POLL: Who should the LA Kings honor next season?

It's been confirmed to MayorsManor that the LA Kings will keep the same jersey rotation for next year, including the purple (Forum blue) and gold version for three Legends Nights. As of now, the names haven't been finalized. However, a list of possible candidates is being pulled together. So, let's take a break from the playoff races for a moment and see what you guys think...

Over the course of 45 years, a lot of names have come through the organization. In an attempt to make things a little easier, we'll break this up into three eras. First up, we'll give you a list of pre-Gretzky stars (see below). In the next poll, we'll look at the 1988-2000 era (i.e. Kelly Hrudey, Marty McSorley, etc). Then, later in the week, we'll look at the Staples Center years (i.e. Ziggy Palffy, Ian Laperriere, etc.).

Most of the names on the list are obvious - such as Dave Taylor, who played more games in a Kings uniform (1,111) than any other player and has his number retired by the team. Yet, if you're not as familiar with some of the guys from the very early years, Brian Kilrea scored the very first goal in LA Kings history (something he talked about here). And Eddie Joyal was probably the first superstar hockey player in LA (discussed here).

Please select three people you think the Kings should honor next season:



Poll closes Wednesday at 8pm PST.

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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 at Maple Leafs - notes on Melrose, Mitchell, mistakes

Tonight will be the end of an era on at least two fronts.

First, interim coach John Stevens will be coaching his last game for the Kings - as Darryl Sutter is expected to be officially announced as the team's new bench boss tomorrow and resume game duties Thursday vs the Ducks.

Second, beginning next season, gone will be the days of the Kings and Maple Leafs only playing on rare occasion - as the NHL will feature a new balanced schedule, where each team will play a home and road game against the other 29 clubs.

For now though, Kings v Leafs is still something special. Not only is Toronto the undeniable hockey capital, but these two teams put on one of the greatest seven-game series in playoff history back in 1993. More on that in a minute though. First up, some notes on tonight...

- Slava Voynov and Alec Martinez will sit out, while Willie Mitchell is expected to return to the line-up. Yesterday, he proclaimed there were no further setbacks in his recovery from a sore groin and he's looking to be on the Kings blueline come game time.

- The same can't be said for Mike Richards. Although he's been traveling with the team since Friday, he's still not ready for contact. A better status of his situation should come later this week when the team is back in LA and he has a chance to see the doctor again.

- Don't look now, but Dustin Penner quietly had his first multi-point game of the season on Saturday. Of course, it went largely unnoticed due to the team losing 8-2. However, it's yet another positive sign of his recent play.

- "Flat-out mistakes that cost us goals," that's what Rob Scuderi had to say about the debacle in Detroit over the weekend.

- Look for Drew Doughty to have his best game of the season tonight. He'll be playing in front of friends and family and the young defenseman tends to raise his level of play in 'big games.' For him personally, this is a big one.

Now, here's a look back at a pivotal point in time for each franchise...

Anze Kopitar in the lead for 3rd annual Eddie Joyal Award

Eddie Joyal, early LA Kings star

At the end of Spring Training, the Dodgers hand out the Roy Campanella Award, to a player who best exemplifies the spirit and leadership of the team's former Hall of Fame catcher.

On a more humble note, for the past few seasons, MayorsManor has recognized the player who leads the Kings in pre-season points with the Eddie Joyal Award. It's a small way of recognizing and remembering one of the early stars in Los Angeles.

As the Kings were assembled for their first season in 1967-68, they were a hodgepodge of guys picked and plucked from various clubs across North America. Jack Kent Cooke's upstart group was made up of pieces acquired from the original six teams; plus some free agents, misfits, leftovers, cast offs and other assorted guys on skates. Nobody was quite sure what would emerge.

Joyal, a 6-foot center who had played only 121 NHL games for two different teams over the previous five years, broke out of the pack as one of the early stars. He went on to lead the team in points that year with 57, after assisting on the Kings first ever regular season goal.

More on Joyal in a moment though.

Let's take a look at past award winners and this year's current standings...

The inaugural award was given out in 2009 to Anze Kopitar. That year, he finished the NHL's exhibition season with eight points (5 goals, 3 assists), just ahead of defenseman Jack Johnson's seven points (2g, 5a).  Then, last season, Johnson moved from bridesmaid to the top of the heap. He actually posted the exact same numbers, yet beat out Kopitar for the award.

Entering tonight's game in Las Vegas - with only two pre-season games left for the Kings - Kopitar again leads the team with five points (4 goals, 1 assist). Close behind are Trevor Lewis and Dustin Brown (each with four points), followed by Slava Voynov, Justin Williams, Jarret Stoll and Johnson (all with three points).

