# 1994–95 Los Angeles Kings season

The 1994–95 Los Angeles Kings season, was the Kings' 28th season in the National Hockey League. It saw the Kings finish fifth in the Pacific Division with a record of 16–23–9, for 41 points. Defense proved to be problematic for the Kings, as they allowed a league-high 1,668 shots (34.8 per game) and finished tied for 23rd overall in goals allowed, with 174. Their offense was more reliable, as the Kings averaged nearly three goals scored per game. Despite missing a quarter of the season, Rick Tocchet still led the team in goals with 18.
On May 2, the Dallas Stars were in seventh place in the Western Conference with 42 points while the Kings were tied with the San Jose Sharks for eighth place with 41 points (16–22–9). However, the Kings lost the final game of the season on May 3 to the Chicago Blackhawks by a score of 5–1, finishing in ninth place and therefore missed the playoffs and both San Jose and Dallas clinch playoff berths. After that, the Sharks came from behind to tie the Vancouver Canucks 3–3 in their final game of the season and, in doing so, jumped up to seventh place while the Stars fell to eighth place.

## Regular season

On April 21, head coach Barry Melrose was fired after six consecutive losses and replaced by Kings president Rogie Vachon.

### Final standings

Pacific Division :
| No. | CR | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 2 | Calgary Flames | 48 | 24 | 17 | 7 | 163 | 135 | 55 |
| 2 | 6 | Vancouver Canucks | 48 | 18 | 18 | 12 | 153 | 148 | 48 |
| 3 | 7 | San Jose Sharks | 48 | 19 | 25 | 4 | 129 | 161 | 42 |
| 4 | 9 | Los Angeles Kings | 48 | 16 | 23 | 9 | 142 | 174 | 41 |
| 5 | 11 | Edmonton Oilers | 48 | 17 | 27 | 4 | 136 | 183 | 38 |
| 6 | 12 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | 48 | 16 | 27 | 5 | 125 | 164 | 37 |
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 :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | p – Detroit Red Wings | CEN | 48 | 33 | 11 | 4 | 180 | 117 | 70 |
| 2 | x – Calgary Flames | PAC | 48 | 24 | 17 | 7 | 163 | 135 | 55 |
| 3 | St. Louis Blues | CEN | 48 | 28 | 15 | 5 | 178 | 135 | 61 |
| 4 | Chicago Blackhawks | CEN | 48 | 24 | 19 | 5 | 156 | 115 | 53 |
| 5 | Toronto Maple Leafs | CEN | 48 | 21 | 19 | 8 | 135 | 146 | 50 |
| 6 | Vancouver Canucks | PAC | 48 | 18 | 18 | 12 | 153 | 148 | 48 |
| 7 | San Jose Sharks | PAC | 48 | 19 | 25 | 4 | 129 | 161 | 42 |
| 8 | Dallas Stars | CEN | 48 | 17 | 23 | 8 | 136 | 135 | 42 |
| 9 | Los Angeles Kings | PAC | 48 | 16 | 23 | 9 | 142 | 174 | 41 |
| 10 | Winnipeg Jets | CEN | 48 | 16 | 25 | 7 | 157 | 177 | 39 |
| 11 | Edmonton Oilers | PAC | 48 | 17 | 27 | 4 | 136 | 183 | 38 |
| 12 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | PAC | 48 | 16 | 27 | 5 | 125 | 164 | 37 |
Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific
bold – Qualified for playoffs; x – Won division; p – Won Presidents' Trophy

