Los Angeles Kings Franchise Profile
Founded: 1967
Arena: Staples Center
Stanley Cups: 0
Los Angeles Kings Retired Numbers:
16 Marcel Dionne
18 Dave Taylor
30 Rogie Vachon
99 Wayne Gretzky
Los Angeles Kings Hockey Hall of Fame Members:
Larry Murphy
Larry Robinson
Marcel Dionne
Jari Kurri
Wayne Gretzky
2009-10 Kings Season Preview:
The Kings made a big splash in trading for Ryan Smyth over the summer. At 33, he’s aging in a hurry. But he might be just the kind of hard-driving, ugly-goal artists this team needs.
The team is no doubt hoping Smyth will help jump-start a young team that spent last season stuck in neutral.
The core forwards, Anze Kopitar (aged 22), Dustin Brown (24), and Alex Frolov (27), all saw their point totals drop from the previous year.
On defence, Jack Johnson suffered an early injury and failed to build on a promising rookie season.
The Kings MVP last season was another young star, 19-year-old Drew Doughty, who earned rave reviews as a rookie defenceman. He and Johnson could be a formidable dup for yeas to come.
If they can all put it together, and get solid work out of veterans like Smyth, oft-injured forward Justin Williams, and newly signed d-man Rob Scuderi, and find depth scoring in young forwards like Teddy Purcell or Oscar Moller… If all that can happen at the same time, the Kings are in the playoffs.
Another question mark is in net, where the Kings have three young candidates. At times, Erik Ersberg, Jonathan Bernier, and Jon Quick have all looked like the goalie of the future.
Quick, who impressed in 44 games as a rookie last season, appears to have the job for now. But he’s just 23, so it will be interesting to see how he responds in his sophomore year.[/p
Prediction: 10th in the West.
