Los Angeles Kings: The Quietest Dynasty

If you only paid attention to the NHL through its marketing campaigns you probably wouldn’t know who the Los Angeles Kings are. You would get a steady dose of Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, sprinkle in some Patrick Kane and Steven Stamkos, and top it off with the New York Rangers and similar national draws and you’d have your league – of about ten teams. And no, the Kings wouldn’t likely be one of them. And that’s a crying shame because they may just have one of the best two-way players in the game and two of the last three Stanley Cups have spent the summer in LA.

The Kings have been unquestionably the leagues best team since head coach Darryl Sutter took over in the middle of the 2011-12 campaign and has guided the Kings to a 98-57-24 regular season record since. The irony is that the Kings have never won a division title during this stretch, only finishing as high as second during the strike shortened season of 2012-13 when they fell to the Blackhawks in the conference finals. Apparently finishing third in the division bring good karma and Cup rings.

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What the Kings have certainly not been during their run is an offensive juggernaut. The last three years the Kings have finished 29th, 10th, and 26th in the league in goals for. Anze Kopitar has certainly not been the problem. Kopitar is probably the best player in the league you never knew existed, going for nearly a point per game over the last three seasons. Beyond that when taking the strike shortened campaign out of the equation the Kings have had a player finish the year with over 50 points a mere three times. Those would be annual playoff monster Justin Williams (59), captain Dustin Brown (54), and Jeff Carter (50). To put this in perspective last season the historically bad Buffalo Sabres did not have a player finish with over 50 points. And yet the Kings hoisted Lord Stanley again. Even after adding Marian Gaborik for extra punch, it doesn’t make sense why they should be so good.

The defense is lead by perennial All-Star Drew Doughty and the current best goalie in the game in Jonathan Quick. Beyond that the casual fan wouldn’t know any of the players on the blue line. But somehow Sutter gets this team to play with and for each other in a system that is so sound and playoff proven that any robust offensive production is left to die on the vine. They trust their goaltender and each other and believe that there is no hill they can’t climb together. They are the toughest out in the NHL right now when it comes to the playoffs – an argument you won’t hear countered in San Jose.

And that’s why I won’t bet against them this season either. As someone that has followed hockey for nearly 30 years I still can’t put my finger on why a team like the Kings are so good when it matters most. It defies all logic and reason. I had them going out to the Sharks last year in the first round in seven games. And the last two full seasons have ended the same in LA – with a parade. Chicago may have more name talent and perhaps more talent top to bottom on the roster, and they will remain the only real credible threat in the West to the Kings winning their third Stanley Cup in four years.

I’m just not betting against them anymore. The Los Angeles Kings are going to become the first back-to-back Cup champs since the Detroit Red Wings in 1997-98. What we are witnessing may be the quietest run of dominance in sports in recent memory which is remarkable considering the size of the LA market. After the Los Angeles Kings win the Cup this year, maybe this team will get the credit they deserve for the dynasty they have created. In a time of parity, the Kings are the nail you just can’t pound down.

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