Kopitar is also the all-time leading scorer over the course of the previous 13 Frozen Fury games (5g, 4a, 9 points), so that bodes well for his outlook later tonight.

Now back to Joyal...

Is Kansas City more of a hockey town than Los Angeles?

On the surface, you might not think of Kansas City as a hockey town. Instead, your sports mind probably first takes you to baseball's Royals or football's Chiefs.

But, eight miles down the road from the home stadiums of those two teams, a pair of NHL hockey clubs will square off in a sold out arena - setting a pre-season attendance record for games held in non-NHL cities.

Get out your time machine though, because today's New Jersey Devils were once the Colorado Rockies and before that, they began as the Kansas City Scouts.

The city was awarded an NHL franchise in 1972. Two years later they began play in Kemper Arena, along with the Kings. No, not the LA Kings, but the NBA's Kansas City Kings - who had been the Cincinnati Royals for decades prior, but changed their name to the Kings, so not to be confused with the local baseball team.

Speaking of the LA Kings, remember those two dismal stretches last season when the team was struggling to win games? That pales in comparison to what the Scouts went through in their second season.  First, they went winless in 16 games coming out of the Christmas break. They finally won a game, then began another downward spiral - finding a way to go twenty-seven games without a win down the stretch and finished 1-35-8 in their final forty games.

They didn't make the playoffs that year. Just sayin'.

The Scouts weren't the area's first hockey team though.

Kansas City's pro hockey history began in 1928, with the Pla-Mors of the American Hockey Association.

Original King bookened his HOF career with Fox and Toffoli

A Killer goodbye (photo by: TotalPhoto.ca)

In October 1967, Brian Kilrea scored the first goal in Los Angeles Kings history.

He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2003.

Make no mistake about it though, it had nothing to do with his time in the NHL, where he played a grand total of 26 games and scored three goals.

Killer, as he's affectionately known in hockey circles, has largely spent the past 35-plus years either behind the bench or in the front office of the Ottawa 67's, one of the OHL's most successful teams.

He began his coaching career in 1974-75 and three years later his roster included a short whippersnapper from Coniston, Ontario ...and knowing Foxy now, he probably had the best hair on the team, even back then.

Jim Fox honed his craft under the tutelage of Kilrea for three seasons, before being selected in the first round by the Kings in the 1980 NHL Draft.

When it was announced on Wednesday that Kilrea was stepping down from his day to day activities with the 67's, Fox was eager to speak out on the man who guided him early in his career.

More history - of the 25th kind - to be made today?

Some of the best creations to ever come out of the NHL's Marketing Department are the 'History Will Be Made' commercials.

In about 30 second intervals they capture the greatest moments in hockey by simply using clips from a game, some music and a thought provoking question.

Even though the Kings are still searching for their first Stanley Cup, the team and their current roster of players have celebrated several momentous post-season events - including a few on this specific day.

Take a look...

April 25, 1993 - Kings def. Flames 3-1, Robb Stauber's first playoff game

April 25, 1997 - Ryan Smyth scores game-winning-goal in double-OT

April 25, 1999 - Michal Handzus plays in his first NHL playoff game

April 25, 2002 - Kings def. Avalanche 1-0 in OT, Felix Potvin shutout

April 25, 2006 - Jarret Stoll scores game-winning-goal in double-OT

April 25, 2011 - TBD

Tonight at 7pm the puck drops in downtown Los Angeles. Can the Kings muster up so more history and force a game seven?

That will still have to wait a few hours.

Until then, check out this interview with Stauber, where he relives the Kings 1993 playoff run.  After all, without him, they most likely wouldn't have made it out of the first round.

Every series has a playoff hero.  Who will get the job done for the Kings this year?


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Willie Mitchell has seen this all before

photo courtesy of www.sharkspage.com 

When you talk to a professional athlete about their team's performance you're never quite sure what you're going to get.

Will it be full of cliches and other non answers? Will the response include deflection, praise for the other team or even back-handed compliments?

With Kings defenseman Willie Mitchell it's been the same thing all season - detailed and his honest perspective.

For example, after the Kings shutout loss to the Islanders at the end of a month-long road journey through February, Mitchell didn't make excuses about travel or trap games. Instead he said, "I thought from the top all the way through, there wasn't the same focus that we had in other games."

