2014 Stanley Cup Final

[hockeyfan1]

L

Gretzky put that franchise on the map. Before he played for them, they could be described as you have above.

No, Gretzky was a big deal because of who he was. When he left, people went back to not giving a damn about the Kings.

L.A. fans have always been described as fickle from time immemorial.  Still, of all the California teams (Sharks & Ducks), the Kings are considered the marquee franchise. 

Wayne Gretzky is no longer a King, long time now, yet, what Wayne brought to the state of California hockey-wise has had a long-lasting effect.  In fact, before the Great One's ascension in La La Land, the Kings were the only hockey franchise in existence.  Afterwards, came the Sharks and then the Ducks.

Just look at the San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings ? all playoff teams this year ? if you want proof. Gretzky made the business of hockey work in California, and on a grander scale, in the United States.

For the naysayers, here's some explanation of the Gretzky-on-California-hockey effect.  Like it or not, fickle or "fair-weather" fans, the Kings are here to stay:

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=679824

 

[Kin]

Wayne Gretzky is no longer a King, long time now, yet, what Wayne brought to the state of California hockey-wise has had a long-lasting effect.  In fact, before the Great One's ascension in La La Land, the Kings were the only hockey franchise in existence.  Afterwards, came the Sharks and then the Ducks.

Throughout the 90's and beyond the NHL went where the population was. Florida, Arizona, Texas. California is the most populous state. It's one of the biggest economies in the world. The market that existed created the push for Gretzky, not the other way around.

The idea that Gretzky was the reason that either subsequent NHL team came to California is nonsense. A simple narrative pushed on gullible people. The NHL expanded into the Bay Area in the 60's and as for Anaheim, this is what Michael Eisner has said:

I?d like to say there was a lot of studious research and thoughtful analysis, but there was none. Basically we were very interested in Anaheim. Bruce McNall, who was owner of the Kings decided that it would be a good idea for Southern California to have a second hockey team. He called me up and said would Disney be interested in having a hockey team. I said no about four times. And then one day I was thinking, ?Boy, we?re building a second park in Anaheim, and they were really having trouble with this arena. Maybe I could be helpful to Anaheim and bring a hockey team to the arena, which otherwise was sort of millstone around Anaheim?s neck.?

Nothing about Gretzky. Nothing about how Gretzky changed the market. The NHL followed the money. Disney and Silicon Valley had money. No more, no less. Once Gretzky left, Kings attendance dropped again. Gretzky didn't even have a significant and long lasting impact on the economic fortunes of the Kings, let alone the game in California.

 

[hockeyfan1]

NYRangers 2 Los Angeles 1.  Kings lead series 3 games to 1.

There were the New York Rangers, and then there was Marty St.Louis & Henrik Lundqvist.  First the Rangers.  Unlike the loss in Game 3, this Rangers team came out from the get go with plenty of gusto and attitude.  They weren't about to give the Kings the whole ice surface plus they battled 'em in every area of it.

Just look at Martin St.Louis.  He forechecked, hit, scored, and generally was the embodiment of the Rangers overall style of play. The Blueshirts obviously didn't want to make it too easy for their opponent. Not that it was, far from it, considering the fact that New York spent most of the third period defending themselves from a barrage of Kings shots.  Heck, the Rangers in that third period had trouble registering a shot on goal until about the middle of the period.

Nothing would have been complete without "King" Henrik's heroics, especially in the last few seconds of the final period, when they Kings frantically tried to net the equalizer with goaltender Jonathan Quick pulled for an extra attacker.  Whew!  That was close.

Puck luck seemed to be on the Rangers side on their first goal, a defection off the raised stick of Benoit Pouliot, not without having hit L.A.'s Jake Muzzin's stick first, on a point shot by the Rangers John Moore. 

The Kings Alec Martinez thought he had a goal but the puck stopped just on the crease (goalline) while a frantic Rangers defenceman Anton Stralman swiped it out.  And, with just a little over a minute remaining in the third period, as the Kings were pressing for the equalizer, the puck again stopped behind Lundqvist (with a little helping hand from Rangers Derek Stepan who swarmed the net in a desperate bid to prevent any further puck roll). 

Anyways, good luck was on the Rangers side in this one.

Next game is Friday in Los Angeles.

