The Los Angeles Kings was the third team of Jeff Carter’s career, the first being Philadelphia where he was an All-Star in 2009.  The second was Columbus, a team he didn’t play for long, as they traded him at the 2012 deadline to Los Angeles.  Arguably, it was the trade that took the Kings to their first Stanley Cup.

While it can be stated that Carter's best individual seasons were as a Flyer, it was as a King where he had his greatest success.  A natural leader, Carter gave Los Angeles scoring depth and was the leading goal-scorer (8) in the 2012 playoffs.  Carter led the NHL in Game-Winning Goals the following year (8), and again he was a potent force in Los Angeles' 2014 Stanley Cup win.

Following that title, Carter put forth three consecutive 60-Point campaigns, culminating with an All-Star appearance in 2017.  Carter slowed down after that and was dealt to Pittsburgh late in the 2020-21 season.

As a King, Carter scored 383 Points.

Bernie Nicholls might be one of the most potent scorers you forgot entirely about.

There is ample reason for it.  First off, Nicholls was overshadowed by Marcel Dionne and later Wayne Gretzky.  As many Points as the Center scored for L.A. (758), he did most of this on the second line, an impressive feat.  Nicholls was with the Kings throughout the 1990s, scoring over 75 Points seven years in a row (1983-84 to 1989-90), with three of those years seeing Nicholls exceed 100 Points.  

Nicholls had a special year for Los Angeles in 1988/89, where he joined the rare 70 Goal, 150 Point club, which again was incredible for a second line player.  He was fifth in Assists and fourth in Points this year, and his 70 Goals remain the highest amount ever by a King in a season.

Nicholls, who was named to his third All-Star Game appearance in 1990, was traded the day before the contest to the New York Rangers, as Kings ownership felt Nicholls might have been a little soft, and they thought it best to change the makeup of the team.  Nicholls scored 658 Points for Los Angeles with a 1.25 PPG.

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.