Kris King

Kris King was a rugged left-winger whose experience and work ethic made him a natural leader wherever he played. He maximized what talent he had to last parts of 14 years in the NHL.

King played four years with the OHL's Peterborough Petes. He scored 73 career goals and was chosen 80th overall by the Washington Capitals in 1984. He never played a game for the Caps and signed as a free agent with the Detroit Red Wings in March 1987. After spending most of the 1987-88 season in Adirondack then played 55 games for the Wings when they finished at the top of the Norris Division in 1988-89.

In September 1989, he was traded to the New York Rangers where he enjoyed his best three-and-a-half-year stretch. He scored 25 points in 1990-91 and was an important leader on the Blueshirts when they finished at the top of the NHL standings in 1991-92. King was traded to the highly skilled Winnipeg Jets part way through the 1992-93 season along with fellow tough guy Tie Domi. His rights were transferred to Phoenix with relocation of the Jets franchise in 1996-97.

King signed as a free agent with Toronto prior to the 1997-98 season and played all 82 games but the team missed the playoffs. Under new coach Pat Quinn, the hard-nosed veteran played 67 games in 1998-99 and 17 playoff games as Toronto reached the semi-finals. He was phased out the next season, as Toronto wanted to give a few younger players a chance. King spent time with the IHL's Chicago Wolves while seeing a few shifts in 39 regular season games and one post-season match with Toronto before retiring.