yave1964 Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 AND YOUR NOMINEES ARE: WAYNE GRETZKY in spite of only 7 1/2 years in LA he managed to finish 4th all time in points with 918, taking the Kings to their first ever cup and making hockey relevant in SoCal. He won a Hart, was a regular on the first or second all star team. BERNIE NICHOLS:Top five all time In Kings history in points, goals and assists. Three times posted over one hundred points in a Kings sweater topping out with a staggering 150 (70-80-150) in 1988-89. LUC ROBITAILLE: Lucky Luc is first all time in Kings history with 557 goals and second in points with 1154. An 8 time all star, he won the Calder with the Kings, a six time first team all star in a Kings jersey and a three time second teamer. JONATHAN QUICK: Hard to believe he is only 29 years old, but he has run away with the record book and hidden with it as far as the Kings goalie register goes. First in every signle relevant category most by a long shot and continuing to build his legend, oh yeah, he has those two cups as well. And a Conn smythe. DAVE TAYLOR: An absolute class act an a member of the fabled Royal Crown line along with Dionne and Simmer, Taylor wound up with 431 goals and 1069 total points in a Kings uniform. He appeared in four all star games and was a second team all star, won the Masterton and the King Clancy awards while wearing the Kings sweater the only one he wore in his NHL tenure. MARCEL DIONNE: The all time leader in assists (757) and points (a whopping 1307) in a Kings sweater, the little guy was Mr. King for years after coming over from the Wings. led the league in scoring once, broke 100 points a staggering 8 times, first team all star twice, 2nd team twice as well, won two Lady Bings, two Ted Lindsays and and Art ross with the Kings and appeared in eight All Star Kings representing the Kings. WHO AM I? Still trying to stump Scott. See what this one does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingNut722 Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 I'm gonna say Lucky Luc. Why? Because...! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottM Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 I'm going with Gretzky, but it's a very close call between him and Dionne. This picture is tougher with the small size, but is it Steve Kelly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FD19372 Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 It would have to be Gretzky. He brought them within 3 wins of a Cup and made hockey relevant in California. Ask me in a few years and I might just say Jonathan Quick or Drew Doughty is their all-time best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yave1964 Posted July 30, 2015 Author Share Posted July 30, 2015 @ScottM HA!! Not Kelly, this one is for the Flyer fans as well, former Flyer defenseman, namesake used to pitch (quite well for a short time) in the big leagues as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yave1964 Posted July 30, 2015 Author Share Posted July 30, 2015 @ I was so torn and decided to leave Doughty off the list and am still kicking myself for having done so. I have been trying to keep it between 5 and 6 players per team, Luc, Wayne, Taylor, Dionne are all locks for the list. Quick simply had to make the list because he has run away and hid from the other King goalies already and still in his twenties but using that exact standard, I should have listed Doughty as well, no other King d-man comes close to him. Truthfully I should have put Doughty on the list and if someone had been dropped, it should have been Bernie Nichols who had a heck of a career with the Kings as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yave1964 Posted July 30, 2015 Author Share Posted July 30, 2015 I went with Dionne although I never liked him. When I first started following Hockey, Gordie had just retired, Dionne was a superstar in the making and a spoiled brat who wanted out of Detroit and nothing made me happier than him never winning a cup in Los Angeles. I always considered him a selfish brat of a player, some of his post retirement comments have done nothing to bely my feelings about him. But on the ice, my God the guy could play. He was the all time greatest King player IMHO he had more All Star appearances in a King sweater than Gretzky had full seasons. To me Gretz will always be an Oiler first last and in between with an honorable mention for his days in Los Angeles. Dionne was the Kings for over a decade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottM Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 @yave1964 I'll have to dig a little more later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WordsOfWisdom Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 I went with Dionne although I never liked him. When I first started following Hockey, Gordie had just retired, Dionne was a superstar in the making and a spoiled brat who wanted out of Detroit and nothing made me happier than him never winning a cup in Los Angeles. I always considered him a selfish brat of a player, some of his post retirement comments have done nothing to bely my feelings about him.But on the ice, my God the guy could play. He was the all time greatest King player IMHO he had more All Star appearances in a King sweater than Gretzky had full seasons. To me Gretz will always be an Oiler first last and in between with an honorable mention for his days in Los Angeles. Dionne was the Kings for over a decade. Perhaps this is why Dionne is the least talked about superstar in NHL history? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammer2 Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 Dionne, and it was not close. Gretzky will never be remembered as a King. Dionne WAS the Kings, he put them on the map of respectability and had a LONG tremendous career there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JagerMeister Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 Dionne, and it was not close. Gretzky will never be remembered as a King. Dionne WAS the Kings, he put them on the map of respectability and had a LONG tremendous career there. Yet even as a king, Gretzky still accomplished more then Dionne and was also a better player as a king. He won 2 art Ross trophies and took the kings much deeper into the playoffs then Dionne ever did... