Marcel Dionne member of sports team Los Angeles Kings
Los Angeles Kings
Despite having teammates such as Alex Delvecchio and Mickey Redmond, Dionne's frustrations with losing were evident. His agent, Alan Eagleson pushed for more money. The owner of the Los Angeles Kings, Jack Kent Cooke, offered Dionne $300,000 per year. A deal was struck with the Red Wings and Dionne was traded for Terry Harper, Dan Maloney, cash, and draft picks; Dionne then signed with the Kings on June 23, 1975 and became their franchise player. At the time, it was the richest deal in hockey history.During Dionne's time with the Los Angeles Kings, he played eleven and a half seasons and formed the famed "Triple Crown Line", centring Charlie Simmer and Dave Taylor. Despite Dionne's production during the regular season, he was frustrated with the Kings' lack of playoff success; they made the postseason from 1976–82 but only advanced to the second round three times for a total of 43 playoff games. During the 1986–87 season, Dionne mentored the rookies of the Kings as Mickey Redmond had mentored him during his rookie years in Detroit. He took eventual Calder Trophy winner Luc Robitaille, Jimmy Carson and Steve Duchesne under his wing. As a fundraiser for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation in 1979, Dionne, Simmer, and Taylor recorded a song written by Alan Thicke, "Please Forgive My Misconduct Last Night," which appeared as the B side of "Hockey Sock Rock" by Phil Esposito and some of the New York Rangers.
Despite the rapport with the rookies, there was also a falling out with coach Pat Quinn; moreover, the aging Kings were on track to miss the playoffs. Dionne did not want to be part of a rebuilding project and either wanted an immediate upgrade to the roster or a trade to a contender. He was traded to the New York Rangers on March 10, 1987; the Kings did reach the playoffs in the season he was traded.
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