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Did You Know That The LA Kings Had To Trade For Their First Head Coach?

February 6, 2017 by 1 Comment

Former Los Angeles Kings head coach Red Kelly
(click above to view larger image)
Photo: Gann Matsuda/FrozenRoyalty.net

LOS ANGELES — Until 2006, when Dean Lombardi took over as their President/General Manager, the Los Angeles Kings’ history of trades was characterized by very few good trades and a ton of really bad ones, with a considerable number bordering on tragic.

One might even think that their first trade belongs on the “bad” side of the ledger.

That trade came on June 8, 1967, just two days after the 1967 National Hockey League Expansion Draft. But the Kings weren’t trading for a player. Instead, they were going after their first head coach.

Leonard “Red” Kelly, a twenty-year NHL veteran who won the Stanley Cup eight times—four each with the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs, became the Kings first coach. But that didn’t happen until after Maple Leafs general manager Punch Imlach exacted a price from the Kings.

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One Of The Most Lopsided Trades In NHL History Involved The LA Kings And Larry Murphy

March 20, 2015 by 3 Comments

LA KINGS HISTORY: Selecting defenseman Larry Murphy in the first round on the 1980 National Hockey League Entry Draft was a momentous occasion for the Los Angeles Kings. After all, they had a long history of trading away their first round picks and drafting poorly. But Murphy went on to become a star in the NHL, and a four-time Stanley Cup winner. The only problem, from a Kings perspective, was that, like so many others, Murphy went elsewhere to do it.

In the final installment of this series, Frozen Royalty spoke to Murphy about his time with the Kings, the friction with the coaching staff that started his problems with the team, and why he had to leave, a story that probably isn’t what you might expect.

Former LA Kings star defenseman Larry Murphy, shown here during the Kings Fantasy Camp on March 12, 2015, at the Toyota Sports Center
in El Segundo, California
(click above to view larger image)
Photo: David Sheehan/CaliShooterOne Photography

EL SEGUNDO, CA — Defenseman Larry Murphy burst onto the scene with the Los Angeles Kings in the 1980-81 season, making a huge, immediate impact, scoring 16 goals and adding 60 assists for 76 points in 80 games in his rookie season—he finished second in the Calder Memorial Trophy (rookie of the year) to the legendary Peter Stastny that season.

Murphy scored 22 goals and tallied 44 assists for 66 points in the 1981-82 season, followed by 14 goals and 48 assists for 62 points in the 1982-83 season.

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Losing Scrambly Play Has Helped Ben Scrivens Shine In Goal For LA Kings

November 19, 2013 by 5 Comments

Los Angeles Kings goaltender Ben Scrivens.
(click above to view larger image)
Photo: David Sheehan/FrozenRoyalty.net

EL SEGUNDO, CA — When Los Angeles Kings superstar goaltender Jonathan Quick went down with what appeared to be a groin injury at Buffalo on November 12, and again, a couple of days later when it was learned he had suffered a grade two groin strain, and would be out at least four to six weeks, grave concerns arose regarding how the team would fare without him.

But backup netminder Ben Scrivens shocked just about everyone by beating each of the three teams in the New York metropolitan area, the New York Islanders, the New Jersey Devils, and the New York Rangers.

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LA Kings: Ben Scrivens Took Competition In Stride, And Willie Mitchell: “It’s Business As Usual For Me”

October 1, 2013 by 1 Comment

Los Angeles Kings goaltender Ben Scrivens
(click above to view larger image)
Photo: David Sheehan/FrozenRoyalty.net

EL SEGUNDO, CA — With the pre-season finally over, the Los Angeles Kings put in their first post-training camp practice session on Monday, at their practice facility in El Segundo, California.

Veteran defenseman Willie Mitchell noted that the team still isn’t quite where they want to be before opening the new season in Minnesota on October 3.

“There’s lots of work to do, yet,” said Mitchell. “We’re working on a few things. A few teams get started before us, so we’re just looking forward to it, jumping right in. It’s a back-to-back.”

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Newly-Acquired Backup Goalie Ben Scrivens Is Looking To Learn Through Osmosis With LA Kings

September 10, 2013 by 1 Comment

LA Kings goaltender Ben Scrivens spoke to the media during HockeyFest ’13 on September 8, 2013, at
Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
(click above to view larger image)
Photo: David Sheehan/FrozenRoyalty.net

LOS ANGELES — Even though he knows quite well that he probably won’t be getting much playing time during the fast approaching 2013-14 National Hockey League season, goaltender Ben Scrivens has already settled in the Los Angeles area, and is trying to find his niche with the Los Angeles Kings.

“I came in for the goalie camp in the second week of August, and I’ve been here since, so I’ve been here for about one month,” said the 26-year-old, 6-2, 192-pound native of Spruce-Grove, Alberta.

Scrivens, who was acquired by the Kings from the Toronto Maple Leafs on June 24, along with left wing Matt Frattin and a 2014 or 2015 second round selection (Maple Leafs choice), in exchange for goaltender Jonathan Bernier, has been spending the last month getting settled in the South Bay, close to where most Kings players reside.

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