Los Angeles Kings Ice Hockey on TV & Live Stream

The Los Angeles Kings were founded in 1967 and were one of six new franchises added when the NHL doubled in size from six teams to 12.

The Kings reached the playoffs during their inaugural 1967-68 season and developed several memorable teams and players over the following decades. One of the most important moments in franchise history came in 1988, when Los Angeles acquired Wayne Gretzky from the Edmonton Oilers in one of the most famous trades in professional sports.

Gretzky's arrival increased the profile of hockey throughout Southern California and helped lead the Kings to their first Stanley Cup Final in 1993.

Division History

When the NHL expanded in 1967, all six new franchises were placed in the newly created West Division.

League realignment in 1974 moved Los Angeles into the Norris Division. Another reorganization in 1981 placed the Kings in the Smythe Division of the Campbell Conference.

When the NHL adopted geographic conference and division names in 1993, the Smythe Division was replaced by the Pacific Division and the Campbell Conference became the Western Conference.

The Kings have remained members of the Pacific Division since then, with the exception of the shortened 2020-21 season, when the NHL temporarily reorganized its divisions and Los Angeles competed in the West Division.

Championship History

The Kings spent more than two decades searching for their first division championship.

Los Angeles finally won the Smythe Division in 1990-91, finishing the regular season with a 46-24-10 record. It remains the only division title in franchise history.

Two seasons later, the Kings reached the Stanley Cup Final for the first time.

Led by Wayne Gretzky, Los Angeles defeated the Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks and Toronto Maple Leafs during the 1993 playoffs. Gretzky recorded a hat trick in Game 7 of the conference final against Toronto to send the Kings to the championship series.

Los Angeles faced the Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley Cup Final. The Kings won Game 1 but Montreal responded with four consecutive victories to capture the championship.

Nearly two decades passed before Los Angeles returned to the Final.

The Kings entered the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs as the eighth seed in the Western Conference but produced one of the most dominant postseason runs in NHL history. Los Angeles defeated Vancouver, St. Louis and Phoenix before beating the New Jersey Devils in six games to win the first Stanley Cup in franchise history.

Goaltender Jonathan Quick received the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs.

The Kings won another championship just two years later. Los Angeles survived three consecutive seven-game series in the Western Conference before defeating the New York Rangers in five games in the 2014 Stanley Cup Final.

Alec Martinez scored the Stanley Cup-winning goal in double overtime of Game 5, giving the Kings their second championship in three seasons.

Home of the Kings

The Kings play their home games at Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles.

Because construction of The Forum had not been completed when the franchise began play in 1967, the Kings played their first NHL home game at Long Beach Arena.

The team moved into The Forum in Inglewood later that year and remained there for more than three decades.

In 1999, the Kings moved into a new downtown arena originally known as Staples Center. Both of the franchise's Stanley Cup championships were clinched on home ice in the building, in 2012 and 2014.

The arena was renamed Crypto.com Arena in December 2021.

Notable Kings

Anze Kopitar finished his career as the leading scorer in Kings history.

Los Angeles selected the Slovenian center with the 11th overall pick in the 2005 NHL Draft, and Kopitar spent his entire 20-season NHL career with the franchise.

He played 1,521 regular-season games and finished with 1,316 points, establishing Kings records for games played, assists and points. In March 2026, Kopitar passed Marcel Dionne to become the franchise's all-time points leader.

Kopitar was a central part of both Stanley Cup championship teams, leading the Kings in scoring during the 2012 and 2014 playoffs. He also became known as one of the NHL's premier two-way forwards, winning multiple Frank J. Selke Trophies during his career.

Marcel Dionne was the Kings' scoring leader for more than four decades before Kopitar eventually surpassed him.

Dionne played 12 seasons in Los Angeles and recorded 550 goals, 757 assists and 1,307 points for the Kings. During the 1979-80 season, he tied Wayne Gretzky for the NHL scoring lead with 137 points but won the Art Ross Trophy because he had scored more goals.

Dionne also won the Lester B. Pearson Award, now known as the Ted Lindsay Award, twice during his career. His No. 16 was retired by the Kings in 1990.

Luc Robitaille became one of the greatest left wings in NHL history after Los Angeles selected him in the ninth round of the 1984 NHL Draft.

Robitaille spent 14 seasons with the Kings across three separate stints and remains the franchise's all-time leader with 557 goals. He recorded 1,154 points for Los Angeles and won the Calder Trophy as NHL Rookie of the Year in 1987.

Robitaille's No. 20 was retired by the Kings, and he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009.

Wayne Gretzky spent parts of eight seasons with Los Angeles after joining the Kings in the landmark 1988 trade with Edmonton.

Gretzky recorded 918 points with the Kings and won the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP during his first season in Los Angeles. In 1993, he helped lead the franchise to its first Stanley Cup Final.

While playing for the Kings in 1994, Gretzky scored his 802nd career NHL goal to surpass Gordie Howe as the league's all-time goals leader at the time.

Drew Doughty became the defining defenseman of the Kings' championship era after Los Angeles selected him with the second overall pick in the 2008 NHL Draft.

Doughty played a major role in both the 2012 and 2014 Stanley Cup championships and won the Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defenseman in 2016. He has established franchise records among Kings defensemen in major categories including games played, goals, assists and points.

Other prominent players in Kings history include Rogie Vachon, Dave Taylor, Bernie Nicholls, Rob Blake, Dustin Brown and Jonathan Quick.