## Schedule and results

1994–95 regular season :
January: 1–4–1 (home: 1–3–1; road: 0–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1TJanuary 20, 19953–3 OTToronto Maple Leafs (1994–95)0–0–1Recap
2LJanuary 22, 19953–4Edmonton Oilers (1994–95)0–1–1Recap
3LJanuary 24, 19952–4Dallas Stars (1994–95)0–2–1Recap
4LJanuary 26, 19951–3@ St. Louis Blues (1994–95)0–3–1Recap
5WJanuary 28, 19954–2Winnipeg Jets (1994–95)1–3–1Recap
6LJanuary 29, 19953–6Chicago Blackhawks (1994–95)1–4–1Recap :
February: 4–5–3 (home: 1–4–1; road: 3–1–2)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
7WFebruary 4, 19954–3Detroit Red Wings (1994–95)2–4–1Recap
8LFebruary 5, 19952–3Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1994–95)2–5–1Recap
9TFebruary 7, 19955–5 OT@ St. Louis Blues (1994–95)2–5–2Recap
10WFebruary 11, 19955–2@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1994–95)3–5–2Recap
11TFebruary 12, 19954–4 OT@ Detroit Red Wings (1994–95)3–5–3Recap
12WFebruary 15, 19953–1@ Dallas Stars (1994–95)4–5–3Recap
13LFebruary 17, 19950–2San Jose Sharks (1994–95)4–6–3Recap
14LFebruary 18, 19952–6Vancouver Canucks (1994–95)4–7–3Recap
15LFebruary 20, 19952–8@ Vancouver Canucks (1994–95)4–8–3Recap
16TFebruary 23, 19953–3 OTCalgary Flames (1994–95)4–8–4Recap
17WFebruary 25, 19954–3@ Edmonton Oilers (1994–95)5–8–4Recap
18LFebruary 28, 19954–8Chicago Blackhawks (1994–95)5–9–4Recap :
March: 6–6–2 (home: 1–3–1; road: 5–3–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
19LMarch 4, 19954–5Vancouver Canucks (1994–95)5–10–4Recap
20LMarch 6, 19952–8@ Dallas Stars (1994–95)5–11–4Recap
21WMarch 9, 19954–3@ Chicago Blackhawks (1994–95)6–11–4Recap
22WMarch 11, 19954–2@ Winnipeg Jets (1994–95)7–11–4Recap
23WMarch 13, 19954–1@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1994–95)8–11–4Recap
24LMarch 14, 19952–5@ Detroit Red Wings (1994–95)8–12–4Recap
25TMarch 16, 19952–2 OTSt. Louis Blues (1994–95)8–12–5Recap
26LMarch 18, 19953–5Toronto Maple Leafs (1994–95)8–13–5Recap
27WMarch 20, 19955–3St. Louis Blues (1994–95)9–13–5Recap
28TMarch 21, 19953–3 OT@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1994–95)9–13–6Recap
29LMarch 25, 19951–3San Jose Sharks (1994–95)9–14–6Recap
30WMarch 26, 19957–3@ San Jose Sharks (1994–95)10–14–6Recap
31WMarch 28, 19955–3@ Calgary Flames (1994–95)11–14–6Recap
32LMarch 29, 19952–5@ Vancouver Canucks (1994–95)11–15–6Recap :
April: 4–7–3 (home: 4–1–3; road: 0–6–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
33TApril 1, 19957–7 OTWinnipeg Jets (1994–95)11–15–7Recap
34WApril 3, 19957–2Edmonton Oilers (1994–95)12–15–7Recap
35WApril 6, 19953–2Dallas Stars (1994–95)13–15–7Recap
36LApril 7, 19954–7@ Calgary Flames (1994–95)13–16–7Recap
37LApril 9, 19951–5@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1994–95)13–17–7Recap
38LApril 12, 19951–4Calgary Flames (1994–95)13–18–7Recap
39LApril 16, 19950–2@ San Jose Sharks (1994–95)13–19–7Recap
40LApril 17, 19952–5@ Calgary Flames (1994–95)13–20–7Recap
41LApril 19, 19950–2@ Edmonton Oilers (1994–95)13–21–7Recap
42TApril 21, 19953–3 OTEdmonton Oilers (1994–95)13–21–8Recap
43TApril 23, 19952–2 OTMighty Ducks of Anaheim (1994–95)13–21–9Recap
44WApril 25, 19955–1Detroit Red Wings (1994–95)14–21–9Recap
45LApril 28, 19950–4@ San Jose Sharks (1994–95)14–22–9Recap
46WApril 30, 19952–1Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1994–95)15–22–9Recap :
May: 1–1–0 (home: 0–0–0; road: 1–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
47WMay 2, 19952–1@ Winnipeg Jets (1994–95)16–22–9Recap
48LMay 3, 19951–5@ Chicago Blackhawks (1994–95)16–23–9Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

