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50 free Los Angeles Kings trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
The Los Angeles Kings were born when Jack Kent Cooke got fed up with 'balderdash' and built his own arena, and for two decades they were a regular-season curiosity in purple and gold. This Kings trivia quiz covers the whole story: the Long Beach opener, Rogie Vachon, Marcel Dionne and the Triple Crown Line, the Miracle on Manchester, Bruce McNall's coin fortune, the Gretzky trade that changed the Sun Belt, Marty McSorley's illegal stick in the 1993 Final, the bankruptcy and the Burger King jersey. It then follows the rebuild through Brown, Kopitar, Quick and Doughty, Darryl Sutter's arrival, the 2012 run from eighth seed past the top three seeds, three road Game 7 wins in 2014, Alec Martinez's double-overtime clincher, the Vegas sweep, four straight first-round losses to Edmonton and Anze Kopitar's farewell. There are questions on Bailey the lion, Bob Miller, the arena and Luc Robitaille's ninth-round beginnings too, from easy to expert. Every answer was checked against encyclopaedic and reference sources before publishing, and each question carries a citation. For more, try our NHL trivia and hockey trivia pages.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which Canadian entrepreneur paid $2 million to put one of the 1967 expansion teams in Los Angeles?
Jack Kent Cooke
He also owned the Lakers and built the Forum after feuding with the Coliseum Commission.
Q 02Why did Cooke choose purple and gold as the original colours?
They were associated with royalty
The purple was officially called 'Forum Blue'; the Lakers actually adopted the scheme from the Kings.
Q 03Where did the Kings play their first game in October 1967 while the Forum was still unfinished?
Long Beach Arena
They beat fellow expansion club Philadelphia 4-2.
Q 04Which goaltender's 1971 arrival from Montreal turned the Kings into a contender?
Rogie Vachon
He later became general manager and his number hangs in the rafters.
Q 05Which two wingers flanked Marcel Dionne on the 'Triple Crown Line'?
Charlie Simmer and Dave Taylor
Simmer had been a career minor-leaguer; Taylor was the playmaker.
Q 06Which owner bought the Kings, the Lakers and the Forum for $67.5 million in 1979?
Jerry Buss
He sold the Kings to coin dealer Bruce McNall in 1987.
Q 07In the 1982 'Miracle on Manchester', what deficit did the Kings erase in the third period?
5-0
They won in overtime and upset an Oilers team that had finished 48 points ahead of them.
Q 08Which coach was suspended in 1986-87 for signing with Vancouver while still under Kings contract?
Pat Quinn
Marcel Dionne was traded to the Rangers the same season.
Q 09Bruce McNall, who bought the Kings in 1987, made his fortune in what?
Coin collecting
He defaulted on a Bank of America loan and the club went bankrupt in 1995.
Q 10The Kings' 1988 switch to silver and black mirrored which NFL team then playing in the city?
Raiders
The enclosed banner logo drew comparisons to the Chevrolet bowtie.
Q 11How many points did Gretzky score in his first Kings season, winning his ninth Hart Trophy?
168
Los Angeles then knocked his old Oilers out of the 1989 playoffs.
Q 12In which season did the Kings win their only division title?
1990-91
They lost a second-round series to Edmonton in which four games went to overtime.
Q 13Which coach, hired from the AHL's Adirondack Red Wings, took the Kings to the 1993 Final?
Barry Melrose
Gretzky missed 39 games with a herniated disk; Luc Robitaille captained in his absence.
Q 14Which Kings defenseman's illegal stick curve in Game 2 of the 1993 Final turned the series?
Q 21Which coach replaced Terry Murray in December 2011 and won two Cups in three years?
Darryl Sutter
Jeff Carter arrived by trade midway through that first season.
Q 22Whose overtime goal in Game 5 against Phoenix sent the 2012 Kings to their first Final since 1993?
Dustin Penner
LA became the first eighth seed to beat the top three seeds in its conference.
Q 23Whom did the Kings beat in six games to win the 2012 Stanley Cup?
New Jersey Devils
Jonathan Quick won the Conn Smythe and signed a ten-year extension weeks later.
Marty McSorley
Eric Desjardins tied it on the ensuing power play and won it in overtime; the Kings lost the next three.
Q 15Whose record did Gretzky pass with his 802nd goal in March 1994?
Gordie Howe
It came in a season the Kings missed the playoffs.
Q 16Which team did Gretzky force a trade to in 1996 as the bankrupt Kings unravelled?
St. Louis Blues
Philip Anschutz and Ed Roski had bought the club out of bankruptcy for $113.5 million.
Q 17Fans nicknamed the unpopular 1995-96 alternate sweater's bearded crowned figure after which fast-food chain?
Burger King
It was scrapped after a single season.
Q 18Why did the Kings switch to a purple-based scheme in 1998?
Their old colours had become associated with gangs
The new shield logo featured a sunglass-wearing lion, a crown and the Sun.
Q 19Which two players from the 2001 Rob Blake trade with Colorado became key Kings?
Adam Deadmarsh and Aaron Miller
The Kings then upset Detroit for their first series win since 1993.
Q 20Which four future core players did the Kings draft between 2003 and 2008?
Brown, Kopitar, Quick and Doughty
Kopitar and Quick were both taken in 2005.
Q 24The 2012 Kings were the first champion in any major North American league to enter the playoffs as what?
An eighth seed
They also became the second California team to win the Cup at home.
Q 25Which Sharks player's hit on Jarret Stoll drew a suspension for the rest of the 2013 second-round series?
Raffi Torres
LA won in seven, then lost to Chicago on a Patrick Kane double-overtime goal in Game 5.
Q 26In 2014 the Kings became only the fourth NHL team to win a series after trailing 3-0, against whom?
San Jose Sharks
They won Game 7 in San Jose, then another Game 7 in Anaheim.
Q 27Whose overtime goals won both Game 7 of the 2014 conference finals and Game 5 of the Final?
Alec Martinez
The Kings faced elimination a record seven times in that 26-game run.
Q 28Which 'Mr. Game 7' won the 2014 Conn Smythe Trophy?
Justin Williams
He had points in all three Game 7s that spring.
Q 29Whom did the Kings beat in five games in the 2014 Stanley Cup Final?
New York Rangers
Their 26 playoff games tied the record set by the 1987 Flyers and 2004 Flames.
Q 30Which distinction did the 2014-15 Kings earn by missing the playoffs?
First defending champion to miss since the 2006-07 Hurricanes
A loss to Calgary in the penultimate game did it.