Ties run deep for Kings, Devils

The Kings learned who their Stanley Cup Finals opponent will be last night, and although the teams don’t play very often, there is a startling number of ties between the Kings and the New Jersey Devils. Here’s a rundown…

— Kings defenseman Willie Mitchell was drafted by New Jersey in the eighth round in 1996 and played parts of two seasons with the Devils.
— Kings defenseman Matt Greene and Devils forward Zach Parise were roommates and teammates at the University of North Dakota.
— Kings center Mike Richards played junior hockey for the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers and was coached by current Devils coach Peter DeBoer.
— Devils assistant coach Larry Robinson played three seasons with the Kings and was the Kings’ head coach for four seasons.
— Devils defenseman Peter Harrold and winger Alexei Ponikarovsky are former Kings.
— Kings defenseman Alec Martinez and Devils defenseman Andy Greene were teammates at Miami (Ohio) University.
— Devils winger Ilya Kovalchuk rejected the Kings’ free-agent offer to re-sign with the Devils in 2010.
— Brent Sutter, brother of Kings coach Darryl Sutter, coached the Devils for two seasons.
— Kings general manager Dean Lombardi and Devils GM Lou Lamoriello are close, and Lamoriello served as something of a mentor to a young Lombardi. To read more about the kinship, click here to read a great story from NHL.com