You don’t expect an undrafted Canadian player to do much in the National Hockey League, but Steve Duchesne had other ideas.
Duchesne signed with Los Angeles in 1984 and made the Kings two years later after two seasons in the Minors. In his first year in the NHL, the Defenseman surprised the hockey world with a 38 Point year and an All-Rookie Selection. Duchesne progressed into one of the better offensive Defenseman of the game, and he secured 55 Points as a sophomore, which he grew to 75 the year after, which netted him his first All-Star Game appearance.
Duchesne was an All-Star again in 1990, scoring 62 Points, a mark he would reach again the following year. The Kings elected to retool, and he was traded to Los Angeles in a transaction that reunited Wayne Gretzky and Jari Kurri. Duchesne returned as a Free Agent in 1998 but did not complete the season because he was traded to Philadelphia again.
As a King, Duchesne played 442 Games, scoring 315 Points with a Plus/Minus of +50.
Bouncing between the minors and the Kings through his first two seasons, Goring showed a lot of potential in this period, and in 1971, his days in the secondary league were over.
Goring scored 50 Points in 1971-72, increasing it to 59 and 61 the next two years with a 60-Point year as the follow-up. Even in the 1970s, Goring was small, listed at 5' 9", and 170 pounds, but likely was smaller than that. Goring took his game to a higher level with the increased ice time, alternating 70-plus and 80-plus Point years over the next five years. The hockey writers noticed the cleanliness of his play, as it took until 1978-79 before he had double digits in Penalty Minutes. Goring won the Lady Byng Trophy in 1978 and was also awarded the Bill Masterton Trophy, a testament to his high output despite his small frame.
Goring was traded to the New York Islanders late in the 1979/80 Season, where he proved to be the final piece of the puzzle for the team that won four straight Stanley Cups.
With the Kings, Goring scored 659 Points with only 66 Penalty Minutes in 736 Games.
Charlie Simmer began his career with the California Seals, and after a brief period with the Cleveland Barons, he found himself with Los Angeles. After playing most of the 1977-78 Season in the Minors, Simmer split the following year with Springfield (AHL) and L.A., but the Left Wing established himself with 48 Points in 37 Games, and he was never demoted again.
Simmer was now on a line with Marcel Dionne and Dave Taylor, the famed "Triple Crown Line." In 1979-80, Simmer led the NHL in Goals with 56 and Power Play Goals (21). He was named a First Team All-Star and was so again in the year after, when he repeated his light-lamping output with 56.
Simmer could not reproduce the magic of those two years, though he did have an 80 Point campaign in 1982-83 with a 92 Point follow-up in 1983-84. The Kings traded Simmer to the Bruins very early in the 1984-85 Season, and Simmer left the L.A. with 466 Points in 384 Games.
Kelly Hrudey already had his share of playoff heroics before he became a Los Angeles King. He recorded 73 Saves in the quadruple overtime win over Washington in Game 7 of the 1987 Patrick Division Semi-Finals. He earned a chance to go deeper into the postseason when he was traded to L.A. in 1989.
Hrudey was a King for eight years, and during some of those years, he could be classified as one of the better Goalies in the NHL. In 1990-91, he had a sub-three GAA and was fourth in Vezina voting. Hrudey followed that with another top-ten finish in Vezina voting, but the year after, he backstopped L.A. to the Cup Finals. The Kings did not win, but Hrudey had an excellent post-season, but it was not good enough to defeat Patrick Roy of the Montreal Canadiens.
Hrudey remained with the Kings until he joined San Jose as a Free Agent and would have a record of 145-135-55 with a 3.47 GAA.