Rogie Vachon

Rogie Vachon started his career in Montreal where he was on course to become one of yet another in a long list of great Habs netminders. His highest goals-against average with Montreal was a miniscule 2.87. He played a major role in upsetting the Bruins in the 1969 playoffs, as the Canadiens eliminated Bobby Or and the heavily favored Bruins in the semi-finals en route to the second of three Stanley Cup championships Vachon would enjoy while with Montreal.

Vachon looked like he was en route for hockey immortality - tending the nets for the legendary Canadiens, succeeding Gump Worsley and winning Stanley Cups. Then, late in the 1970-71 season, the Canadiens decided to give Rogie a bit of a rest right before the playoffs would start. They called up a promising young goalie to give him some apprentice time with established Vachon. The name of this prospect was Ken Dryden.

Dryden impressed the coaching staff so much that he played in all of the remaining 6 regular season games, only giving up 9 goals. However everyone expected Vachon to be between the pipes for the first playoff game. Much to everyone's surprise, head coach Al MacNeil decided to go with his hot hand, playing a hunch that the rookie wouldn't fold under pressure and at the same time give the Habs a huge advantage as no one had ever seen Dryden before. Dryden would lead the team to the Stanley Cup. Despite helping the Habs to previous championships, Vachon sat on the bench, and the next season was traded to Los Angeles.

Rogie became and still is a hero in Los Angeles, although his California zip code somewhat distanced him from the status of legend he probably should enjoy. He brought instant credibility to a struggling franchise with little fan support. His number 30 hangs high in the rafters along with names like Dave Taylor and Marcel Dionne. For 6 and 1/2 seasons he was the Kings workhorse, posting very respectable statistics and in hind-sight being one of the most valuable players to any one team. Playing in relative obscurity in the new, isolated hockey market, people often forgot about the great goalie named Rogie.

A classic stand up goalie, Vachon made the Kings respectable while becoming the most popular player in the Sunshine State. His best season came in 1974-75, finishing a close second to Bobby Clarke as the league's most valuable player. The Hockey News did name the big hearted competitor as player of the year.

Cursed by the obscurity of playing with the Kings, the lasting Vachon legacy for many Canadians will forever be his play in the 1976 Canada Cup. With Bernie Parent and Ken Dryden not playing, Vachon backstopped the Canadian team to the inaugural championship. In the first 6 games he let in only 6 goals, and he was a standout in the best of three final against Czechoslovakia. Vachon was named as Canada's MVP, no small feat considering this team featured 16 eventual Hockey Hall of Famers.

While in Los Angeles Rogie almost became the first goalie to be credited with scoring a goal in the NHL. On Feb 15, 1977 the Kings were playing the NY Islanders. In the second period Vachon made a save and appeared to clear the puck to center ice. The Islanders regrouped and one of the Kings committed a penalty -- setting up a delayed-penalty situation. As the Islanders regrouped with possession of the puck (and the ref's arm raised) they pulled goalie Chico Resch, then sent the puck in deep Trottier picked up the puck by the side of the Kings' goal and attempted a pass to the defensemen at the point. The puck went between the two defensemen and all the way into the Islanders' empty net. After a moment of confusion, the goal was awarded to Rogie Vachon!

However, after the game the official scorers looked at the videotape and realized Kings' forward Vic Venasky cleared the puck after Vachon's earlier save that preceded the penalty -- so the goal was credited to Venasky.

Rogie Vachon would wind up his career with Detroit and then Boston, but is best known for his days with L.A. He would return to California and take over the General Manager role for many years.

Doug Smith

Doug Smith was a highly thought of junior player. So highly thought of that the Los Angeles Kings selected Smith 2nd overall in the 1981 Entry Draft. Drafted ahead of American whiz kid Bob Carpenter and future superstar Ron Francis, Smith, who played for the Ottawa 67's, had the unenviable task of being picked 2nd to perhaps the greatest 1st overall pick ever - Dale Hawerchuk.

While Hawerchuk went on to achieve superstar status and Carpenter and Francis enjoyed fine careers as well, Smith struggled and was never able to establish himself as a top offensive player. Although he became a good role player and defensive specialist by the end of his career, he was never able to shake the lofty expectations placed on him.

Part of the problem was Doug wasn't mature enough to handle the pressure at such a young age.

"I look back when I was drafted, at the time I was so young having just turned 18 in May of 1981, my draft year," recalled Smith. "I was cocky and outspoken I had gone from being the best player in junior to just another player in the NHL. Maybe I didn't show the proper respect. I realize now that then I didn't know what the NHL was all about. The NHL is a tight family and it's like you are adopted. I got frustrated and lost confidence. I suffered from it for a long time."

