Los Angeles Kings Tickets

The Pacific Coast Hockey League had many teams in the southern California area, and minor pro hockey found success there. However, the lack of a major arena in the area was the main claimed factor in the NHL's decision before the Sixties to not expand to Los Angeles. When the PCHL threatened to turn itself into a major league and compete for the Stanley Cup, the Canadian enterpreneur Jack Kent Cooke paid the NHL $2 million to form a new team in Los Angeles, as part of the so-called "Expansion six." As for the arena, Cooke stated that the new team would play in "the most beautiful arena in the world". True to his word, the first home of the Kings, the "Fabulous Forum" in Inglewood, California, opened to rave reviews. Although the Kings were initially very successful in their first year, finishing one point out of first place in a very weak Western Division, they would become plagued by mismanagement. The team would finish last in the NHL in 1969-70. The Kings would return to the playoffs in 1973-74, and would finish with an impressive 42-17-21 record the next year. The Kings had still not won a playoff series. The arrival of Marcel Dionne -- the great superstar of franchise history -- from the Detroit Red Wings along with superlative goaltending from Rogatien Vachon would give them the boost to do just that, even though their regular season point total dropped from 105 to 85. After dispatching the Atlanta Flames in two games, they were beaten in seven games by the Boston Bruins. The Kings would beat the Flames and lose to the Bruins the following season as well. The Kings exited the playoffs in the first round every year thereafter until 1981-82, after they were relocated to the Smythe Divison. The 24-41-15 Kings upset the 48-17-15 Edmonton Oilers -- who were so dominant that they were the only winning team in the division -- three games to two, before losing to the Vancouver Canucks. The Kings didn't make the playoffs again until 1984-85, when the Oilers swept them in three games on their way to the Stanley Cup.