5 random players you forgot were on the Los Angeles Kings

Los Angeles Kings: Cliff Ronning

With perennial playoff qualifiers in Vancouver and Phoenix, Ronning finished second or third on his team’s production leaderboard five times between 1991-92 and 1997-98. After the Coyotes traded him to Nashville the following fall, he topped the Predators’ inaugural chart with 53 points in 72 games.

Then with back-to-back 62-point campaigns, he stayed at the summit of Music City’s new team, standing out amidst the franchise’s ongoing growing pains. He even led the Predators a fourth time in 2001-02, despite playing that year’s final month in Los Angeles.

Logically, trading for the 36-year-old Ronning should have given L.A. a fruitful veteran presence as they looked to build on their surprise run to Game 7 of the 2001 Western Conference semifinals.

But Ronning went cold as a King, mustering one goal and six points in 14 regular season games. With a helper constituting his only playoff point in four appearances, he joined his temporary team in a first-round flameout.

The Kings chose not to renew their rental, though that move might have aroused a few questions a year later. With the 2002-03 Minnesota Wild, Ronning returned to his old form with 48 regular season points, good for third on the team. He added nine in the playoffs, lending depth to the third-year franchise’s head-turning trek to the Western Conference Final.

All the while, L.A. was out of the playoffs altogether. Ditto in 2004, when Ronning spent his final NHL season helping the Islanders reach the bracket. His 24 points in 40 outings that year translated to a full-season pace of 48, which like his output everywhere else dwarfed his Kings rate.