Game details:
http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/live-kings-rangers-game-4-stanley-cup-final/

 

[hockeyfan1]

Wayne Gretzky is no longer a King, long time now, yet, what Wayne brought to the state of California hockey-wise has had a long-lasting effect.  In fact, before the Great One's ascension in La La Land, the Kings were the only hockey franchise in existence.  Afterwards, came the Sharks and then the Ducks.

Throughout the 90's and beyond the NHL went where the population was. Florida, Arizona, Texas. California is the most populous state. It's one of the biggest economies in the world. The market that existed created the push for Gretzky, not the other way around.

The idea that Gretzky was the reason that either subsequent NHL team came to California is nonsense. A simple narrative pushed on gullible people. The NHL expanded into the Bay Area in the 60's and as for Anaheim, this is what Michael Eisner has said:

I?d like to say there was a lot of studious research and thoughtful analysis, but there was none. Basically we were very interested in Anaheim. Bruce McNall, who was owner of the Kings decided that it would be a good idea for Southern California to have a second hockey team. He called me up and said would Disney be interested in having a hockey team. I said no about four times. And then one day I was thinking, ?Boy, we?re building a second park in Anaheim, and they were really having trouble with this arena. Maybe I could be helpful to Anaheim and bring a hockey team to the arena, which otherwise was sort of millstone around Anaheim?s neck.?

Nothing about Gretzky. Nothing about how Gretzky changed the market. The NHL followed the money. Disney and Silicon Valley had money. No more, no less. Once Gretzky left, Kings attendance dropped again. Gretzky didn't even have a significant and long lasting impact on the economic fortunes of the Kings, let alone the game in California.

Remember the California Golden Seals, later renamed the Oakland Seals?  They were God-awful franchises.  Alright, alright, California (hockey) teams have come a long way since them.  The Los Angeles Kings were born in 1967 to be exact.

Twenty-five years after the arrival of Wayne Gretzky in Los Angeles, NHL rosters are spotted with California born-and-trained players, including Etem, Jonathon Blum of the Minnesota Wild, Beau Bennett of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Matt Nieto of the San Jose Sharks.

Has California become a hockey hotbed?

"Something's bound to happen when you have 35 million [people] in your state," Etem said. "It's a great feeling to represent California.

...the Kings were the only NHL franchise in California; in fact, they were the only U.S.-based team west of St. Louis. They had loyal fans but were often overshadowed on the local sports scene by the higher-profile Lakers and Dodgers. It took a few more years and the biggest trade in hockey history for that to change and for hockey in California to really take off.

Hockey was well off the radar in Southern California, where the sports landscape revolved around the Lakers, Dodgers, USC football and UCLA basketball.

The metaphorical earthquake happened Aug. 9, 1988, when Gretzky, the biggest name in hockey and the sport's most-prolific scorer, was traded to the Kings.

...said Luc Robitaille..."It wasn't about hockey. It was about the fact that there was such an image about the Kings".

Within months kids were playing ball hockey in the suburban streets trying to be like No. 99. When Gretzky switched to an Easton composite stick with a shiny shaft, those who could afford it were using the model on local streets and ice hockey rinks.

(Jimmy)Fox immediately saw the trickle-down effect at the Kings' youth hockey camp, held at Culver City rink, which had one sheet of ice.

The notion one of those kids could be born and trained in Southern California and make it to the NHL was inconceivable.

Six or seven years after the start of the Gretzky Era in Los Angeles the thought patterns started to change.

Brian Salcido from Hermosa Beach who was beginning a journey to the top levels of the sport.

In 2009 Salcido became the first Southern California born-and-trained player to play for the Ducks. The Etems of the hockey world were well on their way, and more are coming 25 years after Gretzky pulled on a Kings sweater for the first time.

Gretzky made hockey a part of Southern California culture as much as surfers, skateboarders, hot rods and beachside taco stands. Even Gretzky, living with his wife, Janet, in the San Fernando Valley, couldn't ignore the
cultural shift during his first year on the scene.

...the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, an expansion team about to join the NHL..(Jack) Ferreira was hired shortly before the 1993 NHL Expansion Draft...Anaheim made the playoffs for the first time in 1997, eliminating the Phoenix Coyotes. It would be another six years before it won another playoff game, but the Ducks were on their way to expanding the Southern California fan base that exploded with Gretzky.

...Nieto, the future San Jose Sharks...Attracting kids like Nieto was precisely the effect expected from Gretzky, whose career with the Kings reached its apex with a run to the Stanley Cup Final in 1993, four months before the Mighty Ducks made their debut.

