The 10 greatest L.A. Kings of all time -- No. 8: Rob Blake
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Continuing our list of the 10 greatest L.A. Kings of all time, as chosen by readers of latimes.com/sports. Previously:
No. 10: Charlie Simmer
No. 9: Bernie Nicholls
Time for No. 8:
No. 8: Rob Blake (14 first-place votes, 4,801 points)
Easily the most polarizing pick in the top 10. Some people had him as the greatest King ever, while some made a point to leave him out of the top 10 entirely, some even calling him a ‘traitor.’
Blake joined the Kings in the 1989-90 season and was named to the NHL All-Rookie team in 1990-91 after scoring 46 points.
One of the top defenseman in the NHL, Blake served as team captain from 1996 to 2001 and won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s best defenseman after the 1997-98 season.
On Feb. 21, 2001, Blake was traded to the Colorado Avalanche, along with Steven Reinprecht, for Adam Deadmarsh, Aaron Miller, Jared Aulin and a first-round pick.
Blake returned to the Kings as a free agent before the 2006-07 season and played two more seasons with the team before moving on to the San Jose Sharks.
Blake is fourth on the Kings’ all-time games played list with 805, seventh in assists with 333 and seventh in points with 494. He is also fourth in penalty minutes with 1,231.
-- Houston Mitchell