yave1964 Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 THE Greatest moment in Los Angeles Kings history. Happy voting! MIRACLE ON MANCHESTER: KINGS OVERCOME 5 GOAL DEFICIT IN PLAYOFF GAME TO DEFEAT HEAVILY FAVORED OILERS There are some moments in sports that simply can’t be forgotten. The Miracle on Manchester is one of those moments. The Kings entered their first round series with the Edmonton Oilers in 1982 as heavy underdogs, having finished 48 points behind Gretzky’s team. The two teams split the first two games. Thru two periods in game 3 the Oilers were up 5-0 and it seemed over. The Oilers were laughing and the Kings got angry, scoring 5 unanswered goals against the Hall of fame laden Oiler club, and winning in overtime on a goal by Daryl Evans. One of the greatest comebacks in playoff history. The Kings went on to win the series in 5 games. KINGS WIN!! STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS 2012 The missing piece for this squad appeared to be coach Darryl Sutter who took over halfway thru the season, and Jeff Carter who came over from the Jackets to reunite with Mike Richards. This team is built for the playoffs, Captain Dustin Brown loves to hit everything that moves, Doughty may be the most complete d-man in the game today, Kopitar is the leading scorer and makes two moves every night that leave jaws agape. Veterans such as stoll, Justin Williams and Willie Mitchell pay the price to win. And then there is the netminding of Jonathan Quick, who kind of sleepwalks in a 82 game regular season and then turns on the afterburners come postseason. He had a remarkable .929 save pct and a 1.95 goals against, and then went crazy in the postseason with a 1.41 GAA and a save pct of an indecent .946 to capture the Conn Smythe. THE TRADE: GRETZKY COMES TO THE KINGSThe great one came to the Kings from the Oilers on August 9th 1988 (my God has it really been over a quarter of a century already?) after the Oilers won the cup, depending upon who you believe, Kings owner Bruce McNall orchestrated the deal, Wayne wanted out, his new wife wanted a hollywood career or Oiler owner Pocklington did the whole deal on his own because he could not afford Gretzky in such a small market. However it came to pass, the two owners (both of whom went on to become convicted felons but not for this deal) worked out a deal, sending Gretzky to Los Angeles for Jimmy Carson, Martin Gelinas and a bushel of money and a couple of picks. The Oilers won the cup without the great one, Gretzky never won a cup for the Kings but got them on the front page of the sports section and led them to a cup finals, Carson, a brilliantly talented playmaker wilted within a few years unable to cope with being the man who was traded for the great one. RETURN OF THE KINGS~ 2014 STANLEY CUP WINNERS! Unlike a lot of GM's who are big on retooling, Dean Lombardi tinkers, returning 19 players from the previous cup title a few years earlier. He did add sniper Marion Gaborik who led all postseason goalscorers with 14 goals. Justin Williams earned the Conn Smythe scoring one timely goal after another, Jeff Carter was money and Kopitar was a point a game player in both the regular season and the postseason. Drew Doughty seemed to have the puck on his stick the entire postseason and fellow back end players Voynov and Muzzin established themselves as rising stars. And then of course Lombardi quietly resigned all the key pieces and set the team up for what he hopes to be another deep run this upcoming year. Hockey Royalty, that is what these kings are. THE TRADE PART ONE: MARCEL DIONNE COMES OVER FROM THE WINGS The greatest King of them all came from Detroit on June 23rd 1975 after signing an offer sheet with the Kings. The Wings acquired Terry Harper, a serviceable d-man who won a couple of cups with the Habs defore being donated to the Kings and Dan Maloney whose claim to fame was a conviction for an on ice assault on Glennie of the Leafs that led to Maloney being banned from playing in Ontario for a year. Dionne never won a cup, hell he never came close. He did center the famed triple crown line with Charlie Simmer and Dave Taylor and in 921 games for the Kings he scored an eye popping 1307 points. One of the greatest pure scorers in the history of the game. That is it. I gave consideration to the 2001 Kings upsetting the heavily favored Wings, to the 1993 Gretzky led Kings making the finals and to some individual awards, but here is my list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertmega Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 The 2012 cup was great for them, but "The Trade" put hockey on the map in California. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samifan Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 The 2012 cup was great for them, but "The Trade" put hockey on the map in California.Agreed!Honorable mention: John Stevens bakes an elegant two tier cake to commemorate the Kings two Stanley Cup victories! