A two-time Stanley Cup Champion with Montreal, Rogie Vachon was traded to the Los Angeles Kings one Game into the 1971-72 Season, and it was a King where Vachon cemented his Hall of Fame resume.

Vachon's first year in L.A. was not very good, but he was easily the best player that the Kings had his next four years.  In 1974-75 and 1976-77, Vachon was a Second Team All-Star and a Finalist for the Hart in both years.   Had it not been for the greatness of Ken Dryden, he would have been a First Team All-Star at least twice. On the strength of Vachon, the Kings made the playoffs five times, and while they were not serious contenders, the fact that they made the post-season at all was because of Rogie.

The Los Angeles days of Vachon ended when he signed with the Red Wings in 1978, and Vachon gave them 171 Wins against 148 Losses and 66 Ties.  In 1985, The Kings made him the first player in franchise history to have his number retired when number 30 was taken out of circulation.

Vachon was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2016.

When the Los Angeles Kings drafted Rob Blake with the 70^th Overall Pick in 1988, they likely did not say internally that they drafted a player who would be one of the best Defensemen and prolific leaders in the game's history, but that is what they acquired.  Blake, who was playing at Bowling Green when he was chosen, remained with the Falcons for another two years before joining the Kings at the tail end of the 1989-90 Season, giving Blake a taste of what he could do in an entire season. 

Blake was an All-Rookie with 46 Points, and though he slipped to 20 Points the following year, he rebounded with 59 and 68 Points, respectively, the latter being a career-high and enough to earn him his first All-Star Game appearance.  The Canadian was beset with injuries over the next two years, and Blake only appeared in 30 Games.  Still recovering, Blake had 31 Points in the 1996-97 Season, which was good, but nothing to make you think that he would rise to the upper-tier of Defenseman.  Everything was about to change in 1997.

Blake was healthy, and he scored an even 50 Points with a career-high 23 Goals.  Not only that, his attention to his end of the ice improved, and along with his grit and aggression, Blake became one of the most complete players in the league.  He won the Norris Trophy and was a First Team All-Star, making Blake the first Kings blueliner to earn those honors.  He continued his momentum, scoring 59 Points in 1999-2000, and was a Second Team All-Star.  Blake was on route to another 50-Point Season the following year, but it was destined to be split between two teams.

Although Blake was an incredible player, the team around him wasn’t, and the Kings went into rebuilding mode, trading away Blake to the powerful Colorado Avalanche.  Blake helped the Avalanche win the Stanley Cup, and he earned Second Team All-Star accolades that year.  Blake returned as a Free Agent to L.A. four years later, playing two more years in a Kings uniform before departing to San Jose to close his career.

In his second year of eligibility, Blake entered the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2014, and his no.4 was retired by Los Angeles.

Dustin Brown is one of those players where the traditional stat line does not tell the story.

A former First Round Pick (13^th Overall), Brown made it to the Kings in his first year in pro hockey, and he has been praised for his grit, tenacity, and leadership ever since.  A genius at drawing penalties, Brown is not a natural scorer, but he has achieved seven 50-plus Point seasons over his career, with 712 Points in total.   

Brown was the team captain in the Kings' wins in the 2012 and 2014 Stanley Cups, especially in 2012, where he was the playoff leader in Goals (8), Assists (12), Points (20), and Plus/Minus (16).  Brown also had three Game-Winning Goals in the playoffs.  Naturally, Brown won the Mark Messier Leadership Award in 2014.

He played with the Kings until 2022, when he retired after an 18-year career, and L.A. would retire his number 23 the year after.  Brown may never make the Hockey Hall of Fame, but the story of the Los Angeles Kings can not be written without him.  

Dave Taylor played college hockey with Clarkson University, where he became the institution’s all-time leading scorer.  As Clarkson is not known for their Hockey prowess, Taylor was a low pick (210^th Overall in 1975) but continued to improve.  Playing two more years at Clarkson, Taylor joined the Kings, which became the only NHL team in his career.

Taylor had 91 Points in his sophomore season and 90 in his third.  The Right Wing would join Marcel Dionne and Charlie Simmer on what became Los Angeles's famed "Triple Crown Line," resulting in back-to-back 100-Point campaigns.  In Taylor's best year, 1980-81, he had career-highs in Points (112), Goals (47) and was named a Second Team All-Star.

Taylor remained a potent scorer, cracking 90 Points for the fifth time in 1984-85, and as he got older, he still provided depth and leadership, so much so that in 1991, he won both the King Clancy and Bill Masterton Memorial Trophies.

Taylor retired after the 1993-94 Season, and he remains the lowest drafted NHL player in the 1,000 Point Club.  The Kings gave him the ultimate honor in 1995 when they retired his number 18.