The Pacific Coast NHL Hockey League had many teams in the Southern California area, and minor pro hockey found success there. However, the lack of a major arena in the area was the main factor in the National Hockey League's decision before the Sixties to not expand to Los Angeles.

When the PCHL threatened to turn itself into a major league and compete for the Hockey Stanley Cup, the Canadian entrepreneur Jack Kent Cooke paid the NHL $2 million to create a new Hockey team in Los Angeles as one of the expansion teams to be added for the 1967-68 NHL season, and on February 1966, Cooke was awarded a new NHL Hockey franchise, behind his promise to build a new arena for his Hockey team.

The Los Angeles Kings opened the 1967-68 NHL season, their first in the NHL, at the Long Beach Arena on October 1967, defeating the Philadelphia Flyers, 4-2. For the next two months, the Los Angeles Kings played their home games at Long Beach and at the Los Angeles Sports Arena.

Los Angeles Kings crown logo from 1967-88.As for the new arena, Cooke said that the new Hockey team would play in "the most beautiful arena in the world." True to his word, the first home of the Los Angeles Kings, the "Fabulous Forum" in Inglewood, California, opened to rave reviews on December 30, 1967, even though the Los Angeles Kings were shutout by the Flyers, 2-0.

Los Angeles Kings made the Forum their home for the next 32 seasons. Hockey players like Bill "Cowboy" Flett, Eddie "The Jet" Joyal, Eddie "The Entertainer" Shack, and Real "Frenchy" Lemieux assisted introduce the Los Angeles area to the NHL in the team's first few seasons. Such player nicknames were the brainchild of owner Cooke, who felt that colorful nicknames would make hockey more friendly to the Southern California market. Cooke even insisted that his radio and television commentators use the nicknames in preference to the players' given names.

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Kings Team Report (Yahoo! Sports)

Kings general manager Dean Lombardi has talked frequently about the need for his young players to "take ownership" of the team, to feel more responsible for its success and failure. Now, the youngsters won't have any other choice but to lead.

All of last season's designated leadership has disappeared. Team captain Rob Blake signed with San Jose and alternate captains Michael Cammalleri (traded), Scott Thornton (retired) and Lubomir Visnovsky (traded) have also departed.

That leaves the Kings with a major leadership void and not many obvious choices to fill it. Derek Armstrong might inherit the role, but he was skipped over for a leadership position last season and might have to fight for a roster spot this season.

The Kings will hope that a few of their top young...

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