1993–94 Los Angeles Kings season

1993–94 Los Angeles Kings
Division	5th Pacific
Conference	10th Western
1993–94 record	27–45–12
Home record	18–19–5
Road record	9–26–7
Goals for	294
Goals against	322
Team information
General manager	Nick Beverley
Coach	Barry Melrose
Captain	Wayne Gretzky
Alternate captains	Tony Granato Dave Taylor
Arena	Great Western Forum
Minor league affiliate(s)	Phoenix Roadrunners Muskegon Fury
Team leaders
Goals	Luc Robitaille (44)
Assists	Wayne Gretzky (92)
Points	Wayne Gretzky (130)
Penalty minutes	Warren Rychel (322)
Plus/minus	John Druce (+16)
Wins	Kelly Hrudey (22)
Goals against average	Robb Stauber (3.41)

The 1993–94 Los Angeles Kings season was the Kings' 27th season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The team finished in fifth place in the Pacific Division with a record of 27–45–12 for 66 points and missed the playoffs for the first time since 1986. The Kings played their home games at the Great Western Forum in Inglewood.

This season saw Kings captain Wayne Gretzky become the NHL's all-time leading goal scorer. He also won his 10th and final Art Ross Trophy as the league's leading scorer with 130 points. Despite Gretzky's achievements, the defending conference champion Kings regressed on the ice. They finished in 10th place in the newly-rebranded Western Conference, 16 points behind the San Jose Sharks, who clinched the eighth and final playoff spot. Notably, the Kings also finished five points behind their new local rivals, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, who were then in their first year of existence.

Offseason

Regular season

Wayne Gretzky's goal scoring record

• March 20, 1994 – At 19:11 of the third period in a game against the San Jose Sharks, Gretzky scored the 801st goal of his career, tying the NHL's career goals record held by his idol, Gordie Howe. Gretzky jammed a rebound past San Jose goaltender Artūrs Irbe after a shot by Los Angeles defenceman Alexei Zhitnik had glanced off Irbe. The goal was the second of the game for Gretzky, who had earlier scored at 6:16 of the first period by stealing the puck from Sharks defenceman Sandis Ozoliņš and backhanding it through Irbe's legs. The record-tying goal, scored after the Kings had pulled their own goaltender, Kelly Hrudey, for an extra attacker, tied the game at 6-6. The game ended as a tie with the same score.^[1][2]

• March 23, 1994 – At 14:47 of the second period in a game against the Vancouver Canucks, Gretzky scored the 802nd goal of his career against Canucks goaltender Kirk McLean to break Howe's career NHL goals record. The goal came on a Kings power play, with Marty McSorley and Luc Robitaille picking up assists. Robitaille had started the play during a rush toward the Vancouver net with a drop pass to Gretzky, who passed across the ice to McSorley; McSorley fed the puck back to Gretzky, who shot the puck into an almost empty net. Gretzky's teammates poured onto the ice to congratulate him, and the game was halted for a ceremony to honour both Gretzky and Howe. Unfortunately for the Kings, the record-breaking goal came in a losing effort, as Vancouver defeated Los Angeles, 6-3.^[3][4]

Final standings

Pacific Division

No.	CR		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	3	Calgary Flames	84	42	29	13	302	256	97
2	7	Vancouver Canucks	84	41	40	3	279	276	85
3	8	San Jose Sharks	84	33	35	16	252	265	82
4	9	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	84	33	46	5	229	251	71
5	10	Los Angeles Kings	84	27	45	12	294	322	66
6	11	Edmonton Oilers	84	25	45	14	261	305	64

^[5] Note: No. = Division rank, CR = Conference rank, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
       Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Western Conference^[6]

R		Div	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	y- Detroit Red Wings *	CEN	84	46	30	8	356	275	100
2	x- Calgary Flames *	PAC	84	42	29	13	302	256	97
3	Toronto Maple Leafs	CEN	84	43	29	12	280	243	98
4	Dallas Stars	CEN	84	42	29	13	286	265	97
5	St. Louis Blues	CEN	84	40	33	11	270	283	91
6	Chicago Blackhawks	CEN	84	39	36	9	254	240	87
7	Vancouver Canucks	PAC	84	41	40	3	279	276	85
8	San Jose Sharks	PAC	84	33	35	16	252	265	82
9	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	PAC	84	33	46	5	229	251	71
10	Los Angeles Kings	PAC	84	27	45	12	294	322	66
11	Edmonton Oilers	PAC	84	25	45	14	261	305	64
12	Winnipeg Jets	CEN	84	24	51	9	245	344	57

Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific

bold – Qualified for playoffs; x – Won division; y – Won Conference (and division); * – Division leader

Schedule and results

1993–94 regular season[7]
October: 6–5–2 (home: 4–1–1; road: 2–4–1) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 1 L October 6, 1993 2–5 Vancouver Canucks (1993–94) 0–1–0 Recap 2 W October 9, 1993 10–3 Detroit Red Wings (1993–94) 1–1–0 Recap 3 W October 10, 1993 5–2 San Jose Sharks (1993–94) 2–1–0 Recap 4 W October 12, 1993 7–5 New York Islanders (1993–94) 3–1–0 Recap 5 T October 14, 1993 4–4 OT Edmonton Oilers (1993–94) 3–1–1 Recap 6 W October 16, 1993 8–4 Calgary Flames (1993–94) 4–1–1 Recap 7 T October 19, 1993 2–2 OT @ Florida Panthers (1993–94) 4–1–2 Recap 8 W October 20, 1993 4–3 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1993–94) 5–1–2 Recap 9 L October 22, 1993 3–6 @ Washington Capitals (1993–94) 5–2–2 Recap 10 L October 24, 1993 2–3 @ New York Rangers (1993–94) 5–3–2 Recap 11 L October 26, 1993 0–7 @ New York Islanders (1993–94) 5–4–2 Recap 12 L October 27, 1993 3–8 @ Detroit Red Wings (1993–94) 5–5–2 Recap 13 W October 29, 1993 4–3 OT @ Winnipeg Jets (1993–94) 6–5–2 Recap
November: 3–8–0 (home: 3–2–0; road: 0–6–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 14 W November 3, 1993 3–2 New Jersey Devils (1993–94) 7–5–2 Recap 15 W November 6, 1993 8–3 Pittsburgh Penguins (1993–94) 8–5–2 Recap 16 L November 9, 1993 2–3 @ Calgary Flames (1993–94) 8–6–2 Recap 17 L November 10, 1993 0–4 @ Vancouver Canucks (1993–94) 8–7–2 Recap 18 W November 13, 1993 6–3 St. Louis Blues (1993–94) 9–7–2 Recap 19 L November 18, 1993 2–3 Toronto Maple Leafs (1993–94) 9–8–2 Recap 20 L November 20, 1993 1–4 @ St. Louis Blues (1993–94) 9–9–2 Recap 21 L November 21, 1993 4–7 @ Dallas Stars (1993–94) 9–10–2 Recap 22 L November 25, 1993 6–8 @ Quebec Nordiques (1993–94) 9–11–2 Recap 23 L November 27, 1993 0–4 @ Montreal Canadiens (1993–94) 9–12–2 Recap 24 L November 30, 1993 6–8 Winnipeg Jets (1993–94) 9–13–2 Recap
December: 5–7–1 (home: 3–3–0; road: 2–4–1) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 25 W December 2, 1993 3–2 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1993–94) 10–13–2 Recap 26 L December 4, 1993 4–5 Tampa Bay Lightning (1993–94) 10–14–2 Recap 27 L December 8, 1993 5–6 Florida Panthers (1993–94) 10–15–2 Recap 28 W December 11, 1993 9–1 St. Louis Blues (1993–94) 11–15–2 Recap 29 L December 13, 1993 2–5 @ Ottawa Senators (1993–94) 11–16–2 Recap 30 L December 14, 1993 2–4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1993–94) 11–17–2 Recap 31 L December 17, 1993 0–2 @ Buffalo Sabres (1993–94) 11–18–2 Recap 32 L December 18, 1993 