Best NHL All-Star Team: Los Angeles Kings Edition

(Via @UnlimitedSport5)

Forwards

The first selection is an easy one for me and he’s going to be our first (notice I didn’t say top?) line center and that selection is non-other than the legendary Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky.  It’s a “Captain Obvious” style statement here when I say that most teams in the NHL would have killed to have had this guy play for their franchise at some point! (Okay, all teams except the St. Louis Blues, who had him briefly and quickly let him go without giving him a proper chance).

Already the greatest player of all time (in my opinion) when he arrived in Los Angeles in 1988, Wayne Gretzky changed the hockey landscape in California forever and for the better by turning a underachieving misfit franchise into a Stanley Cup contender.  Winning the Hart Trophy for league MVP in 1989 (his first season as a King), Gretzky would also win 3 Art Ross trophies for most points in a season in 1990, 1991 and 1994, as well as scoring 15 goals and 40 points in 24 games to led the Kings to their first Stanley Cup Final in 1993.
Never the tallest, or the strongest, or the fastest player, nobody in hockey history did so much more which in a physical appearance seemed so much less, than the “Great One.”  One intangible that Gretzky oozed of and could never be properly measured was his hockey intelligence and awareness.  As has been said about Gretzky since he was a child, Gretzky’s mind saw the game in a way that a mere mortal could never see or understand.  It was as if he had some type of psychic ability, Gretzky had the natural instincts to see plays before they happened, always be in the right position or always seemed to know where his linemates/teammates (and opposing checkers and enforcers) were at all times without even having to look with his own eyes to see if they were actually there! Somehow he just knew!  Gretzky’s career stats are mind-boggling as he literally broke every major NHL scoring record like it was no big deal.  There will only ever be one Wayne Gretzky and he is the perfect candidate to lead our Los Angeles Kings All-Star team to the ice as the Captain.

As great as Gretzky was though, he will need some help so to keep chemistry alive here I am filling out his line with 2 players that had a major hand in helping him take the Kings from pretenders to contenders.  In the 8 or so seasons that Gretzky played for the Kings, he had been partnered with many different players and combinations (from Bernie Nicholls to Vladimir Tsyplakov) but the one combination I thought he had the most success with was when he had Luc Robitaille on his left and Tomas Sandstrom on his right.
What more needs to be said about Luc Robitaille that hasn’t already been said?  A Hall of Famer, Luc is the highest scoring left winger in NHL history with 668 goals, as well as the highest goal scorer in franchise history with 557 goals.  Luc was really the first ever player to be drafted and fully developed by the Los Angeles Kings that went on to have a Hall of Fame career as a member of the Kings! (what a concept!) This selection is an obvious no brainer.

Tomas Sandstrom was a speedy, reliable and consistent scoring threat that had immediate chemistry with both the “Great One” and Robitaille.  Unjustly underrated, one of the biggest sins (and there were many) that the King’s organization did was trading away Sandstrom in 1994 (they also sinned by trading Robitaille away at the end of the 1994 season as well) when he was still in his prime and could have provided some more timely goals for a King’s team that still luckily had Wayne Gretzky on its roster while entering a  very dark and cold era (1994-1997).  With Robitaille and Sandstrom reunited on Gretzky’s wings, our “Best of the Best” All-Star Kings team is already becoming a force to be reckoned with.

Now who plays on the next line? If we are to keep chemistry in place with legendary Los Angeles Kings All-Stars that already have great experience playing together than look no further than the first great line that this Kingdom had ever seen, The Triple Crown line!

Starting off playing Center is Marcel Dionne.  A powerhouse scoring force at only 5’8, Dionne scored an astounding 1, 307 points as a King for a team that lacked a crippling amount of depth and heart.  If he had been selected first overall at the 1971 draft by the Montreal Canadiens, instead of them picking Guy Lafleur and had played on that same all-star 1970’s Montreal Canadiens powerhouse team that Lafleur did, I have no doubt in my mind that he would have scored an average of 65 goals and 150 points a year. He would then have broken the goal scoring record at the time of 801 career NHL goals by Gordie Howe before Gretzky came along and accomplished it himself.  Let’s not even mention how many Stanley Cups Dionne would’ve won too if he was on that team as well?  Sadly, Marcel never got to even get a close sniff of the Cup but what he lacked in Stanley Cup rings, he had in the talent as the heart and soul of a young Los Angeles King’s expansion franchise. Whether scoring highlight-reel goals in bunches, setting up a play or helping develop young players who just came into the fold, Marcel Dionne was a tiny man with a giant heart and skill that was second to none.