## Player statistics
### Scoring

* Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
* † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Kings only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Kings only.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 99 | Wayne Gretzky | C | 48 | 11 | 37 | 48 | −20 | 6 |
| 22 | Rick Tocchet | RW | 36 | 18 | 17 | 35 | −8 | 70 |
| 7 | Dan Quinn | C | 44 | 14 | 17 | 31 | −3 | 32 |
| 17 | Jari Kurri | RW | 38 | 10 | 19 | 29 | −17 | 24 |
| 21 | Tony Granato | LW | 33 | 13 | 11 | 24 | 9 | 68 |
| 25 | Darryl Sydor | D | 48 | 4 | 19 | 23 | −2 | 36 |
| 33 | Marty McSorley | D | 41 | 3 | 18 | 21 | −14 | 83 |
| 19 | John Druce | RW | 43 | 15 | 5 | 20 | −3 | 20 |
| 44 | Randy Burridge† | LW | 38 | 4 | 15 | 19 | −4 | 8 |
| 24 | Michel Petit | D | 40 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 4 | 84 |
| 28 | Eric Lacroix | LW | 45 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 2 | 54 |
| 15 | Pat Conacher | LW | 48 | 7 | 9 | 16 | −9 | 12 |
| 13 | Robert Lang | C | 36 | 4 | 8 | 12 | −7 | 4 |
| 4 | Rob Blake | D | 24 | 4 | 7 | 11 | −16 | 38 |
| 12 | Kevin Todd | C | 33 | 3 | 8 | 11 | −5 | 12 |
| 14 | Gary Shuchuk | C | 22 | 3 | 6 | 9 | −2 | 6 |
| 77 | Rob Cowie | D | 32 | 2 | 7 | 9 | −6 | 20 |
| 29 | Chris Snell | D | 32 | 2 | 7 | 9 | −7 | 22 |
| 39 | Yanic Perreault | C | 26 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 20 |
| 2 | Alexei Zhitnik‡ | D | 11 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −3 | 27 |
| 8 | Kevin Brown | RW | 23 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −7 | 18 |
| 55 | Troy Crowder | RW | 29 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 99 |
| 11 | Mike Donnelly‡ | LW | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −7 | 4 |
| 6 | Sean O'Donnell | D | 15 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −2 | 49 |
| 26 | Philippe Boucher† | D | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −3 | 4 |
| 34 | Matt Johnson | LW | 14 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 102 |
| 10 | Jeff Shevalier | LW | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 35 | Arto Blomsten† | D | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 22 | Charlie Huddy‡ | D | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −6 | 6 |
| 9 | Rob Brown | RW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 0 |
| 31 | Grant Fuhr† | G | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 2 |
| 32 | Kelly Hrudey | G | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 36 | Pauli Jaks | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 38 | Eric Lavigne | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| 10 | Warren Rychel‡ | LW | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −5 | 19 |
| 35 | Robb Stauber‡ | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 31 | Jamie Storr | G | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 27 | Dave Thomlinson | LW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| 3 | Denis Tsygurov† | D | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 11 |
| 5 | Tim Watters | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |

### Goaltending

* † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Kings only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Kings only.
| No. | Player | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | GP | W | L | T | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
| 32 | Kelly Hrudey | 35 | 14 | 13 | 5 | 1099 | 99 | 3.14 | .910 | 0 | 1894 |
| 31 | Grant Fuhr† | 14 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 379 | 47 | 4.04 | .876 | 0 | 698 |
| 31 | Jamie Storr | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 152 | 17 | 3.87 | .888 | 0 | 263 |
| 36 | Pauli Jaks | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 2 | 3.00 | .920 | 0 | 40 |
| 35 | Robb Stauber‡ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 7.33 | .667 | 0 | 16 |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| Team | Best Newcomer | Rick Tocchet |
| Team | Bill Libby Memorial Award | Kelly Hrudey |
| Team | Defensive Player | Pat Conacher |
| Team | Jim Fox Community Service | Tony Granato |
| Team | Leading Scorer | Wayne Gretzky |
| Team | Most Inspirational | Kelly Hrudey |
| Team | Most Popular Player | Kelly Hrudey |
| Team | Outstanding Defenseman | Darryl Sydor |
| Team | Unsung Hero | Pat Conacher |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Matt Johnson | January 22, 1995 |
| First game | Sean O'Donnell | January 24, 1995 |
| First game | Jamie Storr | January 24, 1995 |
| First game | Kevin Brown | January 28, 1995 |
| First game | Pauli Jaks | January 29, 1995 |
| First game | Rob Cowie | February 5, 1995 |
| First game | Eric Lavigne | February 20, 1995 |
| First game | Jeff Shevalier | April 7, 1995 |
| 1,000th game played | Jari Kurri | February 11, 1995 |

## Transactions

The Kings were involved in the following transactions during the 1994–95 season.