1–4 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1993–94) 11–19–2 Recap 33 W December 20, 1993 5–4 OT @ Calgary Flames (1993–94) 12–19–2 Recap 34 L December 23, 1993 1–2 Dallas Stars (1993–94) 12–20–2 Recap 35 W December 26, 1993 3–2 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1993–94) 13–20–2 Recap 36 W December 28, 1993 6–5 Vancouver Canucks (1993–94) 14–20–2 Recap 37 T December 31, 1993 4–4 OT @ Detroit Red Wings (1993–94) 14–20–3 Recap
January: 5–5–3 (home: 3–2–1; road: 2–3–2) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 38 W January 1, 1994 7–4 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1993–94) 15–20–3 Recap 39 W January 4, 1994 5–1 Quebec Nordiques (1993–94) 16–20–3 Recap 40 L January 8, 1994 3–6 Detroit Red Wings (1993–94) 16–21–3 Recap 41 T January 11, 1994 2–2 OT @ San Jose Sharks (1993–94) 16–21–4 Recap 42 W January 12, 1994 6–4 Hartford Whalers (1993–94) 17–21–4 Recap 43 W January 15, 1994 5–3 @ New Jersey Devils (1993–94) 18–21–4 Recap 44 L January 16, 1994 2–5 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1993–94) 18–22–4 Recap 45 L January 18, 1994 3–5 @ Dallas Stars (1993–94) 18–23–4 Recap 46 T January 24, 1994 3–3 OT @ Calgary Flames (1993–94) 18–23–5 Recap 47 T January 25, 1994 4–4 OT Winnipeg Jets (1993–94) 18–23–6 Recap 48 L January 27, 1994 4–5 OT New York Rangers (1993–94) 18–24–6 Recap 49 W January 29, 1994 5–1 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1993–94) 19–24–6 Recap 50 L January 31, 1994 1–3 @ Vancouver Canucks (1993–94) 19–25–6 Recap
February: 2–8–3 (home: 1–5–2; road: 1–3–1) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 51 L February 2, 1994 4–6 @ Edmonton Oilers (1993–94) 19–26–6 Recap 52 L February 5, 1994 4–5 OT Calgary Flames (1993–94) 19–27–6 Recap 53 W February 9, 1994 4–2 Chicago Blackhawks (1993–94) 20–27–6 Recap 54 W February 11, 1994 5–3 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1993–94) 21–27–6 Recap 55 L February 12, 1994 1–6 Washington Capitals (1993–94) 21–28–6 Recap 56 L February 14, 1994 2–3 OT Boston Bruins (1993–94) 21–29–6 Recap 57 L February 18, 1994 3–4 Philadelphia Flyers (1993–94) 21–30–6 Recap 58 L February 19, 1994 3–4 @ San Jose Sharks (1993–94) 21–31–6 Recap 59 L February 21, 1994 4–6 Toronto Maple Leafs (1993–94) 21–32–6 Recap 60 T February 23, 1994 0–0 OT Dallas Stars (1993–94) 21–32–7 Recap 61 T February 25, 1994 5–5 OT @ Edmonton Oilers (1993–94) 21–32–8 Recap 62 L February 26, 1994 2–4 @ Calgary Flames (1993–94) 21–33–8 Recap 63 T February 28, 1994 3–3 OT Montreal Canadiens (1993–94) 21–33–9 Recap