"I look back now at age 34 after 600 career games and a career ending injury and appreciate, and consider it was an honor to play in the NHL."

Smith played in four and a half seasons with the Kings beginning with the 1981-82 campaign. His
rookie year at age 18 saw him appear in 80 games picking up 16 goals ands 30 points. His best season as a King was 84-85 when he totaled 41 points including 21 goals (career highs). Played a total of 304 games as a King scoring 72 goals, 74 assists for 146 points.

Smith was traded to Buffalo, January 30, 1996, with Brian Engblom for Larry Playfair, Sean McKenna and Ken Baumgartner. He played 3 seasons in Buffalo before moving on to stints in Edmonton, Vancouver and Pittsburgh. In total Smith had 115 goals and 138 assists for 253 points in 535 NHL games. He added another 4 goals and 6 points in 18 playoff contests.

Smith was an incredible skater, with explosive speed and tremendous agility..

"I lot of people told me I was going to break my neck while I was playing in the NHL. I always played full out with reckless abandoned always wanted to win. One of my favorite plays was running the defensemen and really getting in on the forecheck and stirring things up."

Ironically Smith did end his career by breaking his neck, but it wasn't in the NHL. While playing Austria, Smith was chasing the puck into the corner with a defender. As Doug cut through the goal crease to chase the defender, he hit a rut in the ice and fell head first into the boards.

"I broke my neck in 200 places shattering two of my vertebrae, C5 and C6, it resulted in being paralysed from the neck down but I'm one of the fortunate few that have had an opportunity to learn how to walk again. I tried skating in 1996 but like a child learning to walk before he can skate I became frustrated after about five minutes and took my skates off."

Jim Fox

Despite being considered too small to play in the National Hockey League, the Los Angeles Kings thought better of Jimmy Fox. They were rewarded for their insight with a productive though largely unnoticed career on Hockey's Californian coast.

Fox stood just 5'8" though was built solidly at 185lbs. Despite his lack of size the Kings drafted the right winger 10th overall in the 1980 Entry Draft following 3 straight 100 plus point seasons in the OHA. In his final year with the Ottawa 67s, he led the entire league with 101 assists and 166 points plus 65 goals in just 52 games! There was no doubt that Fox knew what to do with the puck.

Fox turned pro in 1980-81 and had a respectable rookie season - scoring 18 times and picking up 43 points. Over the following 4 years he became a consistent 30 goal threat and 70 point scorer. He topped out in 1984-85 when he had a career high 53 assists and 83 points.

Following that season injuries and an infusion of younger talent like Jimmy Carson and Luc Robitaille began to slow Fox's production. He dipped to the 50-60 point plateau, and never scored 20 goals in a season again, coming close in 86-87 with 19.

Fox blew out his knee which cost him the entire 1988-89 season, which was unfortunate. That was Wayne Gretzky's first year in La-La-Land, and with Fox's speed he may have been a good match on The Great One's right side.

That knee injury eventually forced Fox to retire for good. He played in 11 games in 1989-90 but had to hang up the blades after that failed comeback attempt.

Fox was a very good skater, blessed with speed and a low center of gravity. That made him hard to knock off the puck despite his size. In fact, his size never really hampered Fox. He was pretty effective in the corners and along the boards despite being half a foot smaller than his opponents. And his great finesse skills made him even more valuable, as once he retrieved the loose puck he was able to do something with it in order to create a scoring chance.

Offensively Fox saw the ice very well, although he probably passed the puck a bit too much for his coaches liking. He was also pretty predictable in that he would cross the blue line and then pull up while his teammates jumped ahead of him into the offensive zone. As for goal scoring, Fox possessed a deadly wrist shot, but most of his goals came from in close.

Defensively Fox was pretty good too. He was very conscious of his defensive duties and used his above average anticipation skills to his advantage. He was used more and more as a defensive forward as his career wound down.

All in all, Jim Fox was a nice player. Its too bad his knee injury cut his career short just as better days were ahead in Los Angeles.

Daryl Evans

One of the biggest upsets in pro sports history happened in 1982. It became dubbed the Miracle on Manchester as the mediocre Los Angeles Kings upset Wayne Gretzky and the high flying Edmonton Oilers. While you expect names like Marcel Dionne, Dave Taylor or Charlie Simmer to lead the way in such a feat, it was many of the Kings foot soldiers who stepped up their play to cause the upset. The foot soldier who stepped up the most in that series was Daryl Evans.