Then, a little more than a week later, after losing 7-4 to the Red Wings (in a game they once trailed 7-1), he said "We played great against Detroit. I will sit there over and over again - I think the guys played excellent for two periods." And just for good measure, later in the quote he said "We dominated that hockey game."

You don't always have to agree with him. But, he's going to give it to you straight.

So, what's his take on where things stand right now with the Kings?

After practice yesterday, he shared some thoughts on that exact question, as well as took a trip down memory lane - recalling being down 3-1 in the playoffs, not once, but twice before.

First, the Kings situation...

Mitchell - "We seem to have a lot of highs and then a lot of lows, the peaks and valleys. We need to find a more even-keeled presence with the team, top through bottom. You're going to face adversity. You're going to face a few bounces that don't go your way over the course of the post-season, that's reality. Every team goes through that. It's the teams who don't panic, play with composure under those situations and manage to buy time until things go in their favor - they keep their confidence - they have all those things that winning teams have.

One game doesn't make a season...or a series

From as little as one game to as many as 805...

Babych - Bach - Backstrom - Barnes - Barney - Baron - Barrett - Barrie - Batyrshin - Baumgartner - Beck - Bednar - Bekar - Belanger - Benning - Berg - Bergeron - Bernier - Bernier - Berry - Berthiaume - Beverley - Bjugstad - Blake - Blight - Blomsten - Bodger - Bonar - Boucher - Bourne - Boyle - Bozek - Breault - Brennan - Broten - Brown - Brust - Buchberger - Burke - Burridge - Buskas - Byers - Bylsma

Edestrand - Edwards - Elik - Eliot

LaBarbera - Labossiere - Lacroix - Lafayette - Laforest - Laidlaw - Lang - Langevin - Laperriere - Lapointe - Larocque - Larouche - Laskoski - Laughlin - Lavallee - Lavigne - Lavoie - Ledyard - Legace - Lemieux - Lessard - Lesuk - Leveque - Lewis - Liba - Lilja - Lindholm - Loach - Logan - Loktionov - Long - Lonsberry - Luce - Lukowich - Lundmark

Inglis - Irvine - Isaksson - Ivanans

Elkins - Ellis - Eloranta - Emerson - Engblom

Vachon - Valicevic - Venasky - Visheau - Visnovsky - Vlasak - Volmar - Vopat

English - Erickson - Ersberg - Evans

...each of them had one thing in common...

they always remembered to BELIEVE...

So should you!



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Doughty on the Sharks - His Memories and Concerns

Long before Drew Doughty was a Norris Trophy finalist and one of the top defensemen in the league - OK wait, not that long before, more like a year earlier - he made his NHL debut against the Sharks.

Below he gives some thoughts about now playing them in the playoffs for the first time and shares what he likes - and is concerned about - heading into the series with San Jose.

But, first, let's go back in time for a minute...

MM: What do you remember about that October 2008 game?

DD: To be honest, my memories of it aren't the greatest. I remember going out for the third period and we had a power play. I felt I had played well for the first two periods. Obviously, I was a little shy, just because of the speed of the game and stuff like that - I wasn't used to it yet. But, I remember walking out onto the ice for the power play and I told Simmer (Wayne Simmonds) that I had to do something because I felt like I was just out there, not doing much. He said 'Don't do it, man.' I went down and I tried to make a move on the power play, I turned it over and they ended up coming back and scoring. So, that's my memory of my first game, which isn't the best one.

MM: Does he like to remind you that he told you so?

Without Their Top Player, Kings Down Sharks in Game One

It's not the player you're thinking of. And it's a different game one.

On October 16, 1991 the Los Angeles Kings were about to play host to the NHL's newest team, the San Jose Sharks.

Shortly after the morning skate early that day, Wayne Gretzky received a phone call that his father was in the hospital after experiencing complications related to a brain aneurysm.

Then-owner Bruce McNall rushed the Great One home to Canada on a private jet to be by the side of his 53 year old father, Walter.

On the ice, coach Tom Webster had some shuffling to do. Obviously, when you're without your number one center, it wreaks havoc to your entire line-up.

Webster put Tony Granato up front, between Mike Donnelly and Jari Kurri. Luc Robitaille and Dave Taylor now had John McIntyre as their center on the second line. And Bob Kudelski centered a line featuring Tomas Sandstrom and Ilkka Sinisalo at wing.

Kings goalie Kelly Hrudey gave up five goals to Sharks named Perry Anderson, Link Gaetz, Brian Lawton and Brian Mullen (2).

But, those were the good ol' Smythe Division days when goals game in bunches.

