1988–89 Los Angeles Kings season
| 1988–89 Los Angeles Kings | |
|---|---|
| Division | 2nd Smythe |
| Conference | 2nd Campbell |
| 1988–89 record | 42–31–7 |
| Home record | 25–12–3 |
| Road record | 17–19–4 |
| Goals for | 376 |
| Goals against | 335 |
| Team information | |
| General Manager | Rogatien Vachon |
| Coach | Robbie Ftorek |
| Captain | Dave Taylor |
| Alternate captains |
Wayne Gretzky Unknown |
| Arena | Great Western Forum |
| Team leaders | |
| Goals | Bernie Nicholls (70) |
| Assists | Wayne Gretzky (114) |
| Points | Wayne Gretzky (168) |
| Penalties in minutes | Marty McSorley (350) |
| Plus/minus | Steve Duchesne (+31) |
| Wins | Glenn Healy (25) |
| Goals against average | Kelly Hrudey (2.90) |
The 1988–89 Los Angeles Kings season saw the Kings finish second in the Smythe Division with a record of 42-31-7, for 91 points.
The 1988–89 season was the first for the great Wayne Gretzky in a Kings uniform. He had come over in a shocking trade with the Edmonton Oilers in the off-season (see below). Paced by Gretzky, Los Angeles led the league in goal scoring, with a total of 376 goals scored. In the playoffs, the Kings upset the Oilers, Gretzky's former team, in seven games in the Smythe Division Semi-finals before being swept in the Smythe Division Finals by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Calgary Flames in four straight games.
This was also the first season that the Kings wore their silver and black uniforms, which they would wear until the 1998–99 season. In the offseason, they had changed their team colours to silver and black from gold and purple, which were more associated with their co-tenants at the Great Western Forum, the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers. They had also unveiled a new logo that reflected the new team colours.
On August 9, 1988, in a move that drastically changed the dynamics of the NHL, the Oilers traded Gretzky, along with Marty McSorley and Mike Krushelnyski, to the Los Angeles Kings for Jimmy Carson, Martin Gelinas, $15 million in cash, and the Kings' first-round draft picks in 1989 (Jason Miller), 1991 (Martin Rucinsky), and 1993 (Nick Stajduhar). "The Trade", as it came to be known, upset Canadians to the extent that New Democratic Party House Leader Nelson Riis demanded that the government block it and Peter Pocklington was burned in effigy. Gretzky himself was considered a "traitor" by some Canadians for turning his back on his adopted hometown, his home province, and his home country; his motivation was widely rumoured to be the furtherance of his wife's acting career. Others believe it was Pocklington who instigated the trade, seeking to benefit personally from the transaction.
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