Evans was just a rookie at the time. In fact he only played in 14 NHL games prior to those playoffs after spending most of the season learning the pro game at the AHL level. Daryl, a Toronto native, scored 2 goals and 6 assists in his first taste of NHL action.

When the playoffs came along, the Kings were huge first round underdogs against Gretzky and the Oilers. Gretzky had just come off of his record smashing season of 92 goals and 212 points. Everyone expected the Oilers not only to simply destroy the Kings, but all the competition and meet the dynastic New York Islanders in the finals. However someone forgot to tell the Kings. The best of 5 opening round Smythe division battle was an offensive show. The Kings somehow managed to keep pace with the high scoring Oilers and took the Oilers to a decisive 5th game, eventually winning the game.

Evans was the hero in game one as he produced a 4 point night as the Kings shocked the Oilers. The Oilers stormed back in game two to win by an astounding score of 10-8.

The best game of the famous series was game 3 on April 10, 1982. Down 5-0 in the third period, the Kings stormed back to narrow Edmonton's commanding lead. Trailing the Oilers, 5-4, the Kings buzzed around in the Edmonton zone until Steve Bozek's shot beat Grant Fuhr to tie the historic contest with just five agonizing seconds remaining. The Forum was rocking when overtime began, and at 2:35 of the extra period, rookie Daryl Evans sent the puck over Fuhr's shoulder to end an incredible game.

"We trailed in the game 5-0 after two periods. I remember coach Don Perry and the rest of the guys saying let's go out there and play a strong third period and get some momentum for the next game. In that third period we got some breaks, especially with the major penalty to Edmonton late in the period, and tied it after regulation."

"On the winning goal we had myself, center Doug Smith and left wing Steve Bozek out for the draw in the Oiler zone to the right of Grant Fuhr. Smitty won the draw and I moved in about two feet and just shot. I wasn't really picking any opening I just was trying to get the shot on net. As it turned out I beat Fuhr up high over his right shoulder and before I knew it everyone on the team was piling on top of me at the other end of the ice."

The rest as they say is history. The Oilers tied the series at 2 a piece but it wasn't meant to be for the Oilers. The Kings would win and go on to face the Vancouver Canucks, but would lose to the Cinderella 'Nucks. Evans lead the Kings in playoff scoring with 13 points (5 goals and 8 assists) in 10 games.

Evan's incredible heroics and output in the playoffs obviously put a lot of pressure on the youngster to live up to that on a nightly basis. However Evans, who was the 178th player drafted in 1980, would struggle to equal his accomplishments of April 1982.

Evans played a full 80 games the following season, scoring 18 goals and 22 assists. He was however not big enough to play the physical NHL style long term, and also was a defensive liability. Evans would spend most of the final two seasons in the Kings organization with the farm team, appearing in only 11 NHL games.

In 1985 the Kings traded their hero to Washington but with the exception of 6 games Evans remained at the AHL level.

Evans signed as a free agent with his boyhood favorite Toronto Maple Leafs in 1986, and had the opportunity to appear in two games with the Leafs, even scoring 1 goal, his last in the NHL. Evans spent the three years with the Leafs farm team in Newmarket.

Evans left North America in 1989 but resurfaced in Europe. He played in 32 games for an Italian club called HC Gardena-Groden - scoring 32 goals and 97 points. The following season he landed in Britain for a handful of semi-pro games with the Wiltley Warriors in 1991. He had 10 goals and 19 points in his 6 regular season games, and then exploded for 18 goals and 40 points in just 8 games in the playoffs!

Chris Kontos

Chris Kontos was a well travelled 12-year pro hockey player. He spent parts of eight seasons in the NHL, parts of five seasons in Europe and two stints with the Canadian National Team.

But he will always be remembered for the spring of 1989.

Kontos began his road to the NHL with the OHL's Sudbury Wolves and Toronto Marlboros. His 42-goal, 104-point season in 1981-82 prompted the New York Rangers to select him 15th overall in the 1982 Entry Draft.

Despite his lofty draft selection, Kontos struggled to achieve even a regular role in the NHL. He spent parts of five seasons in the Rangers organization, splitting his playing time between the parent club, the Tulsa Oilers of the CHL, the New Haven Nighthawks of the AHL, and Ilves Tampere of the Finish Elite League. He scored just 12 goals and 16 assists in 78 games over those 5 years before being traded to Pittsburgh for veteran Ron Duguay. By this point and time Kontos had already been all but dismissed as yet another first round draft bust.

