The Los Angeles Kings once again appear poised to make their first run at a Stanley Cup championship since 1993, when the only Kings squad ever to make the Finals fell to the Montreal Canadiens.

Born of the NHL's great expansion in 1967, the Los Angeles Kings have forged a wonderful history, almost single-handedly carrying hockey's banner with great pride until other "Sun Belt" franchises started to arrive in the early 1990s.

Over the years, the Kings have boasted some of the greatest players ever to play the game. There was the "Great One" himself, Wayne Gretzky, who helped sell the game big-time in Los Angeles from 1988 to 1996.

So great was Gretzky's influence in Los Angeles that the National Hockey League gave him the Lester Patrick Trophy in 1994 for "outstanding service to hockey in the United States."

But before Gretzky, there were many great players - including some destined for the Hall of Fame - who skated for the Kings. Goalkeepers Terry Sawchuk and Rogie Vachon, defensemen Larry Murphy and Rob Blake, and forwards Marcel Dionne, Dave Taylor, Charlie Simmer, Butch Goring, Bernie Nicholls and Luc Robitaille, among others, would make any All-Star Team a proud one. Buy Los Angeles Kings Tickets.