Top 10 LA Kings Forwards of All-Time

3 – Marcel Dionne – 1975 to 1987

In my opinion, the greatest player to have never won the Stanley Cup, or to have ever played in the final. Marcel Dionne was an offensive force to be reckoned with while playing for less than stellar teams in his Hall of Fame career. Selected 2nd overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the 1971 NHL entry draft after being snubbed by Montreal for Guy Lafleur, this French-Canadian phenom was already a star by scoring 139 goals, 227 assists and 366 points,  before truly making his mark in the sport of hockey after (requesting to) being traded to the Kings in 1975. Dionne was an instant success. Short in height at 5 ft 8, the “Little Beaver” made up for it in with his elite level scoring and playmaking skills. Never more so than when on the “Triple Crown line” with Taylor and Simmer, wherein 1980-81 the fearsome threesome combined for 328 points to become the first line in NHL history to have each player scoring 100 points (or more) during the same season. Which was great timing due to Los Angeles hosting that year’s NHL All-Star Game at the Forum, and the entire line was deservedly selected to participate. Dionne scored 550 goals for the Kings in his 12 seasons in the Kingdom, (which was the franchise record until some kid by the name of Luc Robitaille came along), and is still the leader for the Kings’ all-time records for 1,307 points, 757 assists, 369 even strength goals, 3851 shots and 24 hat tricks (and remember, he did this all with an overall poor Los Angeles Kings’ franchise. Imagine if Montreal had selected him instead of Lafleur, and Dionne got to play with that 1970’s Montreal all-star team around him??? They would have won the Stanley Cup 10 times or more instead of the 7 that they won that decade! Hahaha, suckerssssss!!!) Dionne, of course, was part of the epic “Miracle on Manchester” series against the heavily favored Edmonton Oilers in 1982, and even defeated Gretzky by winning the Art Ross Trophy over him in 1980, (by a technicality sure, as the Trophy should have been shared as they both had the same amount of points, but still). Dionne was traded (by request again) to the NY Rangers after having a falling out with then head coach Pat Quinn, but not before helping to nurture three young rookies that made the main roster that season in Jimmy Carson, Steve Duchesne, and Robitaille. Even near the end of his rope, Dionne still scored 31 goals and 65 points in 67 games for New York during the 1987-88 season, but soon retired after 1988-89. He finished with a career total of 731 goals, 1,040 assists and 1, 7771 regular season points! (Btw, Lafleur finished with a lower career total of only 560 goals, 793 assists, and 1,353 points. Sure he also won the Stanley Cup five times, the Hart Trophy twice, the Art Ross Trophy three times and the Conn Smythe Trophy in 1977… BUT… like I mentioned previously, he also played for one of the greatest, if not the greatest assembled NHL team of all time, the 1970’s Montreal Canadiens, who were stacked with elite talent and future Hall of Famers from top to bottom! Hell, even behind the bench and in management! Dionne didn’t have that luxury in LA but he didn’t need it either as his numbers were already Hall of Fame worthy, as he hit the 50 goal mark with LA six times! It just goes to show what an immaculate talent our Dionne was! And the Kingdom was blessed and grateful for it!) Also when Dionne retired, he finished second overall in goals, assists, and points, just behind the leader at the time Gordie Howe, and was only behind the legendary “Mr. Hockey” by 70 goals, 9 assists, and 79 points! (Until some kid by the name of Wayne Gretzky came along and set the NHL record book on fire! Also, btw, LaFleur was nowhere close to the Top 2! Just saying! Wooooo!) Dionne was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1992 and if anyone reading this had selected Marcel as their number 1 in their Top 10 Kings’ forward list, I can’t argue with that at all. In fact, anyone one of the top three players I have selected can easily be placed in that Top 10 spot. Side note – If any of you out there have an opportunity to meet and talk to the legendary Dionne, please do so! He LOVES to talk and will tell you some amazing stories about his time in LA and more! DO IT! DO IT! DO IT! It’s a must!

(photo credit to Theresa Walsh-Duarte)

Best Regular Season with the Kings – 1980-81, (there was sooo many to choose from!)

• 80 games, 58 goals, 77 assists, 135 points, plus-55, 23 power-play goals and 9 game-winning goals.

Best Playoffs with the Kings – 1977

• 9 games, 5 goals, 9 assists, 14 points and 1 game-winning goal.

Career Total with the Kings

• Regular Season – 921 games, 550 goals, 757 assists, 1,307 points, plus-106 and 122 power-play goals.
• Playoffs – 43 games, 20 goals, 23 assists and 43 points.

Awards and Achievements with the Kings

• 1980 Art Ross Trophy Winner
• 1979, 1980 Lester B. Pearson Award (now known as the Ted Lindsay Award)
• 1977 Lady Byng Trophy Winner
• 1978, 1981, 1982, 1985 NHL All-Star Game
• 1976 Canada Cup (while as a member of the Kings)
• Named Best Forward at 1978 IIHF World Championships (while as a member of the Kings)
• Jersey number #16 retired by the Kings
• Hockey Hall of Fame