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 whose 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. retired his number 23 the following year.  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. As he got older, he continued to provide 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.

Jonathan Quick played the first fifteen years plus of his career in the National Hockey League with the Los Angeles Kings, a team that he backstopped to two Stanley Cups (2012 & 2014).

Quick won the starting job in 2008, and in five different seasons, he appeared in between the pipes 60 times.  Twice an All-Star, Quick was outstanding in 2011-12, finishing second in Vezina voting, netting a Second Team All-Star nod while posting a sparkling 1.95 GAA.  Quick was even better in the playoffs, winning his first Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe when he had a 1.41 GAA and .946 Save Percentage.  He was also the Goalie of record in Los Angeles' second Stanley Cup in 2014.  He also won two William M. Jennings Trophies while wearing the crown.

The rebuilding Kings traded Quick to Columbus (who packaged him to Vegas a day later) in the 2022/23 Season, and whether or not you think that he was the best Goalie in franchise history, there is no question that he is the most successful.