Things didn't change much in Pittsburgh either. He collected 25 points in 67 games over parts of two seasons with the Penguins before a trade took Chris to the west coast and the Los Angeles Kings.

Chris' career finally started to take off in Los Angeles. After initially reporting to the Kings farm team in New Haven where he exploded for 8 goals and 16 assists in just 16 games, Chris was called up to the Kings late in the season where he continued his explosive play. He finished the season with 6 games in the NHL, scoring 2 goals and 10 assists for 12 points. He added 1 goal in 4 playoff games while showing some late season magic with Wayne Gretzky.

Kontos made a name for himself during the 1989 post-season. After playing the majority of the year with EHC Kloten in Switzerland after a contract dispute, Chris re-joined Los Angeles and put on a goal-scoring clinic in the ’89 playoffs as he notched nine goals - 6 on the power play - in 11 post-season games as Wayne Gretzky's favorite target! He basically came out of nowhere to become the talk of the entire National Hockey League!

Kontos remembers his playoff run.

"Once you get into a mode when you score, you just know you are going to get out there and score," Kontos said. "The net looks like a soccer goal and everything slows down and it such a nice feeling. But it is so tough to keep that feeling all the time."

"I cherish the fact that I was in the limelight for quite a while and I was being recognized for something that was positive and was good and no matter what, nobody will ever be able to take it away from me and a lot of people remember it. I am always thankful of that. It was a time to shine and it was fortunate I did what I did."

After that incredible run it was thought that Chris had finally blossomed and even higher expectations were placed upon him. However things didn't work out well for Chris. Injuries shortened his 1989-90 season, most of which was spent back in the minors. He only played 6 games with the Kings that year, plus 5 more in the playoffs.

Chris was released by the Kings following the season, and signed with the Phoenix Roadrunners of the IHL for the 1990-91 campaign and the Canadian National Team for the 1991-92 season.

Kontos signed as a free agent with the Tampa Bay Lightning for their inaugural season in 1992-93 and he set career-highs that year with 27 goals, 24 assists and 51 points in 66 games. But a closer look shows that Kontos was on another hot streak at the beginning of the season. He scored 4 goals in the Bolts first ever game! He went on to score the majority of his 27 goals in the first 25 or 30 games, and finished the year quietly.

Kontos found himself in another contract dispute following that season. He was offered a two-year contract for $450,000 by the Bolts in 1993. He turns it down, as he felt he was worth more. He exercised an escape clause in his contract to become a restricted free agent in order to get more money. However there was no takers interested in the one dimensional, streaky power play expert, at least not at his asking price.

Kontos played the 1993-94 season with Canada's national and Olympic teams, helping Canada win the 1994 Olympic silver medal. He later spent a year in Sweden, two years in the International League (with the Florida Panthers organization) and one year in Germany before getting into television. He never played another game in the NHL or came close to earning the money the Lightning offered him.

Kontos retired with 54 goals and 123 points in 230 regular season NHL games. Chris also added 11 goals in 20 playoff contests. He will be best remembered for his two streaky scoring displays - in the 1989 playoffs along side Wayne Gretzky and the beginning of the 1992 season with the Lightning. However he will also be remembered as a first round bust who received bad advice from his agent to hold out after each hot streak.

Kelly Hrudey

Kelly Hrudey began his career in the NHL in 1983-84 after being drafted by the New York Islanders in the second round (38th overall) of the 1980 NHL Entry Draft. Kelly was a top prospect brought into replace the legendary Islander netminder Battlin' Billy Smith.

Needless to say, Kelly had big skates to fill!

Kelly was in the crease for one of the most memorable dates in NHL history, Game Seven of the Patrick Division semifinal against Washington in 1987. During that famous playoff battle, Kelly stopped 73 of 75 shots in a 3-2 quadruple overtime victory against the Capitals. The game was the sixth longest in NHL history, and was ended by a Pat Lafontaine slapshot.

After six solid seasons on Long Island, Kelly was traded to the Los Angeles Kings late in the 1988-89 season in exchange for Mark Fitzpatrick, Wayne McBean and Doug Crossman. Kelly was an instant hit in LA and had his best days with the Kings. He backstopped the team to the Stanley Cup Finals during the 1992-93 season and was selected Kings MVP during the 1991-92 and 1994-95 seasons.

Kelly fondly remembers his days in LA.

"I was there to ride the boat, basically," Kelly said. "I couldn't believe how fortunate I was to be a part of it."

