When the NHL decided to expand for the 1967-68 season, Canadian entrepreneur Jack Kent Cooke paid $2 million to place one of the six expansion teams in Los Angeles. Following a fan contest to name the team, Cooke chose the name Kings because he wanted his club to take on "an air of royalty."

"The Triple Crown Line" combined for 328 points in 1980-81, becoming the first line in NHL history where each player scored 100 points or more in the same season.

In 1987, coin collector Bruce McNall purchased the Kings and turned the team into a Stanley Cup contender almost overnight, acquiring the league's best player, Wayne Gretzky, in a blockbuster trade with the Edmonton Oilers on August 9, 1988. The trade rocked the hockey world, especially north of the border, where Canadians mourned the loss of a player they considered a national treasure.

On December 1st, 1988, with two goals and six assists against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Bernie Nicholls became one of only 13 players in NHL history to record an eight-point game.

Robitaille retired after the 2005-06 season as the highest-scoring left winger in NHL history, but he wasn't drafted until the 9th round, 171st overall, of the 1984 NHL Entry Draft. In fact, the Kings drafted future Baseball Hall-of-Famer Tom Glavine in the fourth round, over 100 spots ahead of Robitaille.

In 2015-16, Jonathan Quick led the NHL in minutes played and finished the season with exactly 40 wins.

Marty "Wayne Gretzky's bodyguard" McSorley's bruising style made him a favorite with Kings fans. In 1992-93, he set a franchise record with 399 minutes in the sin bin.

Bailey, the mascot of the Los Angeles Kings, is a 6-foot lion (6 foot 4 inches with mane included) who wears No. 72 because it is the average temperature in Los Angeles. He was named in honor of Garnet "Ace" Bailey who served as Director of Pro Scouting for seven years before dying in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Rogie Vachon was runner-up for the Vezina Trophy in 1974-75, and he was named to the NHL Second All-Star Team in 1974-75 and 1976-77. He was named the team MVP four times between 1973 and 1977. His number 30 was the first number retired by the Kings, in a ceremony on February 14, 1985, and he has since served in a variety of executive positions within the Kings organization.

In 2012, the Los Angeles Kings defeated the Eastern Conference playoff champion New Jersey Devils four games to two, capturing the first Stanley Cup title in the team's 45-year history and dealing the Devils just their second Stanley Cup Finals defeat in five appearances.