"Everything was kind of lined up," Ferreira said.

From a media standpoint the Kings have always been regarded as the more-established team, and their championship somewhat validated their place in Los Angeles proper beside the Lakers and Dodgers.

"You feel it in this town," Robitaille said. "We're part of the other teams. Everybody understands. We have our crowd. We have our following. We're part of something. We're part of the big guys."

For a more thorough read, go to:
http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=700923

 

[Kin]

Remember the California Golden Seals, later renamed the Oakland Seals?  They were God-awful franchises.  Alright, alright, California (hockey) teams have come a long way since them.  The Los Angeles Kings were born in 1967 to be exact.

You do realize that NHL.com is going to be a little biased when it comes to presenting the success and strength of the NHL's decisions in the 90's, right?

There's not a single substantive point you've made.

 

[Redleaf]

Funny bit from Fallon last night....

NY Ranger fan talking about his goombadi....

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/jimmy-fallon-has-fun-with-rangers-fans-and--stanley-cup---video-144317009.html

 

[hockeyfan1]

Remember the California Golden Seals, later renamed the Oakland Seals?  They were God-awful franchises.  Alright, alright, California (hockey) teams have come a long way since them.  The Los Angeles Kings were born in 1967 to be exact.

You do realize that NHL.com is going to be a little biased when it comes to presenting the success and strength of the NHL's decisions in the 90's, right?

There's not a single substantive point you've made.

In order to understand the fickleness of Kings fans (not speaking of the Sharks or Ducks),  just L.A. proper,  one has to understand the L.A. mentality that permeates.  L.A. & environs is/are the centres of the showbusiness Communities, and you know the sayings --"You're only as good as your last film", " You're either number one or nothing", etc.

Since hockey has never been THE sport of choice to grab the spotlight, exept for when Gretzky was playing there,  should anyone be surprised with the 'here today, gone tomorrow' fickleness of L'A. Kings fans?  Yes, the Kings won the Cup in 2012, hoopla, parades & all, so?  The following year they don't.  They still have their fans, they still sell tickets at the Staples Centre,  they're still coming to see a hockey game.  Interest within the fan base is still there.  This year, they could win the Cup again.  Hockey & the L A. Kings will be front & centre again, so to speak.

Now, if L.A. languishes thereafter as they were doing after Gretzky left (when they began rebuilding the franchise & attendance & interest were low), then hockey & the Kings will no longer be the interest.  In other words, it can be an up and down thing, unlike true hockey cities such as New York, or Toronto, or Boston or Montreal.

Also, bear in mind that in California, in Los Angeles the superstar sells the sport.  Gretzky was all the rage back then making California " hockey mad."  The current Kings team has no real superstar along the likes of a Crosby for example.  From a pure selling point, it would serve as a boon provided the team itself keeps on winning large.

On another note,  speaking of Gretzky's' influence, how come Disney did not make a hockey movie until after Gretzky joined L.A. while he was still playing there?  Just coincidence?  Oh, come on!
What about the birth of Anaheim's hockey franchise & even San Jose?  No impact on decision-making from all the publicity & hockey interest Gretzky was creating while In a Kings uniform?

And, if you really believe the NHL would move the Kings franchise -- whether hockey interest dies out there or not -- that will never happen, no matte what the state of hockey is in L'A., in the world's sixth largest economy of what comprises California.  Perhaps one can say that if there had been no Wayne Gretzky having played there and leaving some sort of mark on hockey interest there, then, perhaps by now, the Los Angeles Kings probably wouldn't even be existing.  Perhaps the same for the Sharks & the Ducks.

 

[Kin]

On another note,  speaking of Gretzky' influence, how come Disney did not make a hockey movie until after Gretzky joined L.A. while he was still playing there?  Just coincidence?  Oh, come on!
what about the birth of Anaheim's hockey franchise & even San Jose?  No impact on decision-making from all the publicity & hockey interest Gretzky was creating while In a Kings uniform?

Did you even read what I wrote? Michael Eisner said that his decision to buy the Ducks was entirely about the Disney corporations interest in Anaheim. Interest in putting a team in the Bay Area preceded Gretzky by 20 years. What you're saying doesn't even bear a tangential relationship to a single, solitary fact.