Kelly signed as a free agent with the San Jose Sharks for his final two seasons of NHL play. He provided veteran leadership and NHL quality goaltending on a struggling expansion franchise.

During his 15-year career, Kelly played in 677 career games and posted a 271-265-88 mark with 16 shutouts and a 3.43 GAA. An excellent standup goalie with a rapier like glove hand.

Kelly had a weakness on his stick side and could give up huge rebounds, although he was fast to recover on these rebounds. Kelly was an aggressive goalie who thrived on a lot of work. Since he played for a lot of mediocre teams during his career, facing a lot of shots was something Kelly was used to. And under the barrage of shots that he faced on many nights it happened that he got yanked.

"That 100-foot skate to the bench after you have been pulled is the longest, slowest skate in the world. It seems likes five miles," Kelly once said.

He played a total of 85 career playoff games, posting a 36-46 record with a 3.28 GAA..

Kelly retired on July 30, 1998 to become a full-time analyst with Hockey Night In Canada. Kelly seems as comfortable with a microphone as he was in the crease.

"The game didn't come as easy or naturally as it once did. I knew that I had no interest in going anywhere else. I had no interest in leading the life of a gypsy. I have no feelings of sadness," he said in a conference call from his home in Canada when he announced his retirement. "I just cannot believe the opportunity I've had."

Today Kelly resides in Calgary, Alberta. He has become a mainstay on Hockey Night In Canada.

Bernie Nicholls

This three time all star was one of the NHL's best kept secrets for much of the 1980s as he played in relative anonymity in Los Angeles until Wayne Gretzky's arrival. He clicked with The Great One for one of the greatest seasons in NHL history, but then was surprisingly traded to Manhattan. The long time Californian fan favorite became Broadway Bernie.

The Haliburton, Ontario native was drafted 73rd overall in the 1980 Entry draft after a good but not necessarily great season with the OHA's Kingston Canadiens. The Kings of course sent Bernie back to junior the following year for more apprenticeship which is something Bernie admits is the best thing that ever happened to him.

"Fortunately for me, I was allowed to spend one more season in junior hockey, with Kingston," Bernie said in 1985. That additional experience meant that when I did turn pro, a year later, I was really prepared. If I'd gone right into the NHL, I wouldn't have made it."

Bernie didn't make it right away either in his first professional season. He was sent to the minor leagues where he played with the AHL New Haven Night Hawks. Bernie tore apart the minor leagues, scoring 41 goals and 71 points in just 55 games before the Kings called him up for good.

Bernie made a big impression in his first stint in the NHL too. He scored 14 goals and 32 points in the final 22 games of the season, plus added 4 tallies in the playoffs.

In his first full NHL season Bernie couldn't quite keep up his dazzling pace, but by 1983-84 he really caught on fire as he and linemates Terry Ruskowski and Jim Fox gelled nicely. Bernie blasted in 41 goals and had 95 points. The following year he had what looked like would be his career year - 46 goals and 100 points, followed by a 36 goal, 97 point campaign in 1985-86.

After 5 consecutive 30+ goal seasons and constant flirting with the 90-100 point a season mark, Bernie, who celebrated goals with his patented arm-pumping "Pumper-Nicholl," teamed with Wayne Gretzky in 1988-89 - the Great One's first season in Los Angeles. In some respects it was a coming out party of sorts for Bernie too. He finally got recognition as a top player in the league after years of toiling in obscurity. Now he was in the bright lights and excelling at an unbelievable. With lots of help from Gretzky to be sure, Nicholls exploded to score 70 goals in 1988-89, as well as 150 points. He is one of just eight players in league history to score 70 goals in a season.

He was on a torrid pace the following season as well (27 goals and 75 points in 47 games - that would translate to 46 goals and 128 points over a full 80 game slate) but curiously the Kings felt it was necessary to trade their long time popular star to add more depth now that Gretzky had arrived. He was sent to New York in exchange for Tomas Sandstrom and Tony Granato on January 20, 1990. It was curious because one complaint in Los Angeles was that there wasn't enough players who were good enough to play with Wayne, so why would they trade away the one who excelled with him?

Though he had over a point a game in New York and became popular with the fans (they nicknamed him Broadway Bernie), he was quickly sacrificed in one of the NHL's biggest and most influential trades. The Rangers sent Broadway Bernie along with youngsters Steven Rice and Louie Debrusk to Edmonton in exchange for their Messiah - Mark Messier.

After one exciting playoff with Edmonton, Nicholls had lost a step in his game and become more of a playmaker relying on his reputation of past glories. The Oilers were looking to trim costs and inject youth, so they opted to move Bernie to New Jersey for Kevin Todd and Zdeno Ciger.

