Los Angeles Kings
| Los Angeles Kings | |
|---|---|
 2024–25 Los Angeles Kings season | |
 | |
| City | Los Angeles, California |
| League | NHL |
| Conference | Western |
| Division | Pacific |
| Founded | 1967 |
| Operated | Los Angeles Kings 1967–present |
| Home arena | Crypto.com Arena |
| Colours | Purple, Orange, Black |
| Owner(s) | LA Sports & Entertainment |
| General manager | Rob Blake |
| Head coach | (TBD) |
| Captain | Anže Kopitar |
| Media | Bally Sports West KCAL-TV ESPN Radio 710 Tu Liga Radio 1330 AM CSN+ |
| Affiliates | Ontario Reign (AHL) Greenville Swamp Rabbits (ECHL)[1] |
| Website | nhl |
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The Kings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent Cooke was awarded an NHL expansion franchise for Los Angeles on February 9, 1966, becoming one of the six teams that began play as part of the 1967 NHL expansion.[2] The team plays its home games at Crypto.com Arena in Downtown Los Angeles, their home since the start of the 1999–2000 season. Prior to that, the Kings played for 32 years at the Forum in Inglewood, California, a suburb of Los Angeles.
During the 1970s and early 1980s, the Kings had many years marked by impressive play in the regular season only to be washed out by early playoff exits. Their highlights in those years included the strong goaltending of Rogie Vachon, and the "Triple Crown Line" of Charlie Simmer, Dave Taylor and Hall of Famer Marcel Dionne, who had a famous upset of the rising Edmonton Oilers in a 1982 playoff game known as the Miracle on Manchester. In 1988, the Kings traded with the Oilers to get their captain Wayne Gretzky, leading to a successful phase of the franchise that raised hockey's popularity in Los Angeles, and helped elevate the sport's profile in the American Sun Belt region.[3] Gretzky, fellow Hall of Famer Luc Robitaille, and defenseman Rob Blake led the Kings to the franchise's sole division title in 1990–91, and the Kings' first Stanley Cup Finals appearance in 1993, where they lost to the Montreal Canadiens. After the 1993 Finals, the Kings entered financial problems, with a bankruptcy in 1995, which led to the franchise being acquired by Philip Anschutz (the owner of Anschutz Entertainment Group and the operators of Crypto.com Arena) and Edward P. Roski. A period of mediocrity ensued, with the Kings only resurging as they broke a six-year playoff drought in the 2009–10 season, with a team that included goaltender Jonathan Quick, defenseman Drew Doughty, and forwards Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar, and Justin Williams. Under coach Darryl Sutter, who was hired early in the 2011–12 season, and with the acquisition of Jeff Carter, the Kings won two Stanley Cups in three years: 2012 over the New Jersey Devils, and 2014 over the New York Rangers, while Quick and Williams respectively won the Conn Smythe Trophy. The franchise has had mixed success since; to the present day, the Kings qualified for the playoffs for the last three consecutive seasons, but only five times in the last decade, never advancing past the first round.
Broadcasters[edit]
In 1973, the Kings hired Bob Miller as their play-by-play announcer. Considered to be one of the finest hockey play-by-play announcers, Miller held the post continuously until retirement in 2017, and is often referred to as the Voice of the Kings. He received the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award from the NHL Hockey Broadcasters Association on November 13, 2000, making him a media honoree for the Hockey Hall of Fame,[4][5] and he also earned a star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2006.[6] Miller has written two books about his experiences with the team, Bob Miller's Tales of the Los Angeles Kings (2006),[7] and Tales From The Los Angeles Kings Locker Room: A Collection Of The Greatest Kings Stories Ever Told (2013).[8] On March 2, 2017, citing health reasons, Miller announced his retirement after 44 years with the team, and finished his career broadcasting the final two games of the 2016–17 Kings season.[9] The Kings named NBCSN announcer Alex Faust as Miller's replacement, play-by-play announcer the team on TV for the 2017–18 season on June 1, 2017.[10]
On September 18, 2018, the team announced that it would cease over-the-air radio broadcasts, and had partnered with iHeartMedia to form the Los Angeles Kings Audio Network, which streams exclusively on the iHeartRadio platform. The deal also includes pre-game shows and other ancillary content streaming on iHeartRadio. Two pre-season games were simulcast by KEIB before the transition was completed.[11][12] On June 5, 2023, the Kings parted ways with Alex Faust and planned on returning to a TV/radio simulcast format with Nick Nickson, Jim Fox and Daryl Evans, which they last used in the 1989–90 season.[13] On September 14, 2023, the Kings announced a new contract with Bally Sports West, airing around 65 games, and KCAL-TV, airing around 6 games.[14][15] On June 20, 2024, the Kings announced a new deal with ESPN Radio 710 to stream all games on the ESPN LA app, with 25 games to simulcast on the radio.[16][17]
References[edit]
- ↑ "Kings announce two-year affiliation agreement with ECHL's Greenville Swamp Rabbits + Reign sign 5 to AHL contracts". LA Kings Insider. August 23, 2022. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
- ↑ The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2017. Toronto, Ontario: Dan Diamond and Associates, Inc. 2016. p. 67. ISBN 978-1-894801-31-7. Search this book on
- ↑ "Gretzky's trade to L.A. 25 years ago still creating ripple effect". The Hockey News. The Canadian Press. August 8, 2013. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedFosHA - ↑ Los Angeles Kings Communications Department. 2007–08 Los Angeles Kings Media Guide. p. 27. Search this book on
- ↑ "BOB MILLER RECEIVES STAR ON WALK OF FAME". Los Angeles Kings. February 10, 2006. Retrieved May 24, 2013.
- ↑ Miller, Bob; Schultz, Randy. Bob Miller's Tales of the Los Angeles Kings. Search this book on
- ↑ Matsuda, Gann (April 24, 2013). "Hall of Fame Announcer Bob Miller Publishes New Book About LA Kings 2012 Stanley Cup Run – Book Signing Events". FrozenRoyalty.net/Gann Matsuda. Archived from the original on April 30, 2013. Retrieved May 24, 2013.
- ↑ Rosen, Jon (March 2, 2017). "Bob Miller To Retire: Will Broadcast Final Two Regular Season Games". Los Angeles Kings. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
- ↑ "Alex Faust Named New LA Kings Play-by-Play Announcer". Los Angeles Kings. June 1, 2017. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
- ↑ Zupke, Curtis (September 18, 2018). "Kings games to move from AM radio to iHeartRadio this season". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
- ↑ "LA Kings Leave AM Radio For Streaming Pact With iHeartRadio". Insideradio.com. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
- ↑ "Kings hired him to replace Bob Miller. Now he's out as L.A. combines broadcasts". Los Angeles Times. June 5, 2023. Retrieved June 5, 2023 – via MSN.com.
- ↑ "LA Kings Announce Television Schedule For 2023-24 Regular Season". NHL.com (Press release). September 14, 2023.
- ↑ "Diamond Sports Group and Los Angeles Kings Reach Multi-Year Renewal of Local Television and Digital Rights Agreement". businesswire.com (Press release). September 14, 2023.
- ↑ "LA Kings and ESPN Radio 710 Announce New Broadcast Rights Partnership; Games to be Streamed on ESPN LA App and Air on ESPN Radio 710 Beginning in September | Los Angeles Kings". www.nhl.com. 2024-06-20. Retrieved 2024-06-21.
- ↑ "Los Angeles Kings Join KSPN For Mix Of On-Air & Streaming Broadcasts". RadioInsight. Retrieved 2024-06-22.