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yave1964 Posted September 3, 2014 Author Share Posted September 3, 2014 @Samifan@Bertmega I was torn, it is all about winning the cup but Wayne coming to Los Angeles put California Hockey on the map. It is difficult to see the trade as anything except the saving grace of West Coast hockey in the United States. I went with the 2012 Stanley Cup victory, because, you know, its the cup and all but Gretzky coming to the Kings was massive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertmega Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 @Samifan Ha ha Cake Boss, I forgot about him.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertmega Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 @yave1964 I found a great write up on the trade and the reaction that Canada had over it. I will see if I can dig it up and post the link. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeyRef Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 It has to be the Gretzky trade. Without that trade who knows where hockey in Southern California would be and if the Kings would have ever won a cup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yave1964 Posted July 30, 2015 Author Share Posted July 30, 2015 It has to be the Gretzky trade. Without that trade who knows where hockey in Southern California would be and if the Kings would have ever won a cup. Hey welcome to the Forum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kings Redeem LA Posted May 30, 2017 Share Posted May 30, 2017 I've got to go with the 2012 Cup victory for the following reasons: - the team didn't have a great regular season that year - as underdogs they not only won but dominated every series en route to the Final - it was the team's first Cup hoist - no Dionne or Gretzky team brought home the hardware - for five years we fans had to look back at Anaheim having won a title even though their team name was lame* and that organization formed long after LA did * Full disclosure: I really wish LA was called the Los Angeles Revolutionaries; but because I'm a semi-swingin liberal , and because they've been my team since some unfortunate uniforms , I'm willing to work with the LA Kings. Regarding the other four choices: getting Dionne was quite the score indeed Miracle on Manchester was a magical single moment and series Cup repeat in 2014 was something special given the first three series went seven games but 2012's more special to me and was more unexpected to the hockey world Gretzky coming to LaLa Land was huge but to me that's not strictly a Los Angeles Kings history thing any more than I would call the greatest Boston Bruins moment to be Bobby Orr causing hockey to explode in the US Northeast much the way Wayne later did in the US Southwest. Both events are too seemingly beyond a team / too seemingly incomparable to a transaction, game, or season. They're more candidates for greatest events in NHL history. Hockey's popularity likely would have still spiked and reverberated in & after Orr's and Gretzky's times if the former had played for, say, the Rangers and the latter had gone from the Oilers right to the Blues. @yave1964 I love that someone whose team isn't even the Kings has upped great threads in the King Forum which encourage revisiting, reviewing, and appreciating this team. They've been great cranium crankers and heart warmers. Cheers and respect to ya. P.S. My US Midwest family roots for the Red Wings and my Pops (RIP) calls Stevie Y his all-time-favorite player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammer2 Posted May 30, 2017 Share Posted May 30, 2017 5 hours ago, thenewestlights said: I've got to go with the 2012 Cup victory for the following reasons: - the team didn't have a great regular season that year - as underdogs they not only won but dominated every series en route to the Final - it was the team's first Cup hoist - no Dionne or Gretzky team brought home the hardware - for five years we fans had to look back at Anaheim having won a title even though their team name was lame* and that organization formed long after LA did * Full disclosure: I really wish LA was called the Los Angeles Revolutionaries; but because I'm a semi-swingin liberal , and because they've been my team since some unfortunate uniforms , I'm willing to work with the LA Kings. Regarding the other four choices: getting Dionne was quite the score indeed Miracle on Manchester was a magical single moment and series Cup repeat in 2014 was something special given the first three series went seven games but 2012's more special to me and was more unexpected to the hockey world Gretzky coming to LaLa Land was huge but to me that's not strictly a Los Angeles Kings history thing any more than I would call the greatest Boston Bruins moment to be Bobby Orr causing hockey to explode in the US Northeast much the way Wayne later did in the US Southwest. Both events are too seemingly beyond a team / too seemingly incomparable to a transaction, game, or season. They're more candidates for greatest events in NHL history. Hockey's popularity likely would have still spiked and reverberated in & after Orr's and Gretzky's times if the former had played for, say, the Rangers and the latter had gone from the Oilers right to the Blues. @yave1964 I love that someone whose team isn't even the Kings has upped great threads in the