Rob Blake : Los Angeles Kings Hero or Villain?

(Courtesy of @AbbeyMastracco)

***To view this slideshow click through the numbers after the last paragraph***

Today at the Staples Center, before the game against the rival Anaheim Ducks, the Los Angeles Kings are going to host a ceremony to retire the jersey “#4″ with a banner in tribute to current Kings’ assistant general manager, former Kings’ player and team Captain Rob Blake. The jersey number will be the sixth in Kings’ history to be retired and will hang beside the other 5 retired numbers that include the legendary names of Wayne “The Great One” Gretzky (arguably the greatest player to ever play the game, so great in fact that his iconic #99 was also retired league wide) and the highest scoring left winger in NHL history (and current Kings’ President of business operations) Luc Robitaille (#20).  Also retired and just as important are the numbers of three Los Angeles Kings pioneers, who’s hard work and talent paved the way to put LA on the hockey map.  They are goaltender Rogie Vachon (#30) , former player and GM of the Kings Dave Taylor (#18) and one of the most underrated goal scorers and forwards in league history, Triple Crown line leader and Hall of Famer, Marcel Dionne (#16).  Blake’s retired number will be in the company of the higher echelon of Los Angeles Kings royalty something that I like to call the “Royal Five.”

To this day, when Gretzky, Robitaille (as mentioned still works for the Kings), Dionne and Vachon are in town they all still receive a Hero’s welcome. Dave Taylor, who was beloved as a Kings’ player as part of the famed Triple Crown line (with
Marcel Dionne and Charlie Simmer) had ended up losing a lot of fan love after things didn’t end well with his reign as general manager back in 2006 (a year I call “The Great Collapse”).  In recent years though, it seems that he has regained a lot of the lost affection and is back into the hearts of the loyal fan base. And why not?  As the GM he did draft Dustin Brown (2003) and Anze Kopitar (2005) after all.
All 5 of these legendary Kings players are secured in the deepest and affectionate corners in every Los Angeles Kings’ fans heart…but is Rob Blake? Now, that’s a debate that’s been raging on for years!

The majority of the fan base who witnessed these events seem to be split on their true feelings towards Blake and it stems from 2 heartbreaking moments that some refuse to forgive him for, while others have fully forgiven him and have now done so more than once.  So here begs the question.  What is Rob Blake in the hearts and eyes of LA Kings fans?  A hero or a villain?

Before a kid from London, ON, Canada by the name of Drew Doughty showed up and helped the Los Angeles Kings win the long sought after (and at times mythical) Stanley Cup twice, Rob Blake was considered the greatest defensemen in Kings’ history (and to some he may still be). He still holds the club records for the most career goals (161), most career assists (333) and career points (494) by a defenseman.  Whether Drew Doughty ends up breaking all these records or not isn’t the point, Rob Blake was an important asset that rose to the top of his potential for a franchise that at that time (and this season) had mostly shady defense at best.

Drafted by the Kings 70th overall in the 1988 NHL entry draft, Blake played 11 straight seasons with the Kings and 13 overall. The original 11 year stretch included the exciting 1993 run to the Stanley Cup Finals (the first in franchise history). A 1998 Norris Trophy award win for best defenseman of the year (also a club first and the same trophy that Drew Doughty has been badly salivating from his mouth to win) and a 5 year stint as the team’s Captain that started in 1996 after previous Captain Wayne Gretzky was (poorly) traded to the St. Louis Blues.

Another positive side note is while as a King, Blake was selected to play for his country Canada for both the 1996 World Cup of Hockey and the 1998 Nagano Olympic games.  Two short but intensly competitive tournaments that had the best of the best playing against each other for their native countries with international glory (and bragging rights) on the line.  As a long time Canadian Los Angeles Kings fan, any Kings player getting selected to play for my home country has always brought me immense pride.  To be honest and fair, I even feel pride for any non-Canadian Kings player if they were selected to whatever home country team they would belong too (Like Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown, Jonathan Quick and Slava Voynov were for their respected countries at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic games).  Blake was selected because he was considered one of the best of the best and the fact he was a Kings player (and Captain) only made me even more proud.
Though Blake did suffer a long list of injuries that would sometimes put him on the shelf for very long periods of time, when he returned he was right back to being a star player and leader for the Kings.  Opposing teams feared whenever he was on the ice due to his rushing offense or his powerful and vicious (but legal) hip checks.  Hip Checks that inspired fellow Kings fan Drew Doughty when growing up (as told to LA Kings insider Jon Rosen),

“Yeah, he had that big hip check that I kind of do as well. He was good defensively, then put up a lot of points offensively. He won a Stanley Cup. He won a gold medal I think and he won a Norris and I still want to win that Norris.”

Rob Blake’s incredible play and skill set made him an important member of the Los Angeles Kings. When adding his total career accomplishments and numbers, he was in my opinion a “shoe in” to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, which finally happened last year on November 17th.  It was well deserved and earned, but does any of this make Rob Blake a true Los Angeles Kings hero?

Basing on everything from the start of his NHL career from 1988 to the point of February 2001, he was indeed a Los Angeles Kings hero and was deservedly treated as one.  If his NHL career had somehow ended abruptly and permanently at the end of the 2001 season and as a member of the Kings, then his hero status would never have been debated or doubted.  But his career didn’t end in 2001, nor did the season end with Rob Blake as a LA King.  This controversial departure from the Kings was a betrayal of the highest order to most Kings’ fans.  It was a metaphorical knife being stabbed into their unsuspecting backs.  Things only got worse in very short time, as the backstabbing knife now started to violently twist so the wound couldn’t quickly heal.  These events arguably shadow all of Blake’s previous accomplishments as a King or more specifically made Blake fall from a hero….to a villain.