The Kings matched their five with goals from Peter Ahola, Donnelly, Randy Gilhen and a pair from Luc Robitaille. However, the star of the night was that center playing with Sandstrom and Sinisalo...Kudelski scored a hat trick, giving the Kings an 8-5 victory in the first-ever game played between the two teams.

Now, nearly 20 years later, they'll meet later tonight for the first time in the playoffs.

Just like that fateful night in 1991 though, the Kings are again without their top center.

History was made that first night. Can the Kings do it again?

A few other notes to finish off this look back in time...

- Even though there were 13 total goals scored in that first game, Robitaille had the only power play goal of the night. Yes, twelve (!) even strength goals.

- Gretzky returned to the Kings once his father's condition stabilized (and ultimately improved). When the Sharks came back to the Forum on November 23, 1991 for their second game in LA, Gretzky greeted them with a hat trick of his own.

- The following year was one of the craziest Kings-Sharks games ever, when Robitaille, Kurri and Donnelly each picked up a hat trick. Their nine goals were part of an 11-4 win for the Kings, the most LA has ever scored against San Jose. It's also the only time in Kings history three LA players have had hat tricks in the same game.



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RELATED ARTICLES:

Kings v Sharks Playoff Preview - Who will win and why

Interview with Luc Robitaille

Interview with Tony Granato

Interview with Kelly Hrudey

Interview with Sharks Captain Joe Thornton

Quick Back To Making History for the Kings

Goaltender Jonathan Quick set a number of team records for the Kings last season, including games played (72) and wins (39).

Well, he was back to his old tricks again Saturday night in the Phoenix desert.

Actually, it was Glendale. But, that's beside the point.

Two weeks ago he earned his 19th victory of the season in a 6-4 slugfest over the Columbus Blue Jackets.

And you know what they say, if at first you don't succeed, try, try, try, try...and try again.

Five attempts later he picked up his 20th win (a 4-3 win in Phoenix) - becoming only the third goaltender in franchise history to do so in three straight seasons. Rogie Vachon accomplished the feat six times (1972-78) and Kelly Hrudey did it three times (1989-92).

Not bad for a guy who's really only a third year pro.

It's been well documented that LA has gone 3-10 over the last 13 games, a stretch that started back on December 29th with an embarrassing 6-3 loss in Phoenix. On a personal level, it's the only game Quick has been pulled from this season. So, if that was something eating away at him, perhaps the monkey is now off his back.

The larger issue at hand though is can the Kings create some positive momentum from this game and come out strong on Monday vs. the Bruins?

Terry Murray on Coaching Memories

Tomorrow night vs. Edmonton Terry Murray gets a shot at a little piece of history.

With a victory in his 197th game with the Kings, he can become the quickest coach to reach 100 wins.  Tom Webster (1989-92) holds the current record at 211 games.

After practice today I asked Murray to reflect back over his long career and pick out a few of his favorite memories...

"Getting to the Stanley Cup Finals is always a memorable time (1997 with Philadelphia). As a coach, that's your goal, that's what we're here for is to win and to get an opportunity to with a Stanley Cup. That was very memorable and was a great time.

"I guess going back even to the first years I got into the coaching side of the business, as an assistant coach, Brian (his brother) and I take over the Washington Capitals - who had never made the playoffs in their eight or nine years of existence. That year, getting into the playoffs and becoming a pretty good hockey club - that was a big step for that organization. There was a lot of turmoil. There was a lot of that talk of 'let's save the franchise, move it to Seattle, Washington' and all that stuff was going on. David Polie came in as the GM. So, there's good memories out of that stuff whenever you have an impact on what's going to happen and how the team plays."

Throwback Thursdays - Interview w/ Brian Kilrea

Ottawa is a long way from Los Angeles.

Yet, the older you get, the more you realize the world we live in is actually a rather small place. The hockey world is even smaller.

On October 14, 1967 Brian Kilrea was one of about two dozen players that made up the inaugural L.A. Kings roster. On that specific night, he was skating on a line with Ted Irvine and Lowell MacDonald at the Long Beach Arena. Their new home - The Forum in Inglewood - wouldn't be ready for a few more months.

About 2,400 miles away in Ottawa, a 17-year old Terry Murray was just beginning his junior hockey career as a defenseman for the Ottawa 67s - as luck would have it, also an expansion team.

Later that night, Kilrea would forever become linked with the Kings, scoring the first goal in franchise history.

Today, the two men have switched teams. Murray is now the coach in Los Angeles and Kilrea is the General Manager back in Ottawa.  However, the path that has taken 'Killer' (as he's affectionately known) from the Kings of '67 to the front office of the 67s, was a road filled with many twists and turns.