March: 4–7–2 (home: 2–4–0; road: 2–3–2) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 64 W March 2, 1994 4–1 @ Hartford Whalers (1993–94) 22–33–9 Recap 65 L March 3, 1994 4–6 @ Boston Bruins (1993–94) 22–34–9 Recap 66 T March 6, 1994 3–3 OT @ Chicago Blackhawks (1993–94) 22–34–10 Recap 67 L March 9, 1994 0–4 Chicago Blackhawks (1993–94) 22–35–10 Recap 68 L March 12, 1994 3–5 Buffalo Sabres (1993–94) 22–36–10 Recap 69 W March 15, 1994 7–0 Ottawa Senators (1993–94) 23–36–10 Recap 70 L March 16, 1994 2–5 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1993–94) 23–37–10 Recap 71 W March 19, 1994 2–1 San Jose Sharks (1993–94) 24–37–10 Recap 72 T March 20, 1994 6–6 OT @ San Jose Sharks (1993–94) 24–37–11 Recap 73 L March 23, 1994 3–6 Vancouver Canucks (1993–94) 24–38–11 Recap 74 W March 25, 1994 4–3 OT @ Edmonton Oilers (1993–94) 25–38–11 Recap 75 L March 27, 1994 3–4 @ Vancouver Canucks (1993–94) 25–39–11 Recap 76 L March 30, 1994 2–5 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1993–94) 25–40–11 Recap
April: 2–5–1 (home: 2–2–1; road: 0–3–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 77 L April 2, 1994 3–5 Edmonton Oilers (1993–94) 25–41–11 Recap 78 W April 3, 1994 6–1 Edmonton Oilers (1993–94) 26–41–11 Recap 79 L April 5, 1994 1–2 San Jose Sharks (1993–94) 26–42–11 Recap 80 L April 7, 1994 2–6 @ St. Louis Blues (1993–94) 26–43–11 Recap 81 L April 9, 1994 3–4 @ Winnipeg Jets (1993–94) 26–44–11 Recap 82 L April 10, 1994 1–2 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1993–94) 26–45–11 Recap 83 W April 13, 1994 6–4 Calgary Flames (1993–94) 27–45–11 Recap 84 T April 14, 1994 2–2 OT Edmonton Oilers (1993–94) 27–45–12 Recap
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Wayne Gretzky	81	38	92	130	20
Luc Robitaille	83	44	42	86	86
Jari Kurri	81	31	46	77	48
Rob Blake	84	20	48	68	137
Alexei Zhitnik	81	12	40	52	101
Mike Donnelly	81	21	21	42	34
Tomas Sandstrom	51	17	24	41	59
Darryl Sydor	84	8	27	35	94
John Druce	55	14	17	31	50
Pat Conacher	77	15	13	28	71
Shawn McEachern	49	8	13	21	24
Tony Granato	50	7	14	21	150
Warren Rychel	80	10	9	19	322
Robert Lang	32	9	10	19	10
Charlie Huddy	79	5	13	18	71
Jimmy Carson	25	4	7	11	2
Kevin Todd	12	3	8	11	8
Marty McSorley	18	4	6	10	55
Tim Watters	60	1	9	10	67
Dixon Ward	34	6	2	8	45
Doug Houda	54	2	6	8	165
Dave Taylor	33	4	3	7	28
Gary Shuchuk	56	3	4	7	30
Dominic Lavoie	8	3	3	6	2
Brian McReynolds	20	1	3	4	4
Mark Hardy	16	0	3	3	27
Dan Currie	5	1	1	2	0
Jim Paek	18	1	1	2	10
Phil Crowe	31	0	2	2	77
Keith Redmond	12	1	0	1	20
Brent Thompson	24	1	0	1	81
Kelly Hrudey	64	0	1	1	6
Bob Jay	3	0	1	1	0
Guy Leveque	5	0	1	1	2
Rob Murphy	8	0	1	1	22
Donald Dufresne	9	0	0	0	10
David Goverde	1	0	0	0	0
Justin Hocking	1	0	0	0	0
Rick Knickle	4	0	0	0	0
Marc Potvin	3	0	0	0	26
Robb Stauber	22	0	0	0	18
Dave Thomlinson	7	0	0	0	21