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammer2 Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 Yet even as a king, Gretzky still accomplished more then Dionne and was also a better player as a king. He won 2 art Ross trophies and took the kings much deeper into the playoffs then Dionne ever did... When I think Kings, I think Dionne and the Triple Crown Line. When I think Gretzky, I think Oilers. Despite Wayne's outstanding numbers, Wayne only had 3 seasons in LA where he surpassed Dionne's numbers.....Dionne had a whole whack of seasons of 130+ pts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yave1964 Posted July 31, 2015 Author Share Posted July 31, 2015 @jammer2 Agreed one hundred percent. I really was not expecting the debate to be this intense I figured Dionne in a walk. THE WHO AM I @ScottM I went with a former Flyer to see if it would give someone else a shot, Randy Jones, the really bad d-man who played for the Kings and Flyers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radoran Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 Randy Jones, the really bad d-man who played for the Kings and Flyers. BEHOLD... Randy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottM Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 @jammer2Agreed one hundred percent. I really was not expecting the debate to be this intense I figured Dionne in a walk.THE WHO AM I @ScottM I went with a former Flyer to see if it would give someone else a shot, Randy Jones, the really bad d-man who played for the Kings and Flyers. I forgot to go back and look again... Ugh... Lol Anyway, there's a very strong argument to be made for Dionne, but this is why I went with Gretzky: Gretzky's ppg with the Kings was about 1.7, Dionne's was about 1.4. Gretzky's peak season with the Kings was 168, and that season plus two other surpassed Dionne's peak of 137. I will admit that goal scoring is in Dionne's favor. Gretzky wasn't one of the top goal scorers in the league for most of his time with the Kings. He only had one fifty goal season with Los Angeles, while Dionne had six. Actually, it's a little surprising that Dionne never scored 60. Gretzky's Kings teams were a bit better than Dionne's so that boosts his stats a little too. My point is, while I take Gretzky by a hair, I wouldn't put up any resistance against someone who takes Dionne. I find it incredibly close. Just for the record, I think Dionne, and not Gretzky, should have won the Hart in 1980. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruxpin Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 I have to go with Dionne. I'm sorry, but measuring numbers and PPG and all that, in this case, is crap. If you're older than ten, the first name that comes to mind when thinking Kings is Dionne. That right there answers the question. PPG when comparing 3 years to over a decade is absurd in the extreme. Seriously, for a decade plus, they really could have / should have renamed the team The Dionnes. The name was synonymous. And that simply answers the question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JagerMeister Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 Let's not forget that in one postseason, Gretzky almost totalled Dionnes whole playoff career. In his few years as a king, Gretzky still managed to accomplish more then Dionne. Won 2 art Ross trophies, and took his team past the first round.... Dionne might be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking kings, but even he didn't match the peak of LA Kings Gretzky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottM Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 PPG when comparing 3 years to over a decade is absurd in the extreme. Except that's not what I did. The PPG stat that I gave for Gretzky was for his entire 7 1/2 seasons with the Kings, not only his top three seasons. The "three seasons" comment I made was pointing out that Gretzky had three seasons with the Kings in which he had more points than Dionne ever had in a single season. When taking their entire tenures with the team, there's a sizable sample for both, so I think the comparison can be fairly made. Just to be very clear, the 1.7 PPG was over the entire period Gretzky was a King, not his top three seasons. Seriously, for a decade plus, they really could have / should have renamed the team The Dionnes. The name was synonymous. This is very true. That's why I'll argue for Gretzky, but not against Dionne. That said, while he did do it with a much better supporting cast, Gretzky led the team to the Finals, and helped popularize the sport in southern California. I can't stress enough that I'm not dissing Dionne in the least. I simply find Gretzky's case to be fractionally better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottM Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 Since I believe it fits the spirit of this thread, I'd like to nominate Rob Blake as the best human being to ever play for the Kings. He was as fine of a person as he was a hockey player. If you didn't see his jersey retirement ceremony, click this link and read about what he did for a family that had three boys with Muscular Dystrophy. http://www.foxsports.com/west/story/rob-blake-on-jersey-retirement-from-day-one-i-wanted-to-be-up-there-011715 IIRC, it was Luc Robitaille who mentioned that at the ceremony. He said that as far as he knew, no one outside of the Kings organization ever knew that Blake did that. He didn't want recognition, he simply wanted to give those boys and that family a good time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruxpin Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 Except that's not what I did. The PPG stat that I gave for Gretzky was for his entire 7 1/2 seasons with the Kings, not only his top three seasons. The "three seasons" comment I made was pointing out that Gretzky had three seasons with the Kings in which he had more points than Dionne ever had in a single season. When taking their entire tenures with the team, there's a sizable sample for both, so I think the comparison can be fairly made. Just to be very clear, the 1.7 PPG was over the entire period Gretzky was a King, not his top three seasons.This is very true. That's why I'll argue for Gretzky, but not against Dionne. That said, while he did do it with a much better supporting cast, Gretzky led the team to the Finals, and helped popularize the sport in southern California.I can't stress enough that I'm not dissing Dionne in the least. I simply find Gretzky's case to be fractionally better.That's fair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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