Regardless, whether Gretzky was important is entirely beside the point I'm making which is about the Kings and their impact on the hockey landscape as a whole. That the team largely fades from public consciousness when they're not good is my point. They have failed to establish an identity for themselves separate for the 7 seasons where Gretkzy was there. They're a non-entity when they're not competitive.

And, if you really believe the NHL would move the Kings franchise

I don't think that, you muppet. I've never said that I think that Kings will move, I said they'd be on a list of teams I wouldn't mind seeing move. I know that the NHL will put teams in areas with large populations regardless of their actual interest in hockey. That is why your argument for Gretzky bringing teams to California is so facile.

 

[hockeyfan1]

...you muppet....

Which muppet would I be?  Moi, and you, Kermie?!  ;D

 

[Redleaf]

...you muppet....

Which muppet would I be?  Moi, and you, Kermie?!  ;D

Nik would definitely be one of the old guys on the balcony complaining about the show all the time. 

 

[ZBBM]

Doughty was non-Norris on that one.  Transferred ownership to ... Brian Boyle??

 

[AvroArrow]

Why did we trade Stralman again?  The guys a good hockey player...

 

[WhatIfGodWasALeaf]

Why did we trade Stralman again?  The guys a good hockey player...

I believe it was because some scout labelled him the best Swedish dman since Lidstrom, when he did not instantly live up to that billing in Toronto, you know because young dmen take some time to develop, they traded him for a 2nd that turned out to be Brandon Saad, which was traded and the return was used to select Brad Ross.

 

[AvroArrow]

This OT is pretty nuts!

 

[L K]

Martinez on a 3 on 2 rebound finishes it for the Kings.  What a game.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

Silver in the Olympics and losing in Cup Final for Lundqvist this year.

 

[bustaheims]

I believe it was because some scout labelled him the best Swedish dman since Lidstrom, when he did not instantly live up to that billing in Toronto, you know because young dmen take some time to develop, they traded him for a 2nd that turned out to be Brandon Saad, which was traded and the return was used to select Brad Ross.

Close, but not quite. The pick that became Saad was traded to re-acquire the Leafs' 2010 2nd round pick which was traded for Kessel. The Ross pick was acquired by trading Jimmy Hayes.

 

[hockeyfan1]

Los Angeles 3  NYRangers 2  2OT  Kings win series 4 games to 1.

Congratulations to the Los Angeles Kings on being crowned Stanley Cup champions!  Wow, what a finale!  How fitting that the Cup-winning overtime goal would be scored by a California-raised player, Alec Martinez.  Hollywood could not have written a finer script!

This Kings team was special.  Their resiliency and fortitude and persistency, in every round in which they played, wore down their respective opponents.  They battled and battled and no one, not even the (former) defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks could keep these Kings down for long.  Of course, merit should also be given to coach Sutter, his staff as well as the entire Kings organization for having implemented a system & the proper mix of players to make it succeed in these playoffs.

Veteran player forward, L.A.'s Justin Williams, was named Conn Smythe Trophy winner as MVP of the playoffs.

Congratulations also, to the New York Rangers. on their great playoff run, and to Alain Vignault who in his first foray behind the New York bench as it's new coach this season, took them all the way to this Cup Final. 

The Rangers tried with all the effort and skill they could muster, but in the end, destiny favoured the Kings.  They had their
dramatics -- there was Martin St.Louis, who played valiantly in the face of a family tragedy (the death of his beloved mother from a heart attack on Mother's Day),  and played his heart out for his team.  Then, there was Henrik Lundqvist, Rangers goaltender, who backstopped his team throughout these playoffs and who tried to carry the team in this Stanley Cup Final against Los Angeles, particularly in Games 4 & 5, giving the Blueshirts faithful some hope that New York could mount a comeback.  It was not to be indeed.  Still, the star of the show on Broadway was "King" Henrik all the way.

These NHL playoffs were one of the more exciting and spectacular playoffs hockey fans had seen in years.  St.Louis/Chicago, Los Angeles /San Jose/Anaheim, Boston/Montreal, NYRangers/Montreal, and of course, Los Angeles/NYRangers.

Wow!  Great (over)times, great drama, great comebacks.  We hockey fans could not have asked for anything more.

Way to go, NHL!

Game summary:
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=454779

 

[Manson]

Ouch, a double OT stinger!  What a fitting ending for Hard Luck Marty and The Plugs.  Good riddance.  Congrats Kings!

 

[ZBBM]

The best team in the league is the champion. Can't really complain about that.