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
Kelly Hrudey	3713	64	22	31	7	228	3.68	2219	1991	.897	1
Robb Stauber	1144	22	4	11	5	65	3.41	706	641	.908	1
Rick Knickle	174	4	1	2	0	9	3.10	71	62	.873	0
David Goverde	60	1	0	1	0	7	7.00	37	30	.811	0
Team:	5091	84	27	45	12	309	3.64	3033	2724	.898	2

^[8]

Awards and honors

• Wayne Gretzky, Art Ross Trophy
• Wayne Gretzky, Lester Patrick Trophy^[9]

Transactions

The Kings were involved in the following transactions during the 1993–94 season.^[10]

Trades

June 26, 1993	To Los Angeles Kings 5th round pick in 1993 - Jason Saal	To New Jersey Devils Corey Millen
August 27, 1993	To Los Angeles Kings Shawn McEachern	To Pittsburgh Penguins Marty McSorley
November 2, 1993	To Los Angeles Kings Future considerations	To Edmonton Oilers Jeff Chychrun
November 3, 1993	To Los Angeles Kings Doug Houda	To Hartford Whalers Marc Potvin
January 8, 1994	To Los Angeles Kings Dixon Ward	To Vancouver Canucks Jimmy Carson
January 28, 1994	To Los Angeles Kings Brad Tiley	To New York Rangers 11th round pick in 1994 - Jamie Butt
February 15, 1994	To Los Angeles Kings Marty McSorley Jim Paek	To Pittsburgh Penguins Shawn McEachern Tomas Sandstrom
March 19, 1994	To Los Angeles Kings Donald Dufresne	To Tampa Bay Lightning 6th round pick in 1994 - Dan Juden
March 21, 1994	To Los Angeles Kings Kevin Todd	To Chicago Blackhawks 4th round pick in 1994 - Steve McLaren

Free agent signings

July 15, 1993	From Hartford Whalers Brian Chapman
July 16, 1993	From Fort Wayne Komets (IHL) Bob Jay
July 16, 1993	From Edmonton Oilers Dan Currie
July 16, 1993	From Boston Bruins Dominic Lavoie
July 22, 1993	From New York Rangers Dave Thomlinson
July 29, 1993	From New York Rangers Brian McReynolds
August 2, 1993	From Winnipeg Jets John Druce
August 2, 1993	From Ottawa Senators Rob Murphy
October 13, 1993	From Hull Olympiques (QMJHL) Eric Lavigne
November 8, 1993	From Fort Wayne Komets (IHL) Phil Crowe

Lost in expansion draft

June 24, 1993	To Anaheim Mighty Ducks Jim Thomson
June 24, 1993	To Anaheim Mighty Ducks Lonnie Loach

Draft picks

See also: 1993 NHL Entry Draft

Los Angeles' draft picks at the 1993 NHL entry draft held at the Quebec Coliseum in Quebec City, Quebec.^[11] The Kings first pick, in the second round, was used to choose Shayne Toporowski from the Prince Albert Raiders of the Western Hockey League. Their first-round pick had been dealt to the Edmonton Oilers in the Wayne Gretzky trade.

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2	42	Shayne Toporowski	Canada	RW	3	0	0	0	7
3	68	Jeff Mitchell	United States	RW	7	0	0	0	7
4	94	Bob Wren	Canada	C	5	0	0	0	0
5	105	Frederik Beaubien	Canada	G
5	117	Jason Saal	United States	G
5	120	Tomas Vlasak	Czech Republic	LW	10	1	3	4	2
6	146	Jere Karalahti	Finland	D	149	8	19	27	97
7	172	Justin Martin	United States	RW
8	198	Travis Dillabough	Canada	LW
9	224	Martin Strbak	Slovakia	D	49	5	11	16	46
10	250	Kimmo Timonen	Finland	D	1108	117	454	571	654
11	276	Patrick Howald	Switzerland	LW

References

Sources

• Kings on Hockey Database

Notes

1. Georgatos, Dennis (March 21, 1994). "Gretzky Ties Howe's Mark with 2 Goals". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
2. Longman, Jere (March 21, 1994). "HOCKEY; Gretzky Ties Howe Mark On No. 801". The New York Times. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
3. Dillman, Lisa (March 24, 1994). "No. 99 Gets Goal No. 802 -- Now He's No. 1 on List: Hockey: The Great One Passes Gordie Howe in the second period, but the Kings lose again, 6-3". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
4. Privman, Jay (March 24, 1994). "HOCKEY; Great One Becomes N.H.L.'s Greatest". The New York Times. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
5. Standings: NHL Public Relations Department (2008). Dave McCarthy; et al. (eds.). THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Official Guide & Record Book/2009. National Hockey League. p. 154. ISBN 978-1-894801-14-0.
6. "NHL Hockey Standings". NHL.com. Retrieved August 17, 2024.
7. "1993-94 Los Angeles Kings Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved February 14, 2025.
8. "1993-94 Los Angeles Kings Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved May 27, 2009.
9. Collins gem Hockey Facts and Stats 2009-10, p.425, Andrew Podnieks, Harper Collins Publishers Ltd, Toronto, Canada, ISBN 978-1-55468-621-6
10. "Hockey Transactions Search Results".
11. "1993 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved February 14, 2025.