This post was originally written in November 2012. Growing up in the 1970’s as a hockey fan in Los Angeles, I was intimately familiar with three things very few Angelenos had even a remote grasp upon: 1) Los Angeles had an NHL hockey team, 2) said hockey team was named the Kings, and 3) the […]

It’s an evolution. The same team doesn’t always dominate, and it goes in cycles — Victoria Pendleton The irony of a cyclist making the above comment notwithstanding, the fact remains that in today’s NHL, nobody remains in the upper strata of the league forever. At least for now, the end of the Kings’ extended stay […]

Let your joy be in your journey, not in some distant goal — Tim Cook After being drafted in the seventh round of the 2009 NHL Draft, it would only have been natural for Nic Dowd to have tempered his excitement with a healthy dollop of realism. After all, he was taken 198th overall, with […]

Much has been written about how the Kings’ lack of salary cap flexibility has tied one hand behind the team’s metaphorical back over the past few seasons. I’ve discussed it myself on a number of occasions. It’s understandable. Dean Lombardi turned an also-ran franchise into a two-time champion, and as other Cup-winning franchises have experienced, […]

One day’s delay is other day’s lack of progress — Stuart Bowen As far back as January of this year and as recently as less than 45 days ago, Milan Lucic made it abundantly clear that he wanted to re-sign with the Los Angeles Kings. Now, with just 25 days until free agency, the radio […]

Better three hours too soon than a minute too late — William Shakespeare Before you say it, I’ll preface this discussion with the obligatory disclosure: it’s early. The Blues and Sharks have barely started their Western Conference Final series, with the series all tied up 1-1. Meanwhile, in the East, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Tampa […]

In the aftermath of their unceremonious exit from the playoffs at the hands of the San Jose Sharks, the Los Angeles Kings appear to be at a crossroads in their championship window. Although the lingering Mike Richards dilemma was settled last October and the controversy over Slava Voynov’s legal case is over, a number of […]

This past Monday, the Seattle city council narrowly voted down a street vacation request that would have paved the way for the issuance of a master use permit to build a new multi-purpose facility in the city’s SoDo district. Had the vacation of a little-used section of Occidental Avenue been approved, the project would have […]

This coming Monday, the Seattle City Council is slated to vote on vacating a stretch of Occidental Avenue South to entrepreneur Chris Hansen for the purpose of constructing his proposed 18,000+ seat arena, paving the way for issuance of a Master Use Permit. Assuming an NBA team is secured (or more likely, the agreement between […]

As a lifelong fan, it’s taken a couple of days to process the Kings’ first-round loss to the San Jose Sharks. In a way, we go through a version of the five stages of grief when our favorite team — one we are convinced will win its playoff series — loses badly instead. Denial. No, […]

You just know the Sharks were itching to play this game. Just two years ago, Los Angeles turned San Jose’s 3-0 series lead in the opening round in the playoffs into a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad series by coming back in historic fashion to defeat the Sharks in seven games. With the specter […]

After Saturday’s tough 4-3 shootout loss to the Winnipeg Jets, the Los Angeles Kings waited on pins and needles for the outcome of the Anaheim Ducks’ season finale against the Washington Capitals. A regulation or overtime loss to the Capitals would give Los Angeles its first division title since the 1990-91 season. along with a […]

A couple of days ago, I posed the question (virtually word-for-word — writers like themes) regarding the Norris candidacy of all-world blue liner Drew Doughty. It’s a strong case, to be sure: Doughty is universally considered an elite NHL defenseman, posting consistently strong numbers across the board. He’s currently having his best year since 2009-10 […]

He hits from both sides of the plate. He’s amphibious — Yogi Berra With apologies for the forthcoming malaprop wrapped within a baseball quote, Drew Doughty is amphibious ambidextrous. Not literally, but with respect to his elite two-way style of play. Who is Drew Doughty? The question sounds a bit esoteric, so let’s drill down […]

It’s no secret that Los Angeles Kings general manager Dean Lombardi is typically aggressive at the trade deadline in order to bolster his team’s playoff chances. Let’s take a look at some of his deadline acquisitions in recent years: 2015: Andrej Sekera for a first round pick and prospect Roland McKeown. 2014: Marian Gaborik for […]

The real man smiles in trouble, gathers strength from distress, and grows brave by reflection — Thomas Paine. After jumping out to a big lead in the division during the first half of the season, the Los Angeles Kings have seen their fortunes turn, thanks to a 4-7-1 slide over their past dozen games. Meanwhile, […]

Early on in the process, we were literally swept off our feet. After being slapped in the face by the Seattle Supersonics’ brutal uprooting and departure to Oklahoma City in 2008, a cynical fan base quickly turned enthusiastic shortly after hedge fund manager Chris Hansen burst upon the scene in 2011. Vowing to spearhead an […]

It’s official: star center Anze Kopitar’s eight-year contract extension is signed, sealed and delivered. It may have been a foregone conclusion that Kopitar would re-up with the Kings, but the process was hardly simple. Los Angeles — as is typical for a franchise in the middle of a multi-year run of icing championship-caliber teams — […]

On Saturday, the Los Angeles Kings announced that star center Anze Kopitar had signed an eight-year contract extension to remain in Los Angeles for effectively the remainder of his career. The news didn’t exactly sneak up on anyone. Less than a month ago, I wrote that the Kings and Kopitar were close to a deal […]

Long-time Kings power forward Dustin Brown’s slide toward irrelevancy since signing his 8-year, $47 million contract extension has been well-documented. If recent play is any indication, Santa may have put new batteries into an important cog of the Kings’ 2016 Stanley Cup hopes. Let’s not forget what Dustin Brown once meant for Los Angeles. Dustin […]