Top 10 LA Kings Forwards of All-Time

6 – Jeff Carter – 2012 to present 

Remember when Carter was only known as a sniper, while Mike Richards was deemed the best of the two players? Man, have times changed. Accused of being lazy and a one-dimensional style player while playing with the Philadelphia Flyers and Columbus Blue Jackets, Jeff Carter transformed himself in Los Angeles into one of the best leaders and players that the franchise has ever had. Though Carter never scored over 40 goals with the Kings, as he did with Philadelphia, “El Jefe”, instead evolved into a well rounded player who could score, set up goals, forecheck, backcheck, win face-offs, contribute on the power-play AND the penalty kill, while leading the team vocally or by example on and off the ice, and replacing Richards as the Kings’ second line center after spending most of his career playing on the wings. Jeff has become the jack (or Jeff) of all trades. He also scored the Stanley Cup-winning goal for the Kings in game 6 of the 2012 Cup Final and helped groom two rookies into Stanley Cup winning stars with Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson, (aka “That 70’s Line,” – full credit to the ‘Royal Half’ for creating that awesome nickname), a trio that is still giving Chicago’s Corey Crawford plenty of nightmares to this very day. As a King, Carter (along with teammate Drew Doughty), was selected to represent and won the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics’ Gold Medal with Team Canada, (where Carter led all Canadian forwards including Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toews, John Tavares, Rick Nash and Jamie Benn with 3 goals AND Carter also set up Toews for his Gold Medal winning goal in the Final against Sweden), and was later also selected to be a part of the 2016 World Cup of Hockey Canadian National Team, but Carter had to withdraw due to a hamstring injury. Even last season, when the Kings crashed and burned out of playoff contention, Carter ended up having his best season ever with the Kings! I guess what Mike Richards was supposed to be in theory, is what Jeff Carter actually became in reality, or in another way of thinking, for every dream that Carter helped come true for all Kings’ fans, was a nightmare to every Flyer and Columbus fan. Plus he looks like this.

Best Regular Season with the Kings – 2016-17

• 82 games, 32 goals, 34 assists and 66 points.

Best Playoffs with the Kings – 2014

• 26 games, 10 goals, 15 assists, 25 points and 5 PP goals.

Career Totals with the Kings (not including this season)

• Regular Season – 377 games, 143 goals, 139 assists and 282 points.
• Playoffs – 69 games, 26 goals, 27 assists and 53 points.

Awards and Achievements with the Kings

• 2012, 2014 Stanley Cup
• 2014 Olympic Gold Medal (while as a member of the Kings)
• 2017 NHL All-Star Game