A few years after requesting a demotion to the minor leagues during his first season with the Kings, he eventually moved on to a successful coaching career in the OHL - a job that saw him tend herd over teams that once included Jim Fox...and more recently, featured one of the Kings draft picks earlier this summer, Tyler Toffoli.

Along the way he won over 1,100 games behind the bench, led two teams to the Memorial Cup (1984 and 1999), won the OHL title three times, was a five-time OHL Coach of the Year and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2003.

Not bad for a guy that only played 26 NHL games.

In the interview below we cover it all. From the first goal in Kings history to some of the players he's been associated with throughout his illustrious career.

MM: Take us back to October of '67.  The Kings are playing the Flyers and you score the first-ever goal for the team...

Teddy Irvine carried the puck down the left wing, they went into the corner - he and Lowell McDonald - and they were battling for the puck. They fed it to me in the slot and I got off a quick shot. I wouldn't say I picked my shot, but I one timed it and it found room to go in. That goal got us back in the game, after being down 2-0. We went on to win that game 4-2. I scored into the empty net with less than a minute to go also.

After the game, Jack Kent Cooke, our owner, came down to the locker room and was going around congratulating everybody for winning the first game. The trainer had already given me the puck from earlier. So, when he came to talk to me, I gave the puck to him. You would have thought I gave him a million dollars or a puck of gold. He was just delighted, smiling from ear to ear. He really treasured that memento, the first goal for the Los Angeles Kings.

Any off ice memories with your linemates or some of the other guys that first season in L.A.?

Throwback Thursdays - An Interview w/ Robb Stauber

For an organization that five years ago had zero credibility when it came to developing goaltenders, the Kings have made quite the turn around under the direction of GM Dean Lombardi and Assistant GM Ron Hextall.

Today, goaltending is a strength...with names like Quick, Bernier, Zatkoff, Jones and Berube set to man the nets next season for the Kings and their various affiliates.

However, the Kings had a shot at something similar at least once before.  Case in point, in 1986 the team drafted Robb Stauber out of high school.  Before arriving in LA he had a stellar college hockey career at the University of Minnesota - becoming the first goalie to ever win the Hobey Baker Award as the NCAA's player of the year (and he did it as a sophomore!). His teams also made it to the Frozen Four three straight years.

Then, after Robb spent a few more seasons developing in the minors, he began battling Kelly Hrudey for the starting job during the 1992-93 campaign, winning 15 games in 31 regular season appearances.

While Hrudey is fondly remembered as being the man during the Kings run to the Stanley Cup Finals that same year, he had plenty of praise for Stauber and his role on the team when I interviewed him last year - saying things like "Robb had played so strong he deserved the action he was getting too." 

Specifically, on Stauber's performance in the opening round of the '93 playoffs versus Calgary, Hrudey added "We were down 2-1 in the series. Robb (came in and) played in game four and we won 2-1 to even the series. Barry (Melrose) stuck with Robb in games five and six...He won the series."

Just one year later, the Kings drafted Jamie Storr 7th overall at the 1994 NHL Draft - after he won a gold medal for Team Canada at the '94 World Junior Championships.  He backed it up with another gold medal at the '95 WJC.  Goaltending should have been set for years to come.

What happened?  What went wrong?

We first posted an interview with Robb back in April, where he helped preview this year's NCAA Frozen Four Championship game and talked about his days playing college hockey.

This time around, we're talking more about his time with the Kings - from first joining the team to the multiple goalie controversies of '93, coach Barry Melrose, life in the minor leagues, Rogie Vachon, Jonathan Quick, Jamie Storr, Dominik Hasek, being known as "Blueline" and the real reason why he was traded...

Hugging the Post w/ Kelly Hrudey

Goaltending has historically been one of the weakest parts of the Los Angeles Kings. Current GM, Dean Lombardi, has often talked about the need to build a team from the net out. Hence, the organization's current focus on developing goaltenders.

After Rogie Vachon left the team in '78 it's been a revolving door of netminders for most of the past 30 years, with a few exceptions. Since the Gretzky trade in '88 Kelly Hrudey has been one of the lone bright spots in the crease. He's the guy that fans point to when asked about the last time the Kings had a great goalie.

Kelly played in LA for eight years, including the run to the Finals in '93. These days he keeps up with the NHL through his work at the CBC in Canada. We sat down with him recently to look back at his career and a few other hockey related topics...

