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Last month, the NHL announced details of an ambitious project, where they would reveal ‘Quarter-Century Teams’ for each of the league’s 32 clubs in January. Then, in mid-February, they’ll turn things over to hockey fans, where 100% of their votes will ultimately determine the official NHL Quarter-Century Team. It will be a group comprised of the top 25 players of the past 25 years, regardless of position.
To kick things off, a panel of voters (i.e. media, retired players and executives specific to that respective club) will nominate a total of 12 players for their franchise, comprised of a First and Second Team. Each of those groups will consist of three forwards, two defensemen, and a goaltender. Only players named to a club’s First Quarter-Century Team will be eligible for selection during the fan voting period.
For example, here were the previously announced Quarter-Century Teams for Anaheim and Chicago:
Introducing the Quarter-Century Team for the @AnaheimDucks! 🦆 #NHLQCTeam
Read more ➡️ https://t.co/KLeWrDVVB2 pic.twitter.com/Jb2588TVdH
— NHL (@NHL) January 5, 2025
Now presenting the @NHLBlackhawks Quarter-Century Team! 👏 #NHLQCTeam
Read more ➡️ https://t.co/mA8JsGIl75 pic.twitter.com/ZE5tI9gX61
— NHL (@NHL) January 1, 2025
In advance of the Kings Quarter-Century Team being announced on Wednesday, we thought we’d offer our opinions on the topic.
Before delving into our 12 players, let’s review some context that went into the thinking. From a timing standpoint, the period used for this project almost lines up perfectly with the years the Kings have played at Staples Center / Crypto.com Arena. Considering the building opened in Oct. 1999, the first 25 years of the current century are nearly an exact match.
With that said, we also found near symmetry in dividing up the 25-year period in Los Angeles. Things started out with what we’re calling the Early Days (2000-09), moved into the Cup Contending Era (2010-17), and then eventually the Recreation Years (2018-25). If possible, we wanted to try and balance out our selections with players from all three periods. Of course, we assumed this wasn’t going to work out perfectly, because players from the Cup team would likely dominate. However, we tried to approach it from a ‘When you think about the Kings over the past 25 years, what 3-5 players come to mind most?’ Everything can’t all be from 2012 or 2014. There were likely other players, even other moments, that mattered quite a bit too.
This group was pretty easy to complete, as four of the six boxes were fairly automatic. Where things got a little tricky was selecting the third forward and second defenseman to join Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty, and Jonathan Quick.
These four are indisputable. There’s really nothing more that needs to be said about any of these guys.
To evaluate candidates for the other two slots, it was time to dig into some stats — that’s always a good place to start, even if it’s not always the final determining factor.
This is where a lot of consideration had to be given. For starters, remember that only players on the First Quarter-Century Team will ultimately be included on the broader list used during fan voting for the NHL’s Quarter-Century Team. Thus, this final selection at forward carries a little extra weight. Additionally, we had a specific direction that we planned on going with the Second Team (more on that in a minute), so this selection was going to be uber important.
Many will likely quickly point to Jeff Carter or even Ziggy Palffy for sentimental reasons. Even though the latter doesn’t have the body of work in LA compared to the 20 forwards listed in the above table — Palffy fell 22nd on the list when sorted by games played (278 GP) — by recording 136 goals and 307 points in that span, his numbers make him worthy of consideration.
We’re going with Adrian Kempe, though. His numbers are on par with Carter and he’s a homegrown talent; that should still mean something.
In the spirit of transparency, selecting our second defenseman didn’t really take long. We had Mattias Norstrom in mind right away. We just wanted to check the stats to make sure we weren’t missing anything — and we were going to need that data for part two of the project anyway.
Our final First Quarter-Century Team:
Brown – Kopitar – Kempe
Norstrom – Doughty
Quick
Now things are getting interesting. Yes, there are many worthy candidates to be included on the Second Team, and this is where most of the debates will likely take place among hockey fans of all 32 NHL teams, which is what makes lists like this so fun. The debates can be endless!
For our list, we again reflected back on the totality of players who suited up for the Kings over the past 25 years. Maybe there is a recency bias here, but in the end, it was really (i.e. REALLY) difficult to leave Trevor Lewis off this group. It’s challenging to overlook the fact that he’s in the top-10 of games played in franchise history and couldn’t make it onto our list. Maybe we’re wrong for not including him.
Even so, we’re going with Eric Belanger, Kyle Clifford, and Ian Laperriere. If you’re just looking at stats, it may be easy to dismiss any of those players for others. However, sports isn’t exclusively about numbers. For example, Laperriere can easily be argued as one of the top-10 most popular players in franchise history, a span that covers more than 50 years. It’s hard to think about the decade of hockey this century in Los Angeles and not mention Laperriere’s name.
Perhaps the most controversial (or at least debatable) person on our Second Team is Belanger. However, the ‘Frenzy on Figueroa’ is the single biggest moment of the century prior to the Cup win in 2012. Plus, when you sort the stats by points-per-game played, he’s right there in the conversation. So, it’s not only about that one playoff moment.
And Clifford? This was easy. Without No. 13, the Kings don’t win a Stanley Cup. Don’t take our word for it. Listen to the people who matter more — they explained his importance perfectly here.
Some fans will likely prefer Justin Williams, Tyler Toffoli, or even Alex Frolov on the Second Team of forwards. All were considered. For those curious, if we bumped any of our three off the list, Toffoli would be added to the group without even thinking twice.
On to the blueline…
Our decision here came down to selecting two players from a list of four candidates: Matt Greene, Alec Martinez, Rob Scuderi, and Lubomir Visnovsky. This was the toughest of all decisions made among our First and Second teams.
Unfortunately for him, we eliminated Visnovsky first. Solid player for the organization, no complaints; the other three just carry a little more weight in this conversation. We really wanted to get Scuderi on the team, as his acquisition in many ways helped set the stage for the Kings eventually evolving into a Cup team. In the end, though, we went with Greene. It’s almost hard to put into words how much his leadership in the room meant during those Cup years. His contributions to the success of Dean Lombardi’s teams remains highly underrated and we couldn’t overlook that aspect.
And Martinez? While the stats are certainly there, the 2014 Cup-winning goal is the moment most Kings fans still remember. He’s more than worthy of inclusion among this group when viewed through multiple lenses.
Goaltending was almost too easy. After Quick, the netminder with the most success over the past 25 years in Los Angeles was easily Felix Potvin. Even if he was only here for a short time, he was definitely here for some good times.
Our final Second Quarter-Century Team:
Clifford – Belanger – Laperriere
Martinez – Greene
Potvin
We’re ready for the feedback. Bring it on, we’d love to see your lists.
MORE LA KINGS NEWS:
Problem Identified: What the LA Kings Have Been Missing for Three Years
Understanding Kyle Clifford and the LA Kings Becoming One And the Same
Exclusive: Lombardi and Others Reflect on Trevor Lewis Playing 1000 NHL Games
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John Hoven is a former member of the Professional Hockey Writers Association and co-hosts Kings of the Podcast. He's also the founder and editor of MayorsManor.com, which has been named Best Sports Blog in Los Angeles and Hockey Blog of the Year. Click "ABOUT OUR TEAM" below for a full bio.
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