### Trades

| June 25, 1994 | To Los Angeles Kings7th round pick in 1995 – Benoit Larose | To Ottawa SenatorsJim Paek |
| July 11, 1994 | To Los Angeles KingsYanic Perreault | To Toronto Maple Leafs4th round pick in 1996 – Mikael Simons |
| July 26, 1994 | To Los Angeles KingsSean O'Donnell | To Buffalo SabresDoug Houda |
| July 29, 1994 | To Los Angeles KingsRick Tocchet 2nd round pick in 1995 – Pavel Rosa | To Pittsburgh PenguinsLuc Robitaille |
| August 8, 1994 | To Los Angeles KingsRuslan Batyrshin 2nd round pick in 1996 – Marian Ciser 6th round pick in 1996 – Brian Willsie | To Winnipeg JetsBrent Thompson 6th round pick in 1996 – Robert Esche |
| October 3, 1994 | To Los Angeles KingsEric Lacroix Chris Snell 4th round pick in 1996 – Eric Belanger | To Toronto Maple LeafsDixon Ward Guy Leveque Shayne Toporowski Kelly Fairchild |
| February 10, 1995 | To Los Angeles KingsRandy Burridge | To Washington CapitalsWarren Rychel |
| February 14, 1995 | To Los Angeles KingsPhilippe Boucher Denis Tsygurov Grant Fuhr | To Buffalo SabresAlexei Zhitnik Robb Stauber Charlie Huddy 5th round pick in 1995 – Marian Menhart |
| February 17, 1995 | To Los Angeles Kings4th round pick in 1996 – Justin Davis | To Dallas StarsMike Donnelly 7th round pick in 1996 – Eoin McInerney |
| March 27, 1995 | To Los Angeles KingsArto Blomsten | To Winnipeg Jets8th round pick in 1995 – Fredrik Lovén |

### Free agent signings

| June 7, 1994 | From Moncton Hawks (AHL)Dan Bylsma |
| June 14, 1994 | From Calgary FlamesMichel Petit |
| June 14, 1994 | From Dallas StarsRob Brown |
| July 7, 1994 | From Adirondack Red Wings (AHL)Barry Potomski |
| July 8, 1994 | From New York IslandersRob Cowie |
| August 31, 1994 | From Detroit Red WingsTroy Crowder |
| September 3, 1994 | From Ottawa SenatorsDan Quinn |
| September 22, 1994 | From Montreal CanadiensAndré Racicot |

### Free agents lost

| July 20, 1994 | To Detroit Vipers (IHL)Bob Jay |
| September 6, 1994 | To Hartford WhalersBob Wren |

### Waivers

| January 18, 1995 | To St. Louis BluesDonald Dufresne |

## Draft picks

Los Angeles' draft picks at the 1994 NHL Entry Draft held at the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut.
| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | College/junior/club team |
| 1 | 7 | Jamie Storr (G) | Canada | Owen Sound Platers (OHL) |
| 2 | 33 | Matt Johnson (LW) | Canada | Peterborough Petes (OHL) |
| 3 | 59 | Vitali Yachmenev (RW) | Russia | North Bay Centennials (OHL) |
| 5 | 111 | Chris Schmidt (C) | Canada | Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL) |
| 7 | 163 | Luc Gagne (RW) | Canada | Sudbury Wolves (OHL) |
| 8 | 189 | Andrew Dale (C) | Canada | Sudbury Wolves (OHL) |
| 9 | 215 | Jan Nemecek (D) | Czech Republic | HC České Budějovice (Czech Republic) |
| 10 | 241 | Sergei Shalamai (LW) | Russia | HC Irkutsk (Russia) |
| S | 7 | Quinn Fair (D) | Canada | Kent State University (NCAA) |