You grew up in Edmonton and the Oilers came to town as part of the WHA when you were fairly young. Was that your team growing up?

I certainly was a fan of the Oilers. But I was a die hard fan of the Canadians and the Leafs. The NHL was the real game to me. Although the WHA was important, as it allowed me to see many games in person - I thought the real stars were the guys in the NHL.

The draft is always a special time in a player's career. Yet, the draft wasn't the big deal back then that it is now. What memories do you have?

Well we weren't a sports family, so we didn't know a lot about the draft. I was in my second year with Medicine Hat. I'd been told I might be drafted around the third round. Like you said, there was little fan fare associated with the draft. If you were a first rounder, maybe you would go. But, I was home in Edmonton, playing ball hockey downstairs with my brother when Jimmy Devellano (Islanders scout) called and said I was drafted by the Islanders in the second round. I had no idea what to expect from that point forward. It was a short call, I remember that. He had other things to do. So, when we hung up I went back downstairs and finished playing ball hockey.

I was lucky enough to go to training camp the following season. I even played in an exhibition game at old Chicago Stadium. That was certainly a thrill for me at that point. But, what I remember most was the flight home. We flew commercial and I sat in the middle, between Mike Bossy and Brian Trottier. I don't think I said one word the entire flight, I just listened.

Any other memories from that first camp?

I remember landing at LaGuardia the first time. a shuttle bus picked me up and it felt like we made 25 stops dropping other people off at their residences before I finally got to the Holiday Inn...I think it was in Hempstead. That night I was really intense, I knew I had to go take a physical for the Islanders the next day and didn't know exactly what to expect.

I also remember thinking very early on in training camp that I had a lot of work to do to make it to the NHL. There was one play, where Tom Lysiak came down the wing and scored on me. It was so easy for him he didn't even want to raise his hands and celebrate. It was more like he was embarrassed how easy it was. Things like that really showed me how far I had to go.

For Islander fans probably the greatest memory they have of you is the '87 playoff game with four overtime periods. That game, the Easter Epic, has been called by some the greatest game 7 of all time. What memories do you have of that night?

Well, in the locker room between periods we were pretty loose. There wasn't much talk about strategy. We were proud of the game we were playing and felt things were going well, even if the score was tied. We kept telling each other to relax, don't get too excited and be prepared for the first two minutes of the period and the last two minutes of the period. I remember after Pat scored I stood in the crease for what seemed like a few minutes in disbelief. I didn't want to mentally let down for fear they might say the goal was disallowed or something. It was a good 5 seconds or so until it finally set in. Then, when I went into the dressing room - you know the goaltenders weren't allowed to have water bottles back in '87 - so when I took my gear off my toes just curled under from dehydration.

Any other memories of your time on the Island?

My fondest memory is probably when Bill Torrey told me I had made the NHL. When I was a kid playing ball hockey, watching Hockey Night in Canada and all the NHL games, I never would have dreamed I had what it would take to make it the NHL.

The pivotal point in your career was the trade to LA. Can you talk about finding out you were headed to the West Coast?

Well, I have different feelings now than I did at the time, 20 years ago. I was disappointed to be traded to LA. I was like every player, I thought I was going to be drafted by a team, play there for 20 years, win championships and then retire...all with one team. Like Steve Yzerman did. It didn't work out that way for me.

But LA was exciting. It felt more like my team. In New York I had my good friend Billy Smith. In LA I felt like it was my team though. And the city was fantastic! I feel the biggest growth period of my life were the 10 years in LA. I just loved the people. Believe it or not, it reminded me a lot of western Canada where the people are so laid back. It was a great time for me on and off the ice.

The Kings won the Smythe Division in '91 with a very powerful team. How close was that group to going all the way?

I thought we were real close. We just didn't know how to win. The Oilers had so much experience and they just knew how to win. Every time we ran into those guys, it just seemed like we didn't have enough to beat them. Tom Webster coming on as our coach added a defensive element to our game. But, still, we just couldn't beat Edmonton. I really believed if we could just beat those guys we would have won a championship. We'll never know though.

In the first half of '93 Wayne was hurt, yet the team played well without him...

We knew it would be a real challenge without him. You can ask players to rise up in a situation like that, but fact is you're not as good of a team without Wayne. Everybody did pick up their game though and played to their highest level. That was very rewarding for the group. Unfortunately, soon after that was also when I went through the worst slump of my career.

You mentioned that at HockeyFest. How did you get though it?

It was late November, early December and I went on about a two month slide. It was the worst slump of my career. I made it through that dark period because of two people in my corner...and I tell them 'thank you' whenever I get a chance...Cap Raeder and Barry Melrose. I was able to play five more years in the league because of their support during that stretch.