King Forum which encourage revisiting, reviewing, and appreciating this team. They've been great cranium crankers and heart warmers. Cheers and respect to ya. P.S. My US Midwest family roots for the Red Wings and my Pops (RIP) calls Stevie Y his all-time-favorite player. Welcome! I have to go with the Gretzky trade. Would there have been a 2012 championship or even a Kings team if the Gretzky trade did not happen? Wayne solidified that franchise forever. No one mentioned it, but the day they formed the Triple Crown Line should at least be in the conversation. I know it would fall under the heading of the Kings 2012 win, but Quick should also be singled out for his Conn Smythe that year....he was AMAZING. Maybe the most dominant performance from a tender since Roy or Parent with the Flyers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted May 30, 2017 Share Posted May 30, 2017 Gretz was nice but the 1st Cup has to be it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yave1964 Posted May 30, 2017 Author Share Posted May 30, 2017 @thenewestlights The Kings adding Gretzky was simply amazing, it put California on the map as far as the NHL goes. I do not believe that it is a stretch to say that without the trade it is possible that the burgeoning market that exists today in California might have never come about. That said going against two cup wins is almost impossible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kings Redeem LA Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 @jammer2 and @yave1964 I can understand the support for the Gretzky trade as the greatest LA Kings moment. I may have been too over-analytical or underly-articulate back there. It's incredible what Gretz and Orr caused beyond their teams in terms of expanding hockey popularity and interest, how they even went beyond the league in the sense of how people who weren't or aren't hockey fans will know their names. @jammer2 Amen about Quick's amazingness! It's a thrill as a fan to watch both him and Kopitar on the ice. Most nights each does a couple things that get me going Wait--what just happened?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FD19372 Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 They finished 8th in their conference, but it doesn't matter. In spite of all the years Gretzky was there, the most memorable moment in that franchise's history was 2012. Quick and that defense were lights out for the Cup champ Kings. That was a WEIRD playoff. The Devils were the 6th seed, and they had home ice in the finals, beating my Flyers on their way to that SCF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notfondajane Posted July 21, 2017 Share Posted July 21, 2017 When was that 5 goal playoff game played? What month date and the year was 1982 I believe!?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kings Redeem LA Posted July 23, 2017 Share Posted July 23, 2017 @notfondajane: April 10, 1982 And here's a 25th Anniversary article about that event: https://www.nhl.com/kings/news/miracle-on-manchester-25-year-anniversary/c-455182 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notfondajane Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 4 hours ago, thenewestlights said: @notfondajane: April 10, 1982 And here's a 25th Anniversary article about that event: https://www.nhl.com/kings/news/miracle-on-manchester-25-year-anniversary/c-455182 Thanks for the article that had some good information! My next question is am I able to get a video of this game? If so where do I get one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notfondajane Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 On 5/30/2017 at 9:28 PM, FD19372 said: They finished 8th in their conference, but it doesn't matter. In spite of all the years Gretzky was there, the most memorable moment in that franchise's history was 2012. Quick and that defense were lights out for the Cup champ Kings. That was a WEIRD playoff. The Devils were the 6th seed, and they had home ice in the finals, beating my Flyers on their way to that SCF. I believe the Flyers and Kings would have been a more entertaining series! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kings Redeem LA Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 16 hours ago, notfondajane said: Thanks for the article that had some good information! My next question is am I able to get a video of this game? If so where do I get one? My pleasure! It looks as though the full game has finally been made available. At least according to my knowledge, experience, last YouTube search for it. I may watch it myself. In fact the last time I did, if I did and I may have, I was knee-high-ish to an awkward favorite-team uniform. Watch it, download it, etc. it while it's hot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockey-78 Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 I voted for Gretzky's trade since it was probably the biggest thing and surprise that happened in the entire league in the 80´s. Very memorable. If I were a Kings' fan I'd probably vote for the Cup in 2012. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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