by the Kings, shipped to New York after eight seasons in LA, then back to the Kings for their run to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1993 and eventually behind the bench in a coaching role that lasted more than 10 seasons.

Along the way he was twice named the Kings best defenseman (1984-85 and 1986-87) and his coaching led to the second best penalty killing percentage in team history (86.6 success rate in 2001-02, third in the NHL that season).

For the last year though he's been on the sidelines, having resigned his position after being arrested in Washington, D.C. and subsequently entering an alcohol treatment program.

He first appeared on MayorsManor over the weekend, talking about the Kings power play struggles this season and the play of Jack Johnson and Drew Doughty.

He returns today for an extended conversation about life since the arrest, who has reached out to him, his earliest memories as a King, playing for the Rangers, the toughest guys in the NHL, the development of Kyle Clifford, the day Rob Blake resigned the captaincy, how that situation was handled, we break down the 1993 playoffs by round, plus he shares one of the best pranks he was ever part of and much more.

Oh yeah, and we play word association using names like Barry Melrose, Bob Berry, Andy Murray, Terry Murray and Dave Taylor.

[Audio player after the jump]

MayorsManor Podcast featuring Tony Granato

When evaluating a trade in sports years down the line if you'd still make the same trade again, that usually tells you which team won the exchange.

In the case of the Kings sending Bernie Nicholls to the New York Rangers for Tomas Sandstrom and Tony Granato, of course they'd do that deal again.

The offensive duo helped propel the Kings to new heights in the early '90s, including a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1993.

These days Granato is an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins. In the podcast below we cover a wide range of topics...

On coaching, Granato talks about what it takes to be successful in the current NHL, what he learned from Barry Melrose and if he was ready to be a head coach when the Colorado Avalanche hired him.

Regarding his days on the ice, he talks about playing in New York with Marcel Dionne, being traded to LA and the Kings 1993 playoff run - including the Marty McSorley stick incident.

Other topics explored feature travel challenges in the Eastern vs. Western Conference, Staples Center vs. the Forum and choosing his jersey number.

As if all that isn't enough, Granato also weighs in on the 'Should Rob Blake's number be retired in LA?' debate.

Take a listen...



note: All MayorsManor podcasts are now available via a free download on itunes.

Additionally, there were two supplementary articles published this week with Granato. First, he talks about this year's Kings team and GM Dean Lombardi from his days in San Jose (linked here). Second, we play word association using many of his former teammates, a MayorsManor favorite (linked here).

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Other PODCASTS available:

Audio interview with Ian Laperriere

Audio interview with Kerry Fraser

MayorsManor Podcast - featuring Kerry Fraser

Very few people in the world of hockey ever become as well known as the players on the ice.

Then again, there aren't many people like Kerry Fraser either.

He's perhaps the most recognizable referee in the history of hockey. In his 30-year career he managed to get under the skin of fans in nearly every NHL city. Yet, he was simply doing his job in most cases.

At the end of last season he hung up his whistle after more than 2,000 games all across North America. He penned a book, The Final Call, while taking those last laps in stripes. It's a telling memoir featuring candid insight and often provides the emotion behind stories fans may not have otherwise been privy to.

In the podcast below Fraser shares some of those memories. He talks about lecturing a young Mario Lemieux and the friction it created, allowing Mark Messier a little latitude when taking care of a situation on the ice and recalls a crushed Theo Fleury asking him for help.

Of course, he also talks about several key events involving the Kings - including the non-call on Wayne Gretzky in the '93 playoffs vs. Toronto, Marty McSorley's illegal stick in the Stanley Cup Finals, coach Tom Webster throwing a stick at him and quite a bit more.

He shares the experiences of receiving death threats, contemplates rule changes and offers opinions on calling penalties in the final minutes of play.

Like many MayorsManor interviews, we also play word association and you may not believe what he has to say about guys like Gary Bettman, Chris Pronger, Sean Avery, Patrick Roy and several others. The most shocking though may be his comments on Alex Ovechkin.

[Audio player after the jump]

MayorsManor Podcast - featuring Ian Laperriere

Ian Laperriere is one of the most popular players in Kings history, having played for the team from 1996-2004.

In this interview we cover the trade that brought him to Los Angeles, the highs and lows of his career, playoff memories at Staples Center, contract talks with the Kings...plus, a word association segment that is one for the ages. Truly candid comments from Lappy.

[note: this is a duplicate post due to a problem with the feed to itunes yesterday...sorry for the confusion]

To play the podcast, simply click on the title of this article above (MayorsManor Podcast - featuring Ian Laperriere).

The Mayor
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MayorsManor Podcast - featuring Ian Laperriere

Trevor Lewis is wearing #22 this season. Before him were names like Baumgartner, Huddy, Tocchet, Conroy and Halpern. However, for most Kings fans there's only one #22...Ian Laperriere.

And the admiration for Lappy isn't just among the fans.

"Ian, the way he plays, tells it all" said captain Dustin Brown when talking about the four leaders that inspired him earlier in his career. Luc Robitaille specifically called out Laperriere during his Hall of Fame induction speech. So, it really doesn't matter who you're talking with, from coaches to teammates to opponents, everybody has deep respect from what Lappy brings to the game of hockey.

Therefore, when it came time to launch the new MayorsManor podcast, he was the perfect guest. Not only does he have great stories, that French-Canadian accent could only mean one thing - hockey!

He doesn't need much more of an introduction, so let's get right to it.

In this interview we cover the trade that brought him to Los Angeles, the highs and lows of his career, playoff memories at Staples Center, contract talks with the Kings...plus, a word association segment that is one for the ages.  Truly candid comments from Lappy.



update: ALSO AVAILABLE on itunes - click here to start



FOR A LIST OF OTHER MayorsManor PODCASTS - click here


The Mayor
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Interview with Rob Blake

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Kings vs Flyers Preview with Ian Laperriere

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