Nicholls unfortunately didn't fit into coach Jacques Lemaire's defensive trap system, so they let Nicholls sign with Chicago as a free agent. After two years he move to San Jose via free agency, signing a one year contract. Nicholls re-signed with Sharks in the summer of 1998 but by November they told him he was not in their plans any longer.
Bernie Nicholls announced his retirement on November 23, 1998. You get the feeling he didn't really want to though.

"I don't know what to say," Nicholls told the San Francisco Chronicle. "They've announced I'm done playing here. ... I don't know what I should do. It doesn't make any sense. I don't know how to answer any questions. I never expected it to be this way -- you kind of want to go out on your terms."

The San Jose Shark center ice man was pressured into retirement by San Jose Sharks general manager Dean Lombardi as he made it clear to Nicholls that there was no room for him on the team.

"I don't like having to trade players, or deal with contract holdouts. But for me to tell a future Hall of Famer that you recommend this ... I spent the last 48 hours agonizing over it," Lombardi told the San Jose Mercury News.

One would assume Lombardi made every attempt to find Nicholls a home somewhere in the NHL, but there were apparently no takers.

Bernie Nicholls retired with 475 goals and 734 assists for 1,209 points in 1,127 games with Los Angeles, New York Rangers, Edmonton Oilers, New Jersey Devils, Chicago Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks.. At the time of his retirement, Nicholls ranked 32nd on both the all-time goals and assists lists, and 26th all-time in points.

Bernie Nicholls was a very skilled player, but was more of a goal scorer than playmaker, particularly in his prime. He relied on his linemates to set him up to use his strongest hockey talent - his shot. His shot wasn't the most powerful but both his wrist and slap shots were deadly accurate and released quickly. His release was the key to his goal scoring. He was an excellent one touch shooter and often had the puck flying towards the net before the goaltender could get set. His skating was not exceptional but his anticipation and puck sense were extraordinary.

Ted Irvine

Ted Irvine was one of those hard working wingers who did a thankless job as a role player during the 1970s. As a result he was underrated by fans, but not by his teammates or hockey experts.

Born in Winnipeg Manitoba in December of 1944, Ted grew up playing many sports. He was active in baseball, tennis, football, track and swimming, but of course hockey was his true love.

By 1961 he joined the St. Boniface Canadians of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. As a rookie he chipped in 6 goals and 13 points, but the following year he led the whole league in goals with 31 in just 32 games!. By 1963-64 he captained the Canadians, but wound up with the MJHL Winnipeg Braves by mid season.

A Boston Bruins prospect, Ted ended the 1963-64 season with a trial stint in the pros, including his first game in the National Hockey League!

Because the league was still a 6 team league, it was extremely difficult for players to break into the league until expansion finally came in 1967. As a result Ted spent the next 3 years in the minor leagues. All three years were spent in the CHL - one in Minneapolis and two in Oklahoma City. Ted won two successive CHL championships, and in 1965-66 led all playoff scorers with 6 goals!

Ted's big NHL break happened on June 6, 1967. That was the day of the NHL expansion draft, as the NHL's six new teams stockpiled their rosters with basically minor leaguers and role players from the Original Six teams. Ted was selected by the Los Angeles Kings, and his minor league days were over.

Ted brought his his hard hitting, spirited play to the Californian coast and was an instant hit. The press nicknamed him the "baby faced assassin," a great metaphor for his kamikaze style of bodychecking.

Ted and the Kings had two really good years to start off their NHL careers, but by year three the team was really struggling. Ted too wasn't having as strong a season. In order to help rectify the Kings poor season, Ted was traded to the New York Rangers in exchange for Real Lemieux and Juha Widing on February 28, 1970. Irvine played a strictly defensive role at first, but soon was placed on a line with Pete Stemkowski and Bruce MacGregor where he got more ice time.

In New York Ted was noted to do "The Irvine Shuffle" - a celebratory dance when he scored a goal. He was able to dance a career high 26 times in 1973-74. He also added 20 assists for a career high 46 points.

Ted spent the next 5 full seasons in the Big Apple. An outstanding team player, Ted was extremely popular off the ice too. In 1974 he received the hockey writers "Players Player Award." A year later he was honored with the NY Ranger team award for charitable work. The "Conacher Award" was given to him for his work with handicapped children.

In the summer of 1975 Ted was traded with Bert Wilson and Jerry Butler to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for Bill Collins and goalie John "JD" Davidson. It was with the Blues that Ted spent his final two NHL seasons.

