The Sports Report Hall of Fame, Kings/Ducks edition
Those of you who read the Dodgers Dugout newsletter know that for the last few years, we have done a Dodgers Dugout Hall of Fame, asking readers to vote for former Dodgers whom they believe should be in this more fan-oriented Hall of Fame. Clayton Kershaw was the most recent inductee.
Which got me thinking (always a dangerous thing), what if we had a Sports Report Hall of Fame, as selected by the readers, of people who made a huge impact on the local sports scene?
The way it works: Each Thursday over the next few weeks, you will see a list of candidates. A different category each week.
This week, the category is the NHL (Kings/Ducks). You can vote for up to 10 people. You don’t have to vote for 10, you can vote for any number up to and including 10. Your vote should depend on what the person did on and off the field only as a member of the Kings or Ducks. The rest of their career doesn’t count.
If there’s a name not on here that you think should be, please send me an email so that person can be included in next year’s ballot.
Any records mentioned are at the time that person retired.
Whoever is named on at least 75% of the ballots will be elected. The 10 people receiving the fewest votes will be dropped from future ballots for at least the next two years. A person must be retired as a player to appear on the ballot.
How do you vote? For this week’s ballot, click here. Results will be announced every Tuesday.
So, without further ado, here is the ballot for the Kings/Ducks category.
Rob Blake—Won the Norris Trophy as best defenseman in 1998 with one of the best hip checks in league history. Now the team’s GM.
Dustin Brown—Served as team captain from 2008-2016 and was the first Kings player to ever hoist the Stanley Cup. He finished with 20 points in 20 games that postseason and was probably the toughest, most physical player in Kings history.
Randy Carlyle—Coached the Ducks to their first, and so far only, Stanley Cup title. His 384 games won as coach is by far the most in team history.
Marcel Dionne—Some consider him the greatest King in history. He scored 550 goals and had 1,307 points in 921 games. Led the league with 137 points in 1979-80.
Ryan Getzlaf—The 19th overall selection in the 2003 NHL draft, Getzlaf was a member of the Ducks’ 2007 Stanley Cup title team. Getzlaf is the Ducks’ all-time leader in games played, assists, and points and the all-time playoff leader in goals, assists and points. He led the Ducks in assists twelve times, including a franchise record 66 in 2008–09, and in points eight times.
Jean-Sebastien Giguere—After an amazing run in the 2003 playoffs (Giguere finished the playoffs undefeated in seven overtime games, setting a record for the longest playoff overtime shutout streak at 168 minutes and 27 seconds and was named MVP despite his team losing in the finals), Giguere was almost as amazing in 2007, when the Ducks won the title
Wayne Gretzky—The greatest hockey player of all time. The hockey world was shocked in August 1988 when he was traded from Edmonton to the Kings. With Gretzky, the Kings reached the Stanley Cup Final for the very first time in 1993. He had had 918 points, scoring 246 goals and getting 672 assists in 539 games with the Kings.
Paul Kariya—Drafted fourth overall in 1993, Kariya formed a formidable 1-2 punch with Teemu Selanne. In Ducks history, he is still third in goals (300), fourth in assists (369) and fourth in points (669).
Anze Kopitar—Just retired, Kopitar is the team’s all-time leader in games, assists and point. He won two Selke Trophies (best defensive forward) and Lady Byng Trophies (sportsmanship). He was also a pivotal player in both of the Kings’ Stanley Cup wins.
Bob Miller—The greatest hockey play-by-play man of all time.
Bernie Nicholls—In the 1988-89 season, he scored a team-record 70 goals and had 80 assists. The 70th goal made him only the ninth player with a 70-goal season in NHL history. Still fifth all-time in goals for the Kings and seventh in assists. And who can forget the “Pumper-Nicholl?”
Nick Nickson—Nickson joined the Kings in 1981, calling games on TV and radio with Bob Miller. When the TV and radio broadcasts were separated in 1990, Nickson became the Kings’ radio play-by-play announcer. Nickson retired at the end of the 2024-25 NHL season. In June 2015, the Hockey Hall of Fame announced that Nickson would be the recipient of the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award, honoring hockey broadcasters.
Scott Niedermayer—One of the greatest offensive-defenseman in history, Niedermayer led the Ducks to the Stanley Cup title in 2007.
Jonathan Quick—One of the two greatest goaltenders in Kings history, and netminder for both their Stanley Cup titles.
Luc Robitaille—The Kings’ all-time leading goal scorer with 557 goals. Robitaille was a fan favorite who scored more than 30 goals 12 times, including 63 in 1992-93.
Teemu Selanne—The Finnish Flash and greatest player in Ducks history. Selanne had 51 goals and 109 points in 1996 and led the NHL in goals in 1997-1998 and 1998-1999. Still leads the Ducks with 457 goals.
Charlie Simmer—Scored 56 goals for the Kings in 1979-80 and 1980-81, leading the NHL in goals in 1979-80. Was the first left wing to have consecutive 100-point seasons.
Darryl Sutter—Coached the Kings to their only two Stanley Cup titles. Team’s all-time leader in wins with 225.
Dave Taylor—Played his entire 17-season career with the Kings, scoring 1,069 points during that time. Scored 100 points twice. Tough, relentless player. Retired and became assistant general manager, then general manager in 1997-98. He drafted Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar and Jonathan Quick among others.
Rogie Vachon—Perhaps the most unappreciated goalie in NHL history and the first great player in Kings history. Second all-time for the Kings behind Quick in games played (389) and wins (171). Elected to the NHL Hall of Fame in 2016.
To vote, click here. You can vote for up to 10. Those named on at least 75% of ballots are elected.
Voting is still open in these categories:
To vote in the UCLA ballot, click here.
To vote in the USC ballot, click here.
To vote in the Rams/Chargers/Raiders ballot, click here.
The inductees so far:
MLB
Don Drysdale
Clayton Kershaw
Sandy Koufax
Vin Scully
Fernando Valenzuela
NBA
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Elgin Baylor
Kobe Bryant
Chick Hearn
Magic Johnson
Jerry West
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.