Robb Stauber played pretty well that year. Was that adding pressure to what you were already going through?

Robb deserved to be in there. I remember when I knew I was going to be OK though. It was a game on January 28th. I played my best game in awhile. We lost to Calgary 2-1, but I felt like I was back. I had a few bad games down the stretch, but then there was a game where we beat Philly 3-1 in March. That's when I knew I was going to be OK. I wasn't 100%, but when we won I was real emotional in the locker room. I thanked all the guys for sticking with me because they could have easily given up on me.

But Robb had played so strong he deserved the action he was getting too.

When Stauber replaced you in the playoffs he won three in a row against Calgary. Did you start to worry, did it mess with your head at all after what you had been through that season?

Well we started the playoffs against Calgary. We were awesome in game one. Then, awful in game two. We lost game three, but neither team looked like world beaters. We were down 2-1 in the series. Robb played in game four and we won 2-1 to even the series. Barry stuck with Robb in games five and six; one them was like an 8-5 shootout. He won the series, so he got the start in game one against Vancouver...and rightfully so. We lost that first game. I think it was an afternoon game. Immediately following the game Barry called me into his office and told me I was going to start game two. Fortunately, we had a couple days off until game two so I had plenty of time to prepare for them.

I felt that was really when we got on track. To me that was the best series we ever played. Personally I felt that Vancouver was on the cusp of something at the time. And I guess I was right, they went to the Stanley Cup finals the next year. But at the time, that was a real test for us. The Toronto series was different. The intensity was the same, but our level of play started to drop. I think the travel was starting to get to us.

It's easy for people to heap praise on Melrose now, but what were you thinking at the time he was announced as the new coach? Here was a team that was damn close the previous two years - including winning the Smythe - and they just hired a rookie head coach. Were you nervous about that hiring?

Well, I was established in LA by that point, so I wasn't too worried. Of course, I wanted to make a good first impression on my new coach. But, I was lucky to have Cap Raeder. As time went on I think I endeared myself to Barry. The slump I mentioned took our relationship to the next level. I wish all players could have a guy like Barry around them. Like an Al Arbour. It's such a good feeling when you go home after practice or a game and that's your coach.

You've talked about the frank conversation Dean had with you during your time in San Jose. Talk about going to play for the Sharks.

I knew I was leaving LA that summer, but prior to July 1st I was unsure where I was going to end up. I hit it off with Dean right when I met him. I remember my agent calling me and saying the Sharks wanted to meet with me. The following Friday my wife Donna and I flew into SFO with our daughters. Dean and (assistant GM) Wayne Thomas were there at the airport when we landed. I knew at that moment I was signing with the Sharks. It was one thing that Dean was at the airport to pick us up. But more importantly, he had brought a bunch of Sharks memorabilia for my girls. To bring gifts for my kids, I knew that was the type of guy I wanted to play for.

The next day though when we actually had our meeting he asked me two questions that have always stayed with me. First question he asked was "Why do I want to sign a 35 year old goalie who wants to be a broadcaster?" Then he asked me "Why did the Kings trade for Grant Fuhr when they had you?" They weren't hurtful questions. He just spoke honestly and I had so much respect for him because of it.

That's why later it didn't bother me when he called me into his office and said "Kelly you look scared to play." He was right and I knew my career was about done.

Looking back on your career, you finished with 271 wins. Do you think about being so close to the magical 300 number?

No. Not at all. I don't live that way. I did as best as I could and I loved playing the game of hockey. I wasn't lackadaisical and got a ton out of my career. I approached every game the same way. I thought I was better than the other guy. That's what I told myself when I looked down at the other end of the ice.

Let's talk about the current team. Who is your favorite Kings player right now?

Dustin Brown. He's a pure hockey player and as fierce of a competitor as you'll ever find. Plus, I was real impressed with his speech at HockeyFest. At that age, to speak so clearly about that moment on the plane...and with no notes...very impressive.

From your perspective, who is the most underrated player in the game right now?

Duncan Keith in Chicago. Or coming into the season I might have said (Wojtek) Wolski of the Avs.

Here's what I look for - we're all memorized by talent...but, I look for elite thinkers. There are only five or six guys like this on each team. Kurri was like that on the Kings. He understood the game way more than most guys.

Then, how about when you were playing - who were some of the most underrated guys you played with?

