Interview With Former LA King Derek Armstrong

There are a lot of players that are still adored by the Los Angeles Kings’ fan base long after they have retired.  There are the obvious ones of course like Luc Robitaille, Wayne Gretzky, Marcel Dionne, Rogie Vachon and Kelly Hrudey that made their mark and impressions on the Kingdom with their all-star skill and play but Los Angeles isn’t the type of hockey town (and yes damn right it IS a hockey town) that only remembers just the superstars of the sport.  They also have a deep love and admiration for those that had a work ethic that was second to none.  To the players that wore the Los Angeles Kings’ armor with pride and guts while shedding their blood, sweat and tears all over the ice, all in the name of the Kings.  Kings’ fans absolutely adore those type of players, and one player that is a perfect example of that is no other than Derek Armstrong.

Traded to the LA Kings from the New York Rangers on July of 2002, after spending many years in and out of the minors, “Army,” finally found a permanent home in Los Angeles and gave everything he possibly had to the team and more and it was not unrecognized. In time, “Army” became one the most respected and popular players on the team, a respect and popularity that only grew even stronger with time.

I was fortunate enough to recently talk to Derek Armstrong on the phone, (ironically, it was on June 11^th, which is the 4^th year anniversary of when the Kings first won the Stanley Cup, and a day before my birthday which made this long time, die-hard LA Kings’ fan very happy), and we talked about the journey that was his hockey career, and his time as a Los Angeles King.