1967–68 Los Angeles Kings season

[1] The Kings were placed in the newly established West Division, along with the other expansion teams: the California Seals, Minnesota North Stars, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins and St. Louis Blues.

Prior to the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft, Cooke arranged a deal with Toronto Maple Leafs left wing Red Kelly, who as a player holds the distinction of playing on the most Stanley Cup championship teams without any of them including time in Montreal, and was set for his retirement, to become the Kings' first head coach.

To not rely only on the draft, Cooke purchased the American Hockey League's Springfield Indians for $1 million to bolster the Kings roster.

[2] Cooke invested heavily on promoting his team, inviting Hollywood stars to the arena, and creating nicknames for most players which he required play-by-play announcer Jiggs McDonald to employ in broadcasts.

For the first preseason practice in California, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour producer Saul Ilson had to bring a puck from his Hollywood office for the Kings to play, as the team's own were unreachable in storage.

Given that aside from California Seals the closest team from Los Angeles were the St. Louis Blues, the Kings had to endure long road trips for away games.

[2] The Kings had the best record of any of the expansion teams against the "Original Six", going a respectable 10–12–2, including winning their first two games ever against the legendary Montreal Canadiens.

The goaltending tandem of future hall of famer Terry Sawchuk and Wayne Rutledge allowed the team to stay in most games.