Tim Watters, Charlie Huddey, Steve Konroyd, Pat Conacher, Todd Gill, Tony Granato. Those are guys that all competed every night and gave everything of their body. Todd Gill was a mediocre, skinny player but he was tough and communicated exceptionally well. Very underrated.

You mentioned valuing elite thinkers and then when listing underrated players most of those guys you rattled off have gone into coaching. Do you think there is a coincidence there?

Wow. I never thought about that. Hmm.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Thanks Kelly. Hope to see you back in LA for more Alumni events moving forward. Best of luck with the broadcasting.

Kelly Hrudey wore #32 while minding net for the Kings. Now, LA has another goalie wearing the same number - Jonathan Quick. Perhaps, the coincidences don't stop there.



The Mayor
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Kansas City - Loving Hockey since 1928

So you think you've had it rough as a long suffering Kings fans? I know, misery since 1967, with few bright spots along the way. Well, how about the fine folks of Kansas City - they were awarded their first pro team back in 1928. In January of that year the Pla-Mors of the American Hockey Association opened up their inaugural season. Nothing good has really happened in KC since, at least hockey wise. Teams have folded, been sold, skipped town, changed leagues and pretty much come and gone more like trade shows arriving for a weekend at the local Convention Center, rather than teams setting up shop for the long haul.


The NHL got into the action in 1974 with the debut of the KC Scouts. However, KC's link to the Kings began a few years earlier when the Kings and St Louis Blues were part of the NHL's "Expansion Six" in 1967. To help support the big club, the Blues put a CHL team in KC named...the Kansas City Blues.

Several players from the Kings inaugural run in '67-68 eventually ended up skating with the KC Blues. Guys like Bob Wall, Brent Hughes, Larry Johnston (all of 4 games) and Terry Gray all played in Los Angeles during that first season only to later end up in KC.

Later Kings teams featured players that had previously done time in KC - Doug Barrie (LA '71-72), Frank St. Marseille (LA '72-77), Sheldon Kannegiesser (LA '73-77), Darryl Edestrand (LA '77-79) and another "just four games" member - Bart Crashley ('75)

Then there was Rick Lapointe, having skated in KC earlier in his career, he ended up playing nearly 100 games with the Kings between '84-86 before calling it a career.

While the expansion teams in KC and Washington were certainly news back in 1974, the biggest change came with the league restructuring into four divisions. The Kings would now play in the Smythe Division. Nearly 20 years later, the Kings would win their lone division title, before newly appointed commissioner Bettman and the NHL changed things again - this time going with the (supposed) more fan friendly Pacific division.

Random Ramble - I'm usually not in the same camp as people clamoring for the "old days" of sports. I'm not a hard core traditionalist. I will say though, one thing I sure wish they would bring back are the traditional names of the divisions. I highly doubt one more fan follows hockey today because of the divisional name changes. Hockey - and most sports in general - have such a strong sense of history, I liked it better when the Kings played in the Smythe. Thankfully, they never changed the name of the Stanley Cup.

Keeping with the fine hockey tradition of KC, those Scouts didn't last long back in the mid-seventies. They played just two seasons in KC before packing up and heading to Colorado. Long before the baseball Rockies were hitting home runs in Denver, there were the Rockies on ice. Some of the KC "magic" must have come with them, as by 1982 the moving vans were in town again. The franchise was on its way to New Jersey and well, the rest is history...with three Stanley Cups to show for their troubles.

While success for the former KC team was being achieved in Jersey, KC hockey was back on the map again in 2004. The KC Outlaws of the UHL debuted with head coach Darryl Williams. Although the ties to the Kings weren't strong, they were there - with the coach having played a whopping TWO games in Los Angeles (coincidentally during the infamous 92-93 season). During 2004-05, their only season of operation, KC finished last in the Western Conference. Sound familiar?

In a footnote that Ron Hextall could appreciate, Michel Plasse of the KC Blues was the first professional goalie to record a goal on Feb 21, 1971. However, Plasse apparently doesn't share the gift of gab with Hextall. News reports after the game quoted Plasee as saying "I wasn't trying to score, I was just clearing the puck out of our zone." Come on guy, have some flare. At least say you were aiming for the net and got lucky it went in or something.

Kansas City's link to LA continued last year when the Kings arrived in town for an exhibition game in the area's new AEG arena. It was a memorable night for a few of the young Kings - Davis Drewiske scored the first goal in the new building, wunderkind Drew Doughty made his NHL debut and Jon Quick stopped all 19 shots he faced. And the Kings won.

What type of new links will be formed tonight?

The Mayor
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photo courtesy of kcnhl.blogspot.com