For 10 NHL seasons Ted Irvine earned a reputation as a big and tough winger. Aggressive but disciplined, Irvine was a hard worker, particularly in the corners and along the boards. A well rounded player who played strong positionally, Irvine was not blessed with great skills. He had a good shot and a knack for scoring in clutch situations, but was a poor skater by NHL standards.

A couple of other interesting notes about Irvine: Ted, who in his early NHL years worked for the Canadian Liquor Commission during the off-seasons, is the father of professional wrestling superstar Chris Jericho.

Jericho - a quick witted fan favorite of WWF fans who has inherited his dad's nickname as the Baby Faced Assassin (although he's better known as Y2J), has early memories of hockey and his dad.

"I remember going to Madison Square Garden when I was five and getting mad because my dad wouldn't look up off the ice at me. And I always thought it was too loud. I pulled this little sweatshirt over my ears because I hated the cheering!" he said in a Jay Greenberg interview. " I remember all the other kids thought it was cool my dad played for the Rangers. But for me it was just my dad. I didn't understand what was going on in the game. Now, I look back on some of the things he accomplished and I'm proud."

Jericho was asked to describe his dad as a player:

"He was a fighter, kind of like a Cam Neely type power forward. He was 6 foot 2, 95 pounds and in 1970 that was a big player. In his best year he had 26 goals and 105 penalty minutes, pretty good numbers for even this day and age, and back then, things were different. He wasn't a star, but a very important player, like an Adam Graves. He played for a long time, 10 years. Today, he'd make $4 million a year!"

After the trade to St. Louis, Irvine retired as he didn't have the same zest for the game in the Gateway City.

"I just felt it was time," Irvine said. "Playing in New York was the epitome of hockey and after I got traded, it just wasn't the same."

Ted added: "Chris said, 'Dad, can you stay home and teach me Kung Fu?' so I did. It was his turn."

So could have Chris Jericho made a living as Chris Irvine - NHL hockey player?

"I wanted to be a hockey player at one point," Jericho says. "I was a grinder, a penalty killer, a checker, a Craig Berube, Mike Eagles kind of guy. I was okay, but wasn't NHL material, although now with 30 teams I could probably play for the Blue Jackets"

Jericho remains a big hockey fan, but it isn't quite the same as when he watched his dad play.

"There are no real characters anymore. Now everybody wears a helmet because of concussions and the game is a corporate business. The teams are kind of nameless and faceless. There are no Nick Fotius, Jerry Korabs, Dave Schultzes. And not that they had to be goons either. Guy Lafleur had the hair flowing, then he had no hair and then all of a sudden he had hair again. C'mon, what's up with that?! And Bobby Clarke had no teeth."

Ah the memories!

And what does dad, a religious man, think about his son's chosen line of work?

I don't like some of the things that go on in wrestling, but it's Chris's profession and I don't judge it. It's the path God chose for him and I know he makes up with a lot of good things that he does."

Bob Nevin

Bob Nevin was a long time NHL right winger, playing in over 1100 career games. He was a fine two way forward who was noted for his gentlemanly play, picking up just 211 penalty minutes in his lengthy career.

Nevin, a Toronto Maple Leaf prospect from the age of 13, played his junior hockey with the Toronto Marlboros from 1954 to 1958. In that time he scored a very solid 210 points in 152 games, including 111 goals.

Nevin's childhood dream of playing for the Leafs came true at the conclusion of the 1957-58 season when he was called up for a 4 game stint. However the next two seasons Nevin would spend apprenticing in the minor leagues with AHL Rochester.

Nevin's first full NHL season was in 1960-61. He had a strong year, scoring 21 goals and 58 points. However his sophomore season would be one not to forget. Though his scoring totals dipped to 15 goals and 45 points, Nevin helped the Leafs capture the Stanley Cup!

"We beat New York in the semi-finals and then we were in a really tough series with Chicago, who had won the Cup the previous year. And we managed to beat them in Game Six at Chicago Stadium, which was a tough feat considering all the noise and atmosphere in that building. So in terms of winning the Stanley Cup and doing it right in Chicago, that was a real big thrill because that was probably the hardest place at that time to win an away game.”

Any Stanley Cup championship team will tell you the only thing harder than winning the Cup is defending it. But the Leafs did that successfully in 1962-63. Nevin actually thought it was easier though.

