Two Stanley Cup titles among top 10 moments
For the first time since it opened in 1999, the sports venue in downtown Los Angeles will have a name other than Staples Center. Starting Saturday, it will be known as Crypto.com Arena as part of a 20-year deal between the Singapore cryptocurrency exchange and AEG.
To commemorate the end of an era, our writers have compiled their top 10 Staples Center moments for each of the teams — the Lakers, Clippers, Sparks and Kings — that have called the building home since it opened in 1999.
Today: the Kings
June 11, 2012
The Kings won the Stanley Cup, earning their first championship since the franchise was born in 1967. They entered the playoffs as the eighth (and last) seed but lost only two games in the first three rounds and finished off the New Jersey Devils in six games in the Cup Final. Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs after their Cup-clinching 6-1 victory.
Jan. 19, 2013
The delayed raising of the Kings’ first Stanley Cup banner into the rafters at Staples Center. The 2012-13 season started later than usual because NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman had locked players out while the league and the players union negotiated a new labor agreement. In their first game as defending Cup champions, the Kings lost to the Chicago Blackhawks 5-2.
June 13, 2014
The Kings won their second Stanley Cup championship. This title run was tougher than the first: They had to erase a 3-0 deficit to beat the San Jose Sharks in the first round, then rallied past the Ducks in seven games in the second round and outlasted the Blackhawks in seven games in the Western Conference finals. They defeated the New York Rangers in the Cup Final in five games, with Alec Martinez’s goal at 14:43 of the second sudden-death overtime period sparing them a trip back to New York. Justin Williams was voted the playoff MVP.
Dec. 22, 2011
Darryl Sutter made his debut as Kings coach, five days after he was hired to replace Terry Murray. Sutter’s tough-love, defense-first approach helped the Kings take the final step to Stanley Cup contention. He won his first game behind the bench, a 3-2 shootout victory over the Ducks at Staples Center.
Oct. 9, 2002
The Kings retired Wayne Gretzky’s No. 99 and unveiled a statue of him outside the arena. The NHL had retired Gretzky’s number leaguewide in 1999, when he retired as a player, but he delayed the Kings’ plans to honor him until former team owner Bruce McNall — who had pleaded guilty to charges of bank fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy — was out of prison and could attend the ceremony.
Jan. 13, 2018
A statue of play-by-play announcer Bob Miller was unveiled outside the arena, and a banner with his name and the image of a microphone was raised on the wall alongside the banners honoring retired players. Miller, winner of the Hockey Hall of Fame’s Foster Hewitt award in 2000, retired in 2017 after 44 years as a Kings broadcaster.
April 18, 2001
In a game later called “The Frenzy on Figueroa,” the seventh-seeded Kings erased a three-goal deficit in the third period against the powerful, No. 2-seeded Detroit Red Wings and won in overtime on a goal by Eric Belanger. That tied their first-round playoff series at 2-2. Five days later, also at Staples Center, the Kings eliminated Detroit in six games thanks to Adam Deadmarsh’s overtime goal. However, the Kings lost to the Colorado Avalanche in the next round.
March 22, 2014
Quick stopped 24 shots by the Florida Panthers to earn his 172nd victory as a King, breaking the previous franchise record of 171 wins by a goaltender that had been set by Hall of Famer Rogie Vachon.
Jan. 20, 2007
The Kings retired the No. 20 jersey of Luc Robitaille, whose scoring touch took him from being a dubious prospect (he was drafted in the ninth round in 1984) to a Hall of Fame member. He holds the NHL record for points by a left wing, 1,394. A statue of him was placed outside the arena on March 7, 2015.
May 7, 2021
The Kings held a ceremony on ice to honor center Anze Kopitar for reaching 1,000 career points. The Slovenia native was the fourth player in franchise history to hit 1,000 points as a King, following Marcel Dionne, Dave Taylor and Robitaille.