Kings react to a special night in Los Angeles, honoring local Firefighters & First Responders

I’ll never forget a comment posted after the Kings won in overtime in Winnipeg to begin their recent five-game trip.

It came from a Kings fan on Instagram, responding to the Driver of the Game photo after Adrian Kempe’s overtime game-winning goal. In tragedy, his house burned down in the wildfires in Los Angeles. He said that when Kempe scored to beat the Jets, it made it all go away, if just for a moment. A moment of peace, joy and happiness for someone who had lost so much.

While LA Kings hockey is far from the most important thing going on right now, it still has its place. For many who have been impacted by the fires, the Kings were a welcomed distraction, as the players hoped they might be.

“We were just [trying] to do our thing here and play hockey for everyone back home, give them something to maybe take their mind off of what’s going on,” forward Trevor Moore said. “Playing for the people who were affected and the first responders that were out there fighting is important to us.”

For the last couple weeks, all the Kings could really do was their thing.

For three-hour windows, the Kings did their best to focus on a game, trying to pick up a win on the road, to collect points against divisional opposition. When the team originally departed for Winnipeg, amidst the wildfires in Los Angeles, the Kings certainly left during a time of uncertainty. On the road for 10 days, the players, coaches and staff followed the same news as the rest of us, only they did it from Western Canada.

“We were gone, everyone has social media, so we all kind of talked about it and talked to families back here,” forward Trevor Lewis said. “We had some people on the trip that were affected by the fires as well, so it’s hard when it hits so close to home. We’re just very thankful for all the first responders and everyone that helped out.”

LA, in some ways, was on the road with the Kings.

LAFD stickers on helmets and patches on jerseys. Pre-game moments of silence in several buildings. 50/50 proceeds in Seattle and Vancouver, donated to those impacted by the wildfires in Los Angeles. Countless players, coaches, staff and media in all five markets simply extending their concern, their well wishes. While the Kings were unable to be in Los Angeles, it was with them, in a small way.

Last night, though, the Kings were finally back at home and had the chance to give some of it back in person.

As Moore added before the game yesterday, “we want to be here with our city.”

Last night, the Kings were.

Photo by Gary A. Vasquez/NHLI via Getty Images

For those who were not on the road, last night’s game was more of a culmination of what’s been done here over the last couple of weeks. The Kings held donation drives daily at Toyota Sports Performance Center, collecting resources for those in need, in conjunction with local YMCA’s. Volunteers helped to lead the drive each day on home soil, as the Kings tried to do their part to help.

Last night was a big one, though.

Everyone back in Los Angeles, with the chance to do a small part to honor those who have helped so much.

“It’s very special, the support that they gave to our community and being able to recognize putting their life on the line for us, it’s a very special moment,” forward Quinton Byfield said. “Very special ceremony, and to show my appreciation was very important.”

Before the game, Los Angeles firefighters surrounded the center-ice logo at Crypto.com Arena, as a tribute video for all first responders and firefighters played on the scoreboard. Santa Monica Fire Chief Matthew Hallock dropped the ceremonial first puck between Anze Kopitar and Sidney Crosby. John Stuhlman, a former Marine, now of the LAFD Fire Prevention Bureau, with 21 years of service.

“I don’t know how you guys felt, for me, it was really humbling to see the guys out there and the gals, it was humbling, I just felt that way, I felt a little emotional,” Head Coach Jim Hiller said of the pre-game. “I just felt like those people have been out there doing some pretty amazing things that we just saw a little bit from a long distance, and we’re in our own little bubble doing we have to do and it brought it to life for me. Pretty personal.”

Photo by Gary A. Vasquez/NHLI via Getty Images

For the players on the ice, the sentiment was goosebumps.

Defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov was on the ice, behind the blueline, while forward Warren Foegele was on the bench. Their reactions, though, were the same.

Foegele – I was getting goosebumps, to be honest. Our first responders do so much for us, risking their lives, and for us to be a part of that and just recognize them for a little bit, it means a lot and it goes a long way. Respect to those people that are willing to sacrifice their own lives to take care of everyone else in this community.

Gavrikov – It was goosebumps for me, standing on the blueline. It’s really important for the city, their jobs. I just want to say thank you again to every single first responder. It means a lot for all of us, for our city, for our community. It’s huge.

For Gavrikov and Foegele, they’re both relatively new members of the Los Angeles community. Gavrikov moved here in 2023 when he was acquired via trade from the Columbus Blue Jackets, while Foegele signed in Los Angeles over the summer as a free agent.

For Anze Kopitar, he’s been here for nearly half his life. It’s his second home. To see things happening around him, he’s certainly noticed and believes that the city of Los Angeles will continue to rally together to support their own.

“The city’s been going through some tough times and obviously in situations like this, I’m sure the city is going to come together and help and pull their weight, in every which way possible to help the people that you know have lost everything, try to help them out, get them on their feet and essentially rebuild,” Kopitar said.

As we move forward, the recovery process for this city is far from over, as is the team’s efforts to continue to honor those who have been so impactful in our area. The center-ice logo will remain in place for tomorrow’s game versus Florida and the game-to-game honoring of firefighters and first responders will continue this season. The rescheduled game on April 17 against Calgary should be a celebration of the contributions of those individuals as well.

The firmest of thank yous from the entire organization.

“On behalf of the LA Kings family and all Angelinos, we want to thank all of the Los Angeles firefighters and all of the first responders for risking their lives, for making sure that we’re taken care of,” Kings President Luc Robitaille said. “We appreciate everything you have done and we’re forever grateful. We understand that together is the only way we will rebuild.”

Photo by Gary A. Vasquez/NHLI via Getty Images