A royal flashback, the top ten LA Kings of the 1990s
With a lull in LA Kings hockey due to postponements, let’s take an opportunity to stroll down memory lane.
Ah, the 1990’s – the time of pagers, Seinfeld, grunge, and the birth of the internet as we know it today. It was also a time of both fun and change in the world of hockey – with new teams, uniforms, and a certain “glow puck” making its appearance.
At the beginning of the ’90s, the Gretzky era was in full swing in Los Angeles. The LA Kings were now front-page news, and the team was exciting as ever. The culmination of The Great One’s time in LA was the magical run to the Stanley Cup Final in the spring of 1993.
The latter half of the ’90s was not so kind to the Kings. By 1996, Wayne Gretzky was gone, and from 1994-95 to 1998-99, Los Angeles would make the playoffs just once. Despite the lack of team success, there were certainly some talented players on the team during this time, as we will see.
For reference, we are using the 1989-1990 through 1998-1999 seasons only for determining who gets on this list. With that said, who were the best ten best LA Kings players to call the Great Western Forum home during the 1990s?
Honorable Mention:
- Mike Donnelly (1990-1995). Donnelly was acquired from the Buffalo Sabres in 1990 and would become a productive if not unheralded player for the LA Kings. He had two consecutive 29 goal seasons and helped get the Kings to the Stanley Cup Final in 1993.
- Stephane Fiset (1996-1999). In the three seasons of the 1990s that he played for the LA Kings, Fiset did not get a lot of help defensively. In 146 games played, he compiled a record of 57-70-14, but he also had a goals-against-average of 2.83 and earned nine shutouts.
- Dave Taylor (1990-94). I really wanted to include Taylor in the top ten, but this is a list based on the 1990’s alone, and by this time, his scoring production had dropped off, although his value as a leader was still immeasurable.
- Glen Murray (1997-1999). Murray was brought in at the 1997 trade deadline for Ed Olczyk. In 1997-98 he put up a stat line of 29 goals and 31 assists, which was a precursor of things to come – but most of his production would come in the 2000s, not the 1990s.
- Jozef Stumpel (1997-1999). Stumpel spent a total of six seasons in an LA Kings uniform, but only two of them were in the 1990s. In 141 games played in the ’90s, Stumpel put a respectable 34 goals and 79 assists for a total of 120 points.
Now onto our top ten list.
Players ten through six.
Number ten: Steve Duchesne (1990-1991, 1998). If his 1980’s time with the LA Kings were included, Duchesne would have been higher on this list. Even still, the first two seasons of the 1990s saw Duchesne as the defacto number one defenseman for the Kings, and he produced like it – posting 62 points in each season to go along with being named to the all-star team in both. Duchesne briefly returned to the LA Kings for the 1998-99 season, playing 60 games before being traded to the Flyers for Dave Babych and a draft pick.
Number nine: Dmitri Khristich (1995-1997). Khristich only played two seasons for the Kings, but they were productive ones. The Kings traded a first and fourth-round pick to the Washington Capitals for him and Byron Dafoe in 1995, and in 151 games played in LA, Khristich scored 46 goals to go along with 74 assists for a total of 120 points. We would never see what Khristich could do in the playoffs for the silver and black as the team would not make it in either season. He was traded once again with DaFoe in 1997, this time to the Boston Bruins for Jozef Stumpel, Sandy Moger, and a fourth-round draft pick.
Number eight: Kelly Hrudey (1990-1996). Hrudey was the undisputed number one goaltender for the LA Kings in the first half of the 1990s. Playing during the time of “firewagon” hockey, Hrudey did not get a lot of help on the defensive side of the game, but he still managed a record of 135-131-53 with nine shutouts and a goals-against-average of 3.47. Hrudey backstopped the Kings to the 1993 Stanley Cup Final, where they lost in five games to the Montreal Canadiens in a series that was closer than it looks, as three of those games went to overtime.
