The Los Angeles Kings may have been eliminated from Stanley Cup contention weeks ago, but a pair of former Kings defensemen remain on hockey's biggest stage.
As the 2026 Stanley Cup Final gets underway, former Los Angeles blueliners Brayden McNabb and Sean Walker are playing important roles for their respective teams with a championship on the line.
McNabb and the Vegas Golden Knights duked it out against Walker of the Carolina Hurricanes in a thriller on the ice at the Lenovo Center early this week on Tuesday night. The Golden Knights and McNabb bested the Hurricanes in Raleigh by a score of 5-4 in the final frame in the third period yesterday.
Former Los Angeles Kings defensemen playing key roles on Stanley Cup contenders
McNabb is one of the most experienced and proven defensemen in the Stanley Cup Finals for the Golden Knights on the blue line. He's played over 100 career postseason games, and he helped the Golden Knights win the Stanley Cup Championship in the 2023 playoffs.
He spent parts of four seasons with the Kings and developed into a dependable shutdown defenseman before eventually joining the Golden Knights during the 2017 expansion draft process. Nearly a decade later, he remains one of Vegas' most important veteran leaders on the blue line.
The Golden Knights and McNabb advanced to the Stanley Cup Final after sweeping the Presidents' Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Finals. Vegas continued its hot streak in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals, defeating Walker and the Hurricanes by a one-goal margin on the scoreboard on Tuesday.
Walker, meanwhile, has been a steady and reliable contributor on the blue line on defense for the Hurricanes in this past few years. This past regular season, Walker scored over 30 points for the first time in his career, registering a career-best nine goals and 22 assists for the Hurricanes.
He played the first six seasons of his NHL career with Los Angeles after developing through the Kings' system. Although injuries interrupted parts of his tenure, he eventually established himself as a reliable NHL defenseman before being moved prior to the 2024 trade deadline.
Carolina entered the Stanley Cup Final as one of the hottest teams in hockey. Walker and the Hurricanes posted a franchise-best 12-1 postseason record after defeating the Montreal Canadiens in five games in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Both players took different paths after leaving Los Angeles, but each has carved out an important role on a Stanley Cup contender. Their success serves as a reminder of the quality defensemen the Kings have developed over the years, and one of them could soon add another Stanley Cup championship to his résumé.
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