“The second one was relatively easier, not that any of them are easy. But the second one, I think we beat Montreal in five games in the semi-finals and we beat Detroit in five games in the Finals. So in 10 playoff games, we only lost two so we had a pretty dynamite team that year. We had a pretty strong team and we figured if we kept the team together we could win a number of Cups in the early ‘60s.”

The Leafs did go on to win their share of Cups throughout the sixties, but the team was not kept in tact. Halfway during the 1963-64 season Nevin was traded with Rod Seiling, Dick Duff, Arnie Brown and Bill Collins to the New York Rangers. In return the Leafs got Don McKenney and superstar Andy Bathgate.

Nevin, who was one of the earliest players to wear contacts while playing, enjoyed 7 1/2 seasons in New York. He got more ice time and an increased role than he did on the veteran Maple Leafs team. He scored 20 goals in all but one season, and tapped in a career high 31 in 1968-69.

Nevin looked back on his Rangers days with a special fondness.

“Well, initially it was a big shock (to be traded) because I had grown up in Toronto and a lot of the guys on the Leafs I had played junior with and we had a pretty special relationship with all the guys on that Toronto team. And initially when I got the phone call that I had been traded it was a pretty big blow. It took me a while to adjust from living in Toronto to New York. But I got traded in late ’64 and the fall of ’64, the next year, they made me the team captain. So that obviously was a great thrill to be captain of a team in a six-team league. That was a pretty special time for me in my career.”

The Rangers traded Nevin to Minnesota for Bobby Rousseau for the 1971-72 season. Nevin didn't have his best years in Minnesota. Over 2 seasons he scored just 20 goals and 52 points. In his final year he had just 5 goals and was a -12. Many expected Nevin's career was over.

However the Los Angeles Kings thought Nevin could offer something to their team, and took a chance by selecting Nevin in the annual Reversal Draft. Nevin responded by posting three great seasons, including a career high 72 points in 1974-75 at the age of 36.

“I loved my time in L.A. I had my old teammate from junior and with the Leafs, Bob Pulford, who was the coach and he was doing a real good job. In fact, the one year, we finished with 105 points. We had a really good team. We had Butch Goring, Danny Maloney, Rogie Vachon, and Terry Harper and Bob Murdoch were on defence. Mike Murphy was also playing then. Actually, I really enjoyed my time in L.A. I’m an enthusiastic golfer and, as someone who likes to drive convertibles, it worked out pretty good out there!”

After three seasons in Los Angeles the aging Nevin signed on with the WHA Edmonton Oilers. He played only 13 games in the WHA, for a rather uneventful ending to his career.

In 1128 NHL games, the 4 time all star game representative scored 307 goals, 419 assists for 726 PIM. He added 16 goals and 34 points in 84 career playoff games.

"The end analysis was, I was not Wayne Gretzky"

For a city that often barely recognizes either of the two NHL teams located there, the Los Angeles Times has a nice story on former King Jimmy Carson.

Many people forget about Carson's first three years in the league, especially his first two in Los Angeles where he and fellow newcomer Luc Robitaille breathed new life into a long-sagging organization.

For two seasons together, Robitaille and Carson prospered, Robitaille exceeding expectations and Carson, a goal-oriented son of a lawyer from well-to-do Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich., more than living up to his advance billing.

Robitaille won the Calder Trophy as the NHL's rookie of the year in 1987, Carson joining him on the all-rookie team. The next season, Carson scored 55 goals to give him 92 before his 20th birthday, more than any other player in NHL history.

But then came Aug. 9, 1988, when everything changed. Carson, who had just signed a new, multiyear contract and bought a house in Redondo Beach, was traded to the Edmonton Oilers in the blockbuster, multiplayer trade that brought hockey icon Wayne Gretzky to the Kings.

He didn't know it then, but his most enjoyable seasons were behind him. He had just turned 20.

Carson was not bad in Edmonton — he rang up 49 goals and 51 assists in his first season with the Oilers — but he was not great. Nor was he, as seemed to be constantly noted, The Great One.

"The end analysis was, I was not Wayne Gretzky," he says.

After his season in Edmonton, Carson moved to his hometown of Detroit and struggled, then bounced around the league for 3 years before simply vanishing. People questioned his heart, making this Bruce McNall quote from the LA Times piece all the more interesting.

"In a weird way, I knew Jimmy's heart was not as much into it," says McNall of his friend, who neither smoked, drank nor partied with teammates. "He was an intellectual, multidimensional guy, read the Wall Street Journal, and so many other players just don't have his opportunities and interests. So I always thought, deep down, that maybe long-term hockey wouldn't be for him."

There is much more to this worth-reading LA Times piece, and I encourage you to do so.