Number seven: Marty McSorley (1990-1993, 1994-1996). Known as an enforcer and “Wayne Gretzky’s bodyguard,” Marty McSorley was more than that for the LA Kings in the 1990s. In 347 games played for the Kings in the ’90s, McSorley’s stat line was 58 goals, 125 assists, and yes, 1,348 PIM – including a league-leading 399 in 1992-1993. Besides his fisticuffs, Marty developed into a staunch defenseman and team leader, as he wore an “A” on his sweater. McSorley even led the league in plus/minus for the 1990-1991 season with a +48. Although maligned by some for the illegal stick incident in game one of the 1993 Stanley Cup Final, the fact is the Kings may not have made it that far without his excellent play during that playoff season.
Number six: Tomas Sandstrom (1990-1994): The Finnish sniper was acquired along with Tony Granato in a blockbuster January 1990 trade with the New York Rangers for LA Kings fan favorite Bernie Nicholls. It was a trade that worked out, as both flourished in LA. In 235 games played for the Kings, Sandstrom had 117 goals and 137 assists for 254 points – averaging over a point per game. His best individual season came in 1990-1991 when he poured in 45 goals and 44 assists while adding 106 PIM. Sandstrom’s time in Los Angeles ended in 1994 when he was part of the trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins that brought Marty McSorley back to the Kings.
Players five through one.
Number five: Tony Granato (1990-1996). In the other part of the aforementioned Bernie Nicholls trade, Granato gets the nod over Sandstrom for fifth place on this list based on the fact that he played two more seasons for the Kings in the 1990s. For three consecutive seasons, he had goal totals of 30, 39, and 37 goals, respectively, which included 37 goals and 45 assists in 1992-1993 for a career-best 82 points. Granato had 30 even-strength goals in 1991-1992, which was good for fifth in the NHL, and he had eight game-winning goals that season as well, which was fourth in the league.
Number four: Jari Kurri (1991-1996). Kurri came to the LA Kings in May of 1991 via a three-way trade involving the Edmonton Oilers and Philadelphia Flyers. In his five seasons in LA, Kurri had a statline of 108 goals and 185 assists in 331 games played. Wayne Gretzky missed significant time in the 1992-1993 season, and Kurri was one of the players who really stepped up to help fill the void and not only get the Kings into the playoffs but also a cinderella run to the Stanley Cup Final. That season, Kurri moved to center from the wing for a period of time and had his best individual season in Los Angeles, posting 27 goals and 60 assists for 87 points.
Number three: Rob Blake (1990-1999). The only player on this list to have played all ten seasons in the 1990s with the LA Kings, Blake would develop into a dominating defenseman and team captain by the end of the decade. A two-time all-star selection and the 1998 Norris Trophy winner as the NHL’s best defenseman, Blake was the anchor of the Los Angeles defense. In 531 games played from 1990-1999, Blake had 103 goals and 220 assists for 323 total points, while his best individual offensive season came in 1993-1994 when he scored 20 goals to go along with 48 assists for 68 points. Blake was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2014.
Number two: Luc Robitaille (1990-1994, 1997-1999). Robitaille would have easily been number one on this list if the greatest player of all time wasn’t playing for the LA Kings at the same time. A six-time all-star in the 1990s for the Kings, his numbers during the decade were simply incredible. In 542 games played, he poured in 303 goals which are far and away the most of any King for the ’90s. Like Kurri, Robitaille stepped up in a big way during Wayne Gretzky’s absence in the 1992-1993 season, when he had the best individual season of his hall of fame career with 63 goals and 62 assists for 125 points.
Number one: Wayne Gretzky (1990-1996). When Wayne Gretzky was traded to the LA Kings in August of 1988, it forever changed the game of hockey, and his impact on the team was massive in the 1990s. In the 461 games he played for LA, he scored 192 goals to go with a mind-blowing 558 assists for 750 total points. Gretzky won the Art Ross trophy as the NHL’s scoring champion in 1990, 1991, and 1994 and was a four-time all-star. Despite missing about half of the 1992-1993 regular season with a back injury, during the playoffs, he had 15 goals and 25 assists for 40 points – the third-best playoff total of his illustrious career and almost carried the Kings to an unlikely Stanley Cup championship.