The next “Triple Crown Line” player is right-wing Dave Taylor, who was drafted by the Kings 210th overall in 1975 and would go on to be a future Captain and general manager of the team. A grinding winger, he still holds the team record for the most goals by a right-winger with 47 and also holds the most career games played for the franchise with 1,111.

Left wing Charlie Simmer, reached the 56 goal mark twice for the Kings in 1980 and 1981.  In that 1980 season, He even came (oh so) close to tying Montreal legend Maurice “Rocket” Richard’s record by scoring 50 goals in the 50 games (Gretzky now holds that record of scoring 50 goals in 39 games!)  Simmer ended up doing it in 51 games which didn’t tie or break any records but is still an amazing accomplishment.  As a cherry on top of that 1980 season, Simmer also still holds the NHL record of having a 32.75 shooting percentage!

Together, the “Triple Crown Line” was an unstoppable force, especially in 1981 when all 3 members of the line had over 100 points each! (Dionne with 135, Taylor with 112 and Simmer with 105!)  Sadly the rest of the Los Angeles Kings team of that era weren’t as unstoppable and the Kings never got past the second round of the playoffs. Luckily for us, our “best of all time” All-Star Kings team won’t have that problem and would only benefit largely from a reunion of Dionne, Taylor and Simmer.

We are going to today’s modern (Golden) era for our next line.  Starting at center is Slovenia’s (and our) favorite son, Anze Kopitar.  Having “Kopi” be on this team is another magnificent no brainer of a decision.  He can provide both offense and defense of the highest quality by playing a complete 200 foot game.  He led the Stanley Cup playoffs twice in scoring with 20 points (tied with Dustin Brown) in 2012 and 26 points in 2014.  I believe by the time his career ends Kopitar may end up becoming the most complete player the Los Angeles Kings will have ever had.  Whether its scoring the game winner in overtime in the Stanley Cup final or keeping the top centers of the NHL in line with his defensive capabilities, “Kopi” is a must have on any LA King’s team.

To his right will be the versatile Jeff Carter, who’s breakout skating ability and sniping abilities, along with his talent by being able to play any of the 3 forward positions and the surprise development that he can play effective defense too will make him another added threat to our all-star team.  Carter seems to bring out his best when the pressure is on and look no further than his performances in the last 3 Stanley Cup playoffs, plus with Team Canada for the Sochi winter Olympics.
Carter is also credited with scoring the actual Stanley Cup winning goal in the 2012 final and did it without ever bringing any deserved attention onto himself.  When the going gets tough, Carter gets going … and always looks super cool while doing it.

On “Kopi’s” left will be the leader of 2 Stanley Cup championship teams, Dustin Brown.  Brown, as mentioned before, tied Kopitar with 20 points to lead the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs.  He is not only the first and only Captain in Los Angeles King’s history to lead the franchise to a Stanley Cup victory but to do it twice, Brown is also the first American born player as Captain to do so in the NHL as well!  A powerful hitter and expert agitator, Brown was born with the natural skill to annoy everyone on the opposing team which gets them off of their game (like Shane Doan) and into enough of a rage that they feel the need to take penalties (like Shane Doan).  Brown, also comes up clutch in key playoff situations such as decking Henrik Lundqvist out of his goalie shorts, scoring a beautiful tip in during double overtime or coming up with 3 huge points (1 goal and 2 assists) in the deciding game for the Stanley Cup, Dustin Brown knows what it takes to win and how to get it done.

The final forward line was a tough one for me to decide.  After much self-debating, intense back and forth pacing, and King Kong like aggression and chest pounding, I decided to stick with chemistry instead of assembling a line with players from different eras.  I chose the line of Ziggy Palffy, Jason Allison and Adam Deadmarsh from the 2001-2004(ish) era.  Very dominant while they were healthy, the sad part was they were barely ever healthy and all 3 players suffered major injuries that cut their careers short.  Still, when healthy and together, they were fun to watch and they were the only real hope we had as Kings fans in the early 2000 era.

Whether it was Allison’s 6’3 frame winning face offs, Palffy’s exciting and lightning fast offensive rushes or Deadmarsh’s nose for scoring game winning goals, this forward line will complete our team.  We have the luxury and power to bring these players back and have them play together again. They deserve a second chance…well for a Kings fan fantasy team at least.

Since I’m building a 25 man roster, I still have 2 spots remaining for our forwards.  I am picking 2014 Conn Smythe Trophy Winner, Mr. Game 7 himself, Justin Williams and the player with the King’s record of scoring 70 goals in one season (in 1988-89) and the inventor of the swinging “Pumper Nicholl” fist pump Bernie Nicholls.