Their highlights in those years included the strong goaltending of Rogie Vachon, and the "Triple Crown Line" of Charlie Simmer, Dave Taylor and Hall of Famer Marcel Dionne, who had a famous upset of the rising Edmonton Oilers in a 1982 playoff game known as the Miracle on Manchester.

In 1988, the Kings traded with the Oilers to get their captain Wayne Gretzky, leading to a successful phase of the franchise that raised hockey's popularity in Los Angeles, and helped elevate the sport's profile in the American Sun Belt region.

A period of mediocrity ensued, with the Kings only resurging as they broke a six-year playoff drought in the 2009–10 season, with a team that included goaltender Jonathan Quick, defenseman Drew Doughty, and forwards Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar, and Justin Williams.

The franchise has had mixed success since; to the present day, the Kings qualified for the playoffs for the last three consecutive seasons, but only five times in the last decade, never advancing past the first round.

[12] After being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in both 1973–74 and 1974–75, the Kings moved to significantly upgrade their offensive firepower when they acquired center Marcel Dionne from the Detroit Red Wings.

Bob Pulford left the Kings after the 1976–77 season after constant feuding with then owner Jack Kent Cooke, and General Manager Jake Milford decided to leave as well.

After changing the team colors to silver and black,[8] McNall acquired the league's best player, Wayne Gretzky, in a blockbuster trade with the Edmonton Oilers on August 9, 1988.

[30][31] In Gretzky's first season with the Kings, he led the team in scoring with 168 points on 54 goals and 114 assists and won his ninth Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's Most Valuable Player.

Led by Luc Robitaille, who served as captain in Gretzky's absence,[37] the Kings finished with a 39–35–10 record (88 points), clinching third place in the Smythe Division.

[41] The Canadiens pulled their goaltender, Patrick Roy, giving them a two-man advantage, and Eric Desjardins scored on the resulting power play to tie the game.

However, Gretzky provided a notable highlight during that year on March 23, 1994, when he scored his 802nd career goal to pass Gordie Howe as the NHL's all-time leading goal-scorer.

After the federal government launched an investigation into his financial practices, McNall finally sold the club to IDB Communications founder Jeffrey Sudikoff and former Madison Square Garden president Joseph Cohen.

[43] It later emerged that McNall's free-spending ways put the Kings in serious financial trouble; at one point, Cohen and Sudikoff were even unable to meet player payroll, and were ultimately forced into bankruptcy in 1995.

[46] The subsequent rebuild saw the Kings only return to the playoffs in 1998, led by captain Rob Blake and players like Jozef Stumpel and Glen Murray, where the highly skilled St. Louis Blues swept the team in four games.

[47] The Kings suffered through an injury-plagued season in 1998–99 as they finished last in the Pacific Division and missed the playoffs with a 32–45–5 record, leading to the dismissal of head coach Larry Robinson.

During the 2009–10 season, the team had built a consistent roster with goaltender Jonathan Quick, defenseman Drew Doughty, and forwards Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams.

[59] Goaltender Jonathan Quick was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player during the playoffs, and soon after signed a ten-year contract extension on June 28.

On June 1, 2014, the Kings advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals for the second time in three years after winning Game 7, 4–3, in overtime through a goal from Alec Martinez, clinching their third Western Conference title in franchise history.

Despite finishing with a record of 40–27–15, the Kings became the first defending Stanley Cup champion to miss the postseason since the 2006–07 Carolina Hurricanes and only the fourth overall since the 1967 NHL expansion season.

[80] Despite the trade, the Kings ultimately missed the playoffs for the second time in three seasons and, in the off-season, fired general manager Dean Lombardi and head coach Darryl Sutter.

The 2019–20 season was highlighted by several rebuilding moves, as players such as Trevor Lewis, Jack Campbell, Kyle Clifford, Derek Forbort and Alec Martinez would all depart the team, through trades or via free agency.

In the 2020–21 season, the Kings had another rebuilding year as they traded Jeff Carter, extended Alex Iafallo and saw debuts of prospects such as Jaret Anderson-Dolan, Arthur Kaliyev, Tobias Bjornfot, Rasmus Kupari and Quinton Byfield.

The uniform featured a gradually fading black splash, medieval-inspired serif text, and a logo of a bearded figure wearing a golden crown.

[98] As part of the Kings' 50th anniversary in the 2016–17 season, the team wore commemorative silver alternate jerseys with a black shoulder yoke and striping for every Saturday home game.

Note: GP = Games played; GAA = Goals against average; SV% = Save percentage; W = Wins; L = Losses; SO = Shutouts These are the top-ten playoff scorers in franchise history.

Note: GP = Games played; GAA = Goals against average; SV% = Save percentage; W = Wins; L = Losses; SO = Shutouts In 1973, the Kings hired Bob Miller as their play-by-play announcer.

[143] On March 2, 2017, citing health reasons, Miller announced his retirement after 44 years with the team, and finished his career broadcasting the final two games of the 2016–17 Kings season.

[145] On September 18, 2018. the team announced that it would cease over-the-air radio broadcasts, and had partnered with iHeartMedia to form the Los Angeles Kings Audio Network, which streams exclusively on the iHeartRadio platform.

[146][147] On June 5, 2023, the Kings parted ways with Alex Faust and planned on returning to a TV/radio simulcast format with Nick Nickson, Jim Fox and Daryl Evans, which they last used in the 1989–90 season.

Previous affiliates included the Manchester Monarchs, Lowell Lock Monsters, Springfield Falcons, New Haven Nighthawks, Binghamton Dusters and Springfield Kings of the AHL; Manchester Monarchs and Reading Royals in the ECHL; Long Beach Ice Dogs, Phoenix Roadrunners and Utah Grizzlies in the International Hockey League; and the Houston Apollos of the Central Hockey League.