Three Los Angeles Kings to remember when playing a game of ‘Puckdoku’

Puckdoku is the trivia game sweeping the hockey world. It’s the NHL equivalent of the “Immaculate Grid“, a three-by-three fill-in-the-blank puzzle which originated as an MLB game but quickly spawned variants for all kinds of other sports leagues.

The concept is simple: for each square, try to think of a player who fits into the criteria established by both the corresponding X- and Y-axis labels. For example, Ray Bourque would fit perfectly into a Boston Bruins/Colorado Avalanche square. Patrick Roy would do just fine for Colorado/Montreal. You get the idea.

Of course, it goes a little deeper than that. Sometimes, instead of teams, Puckdoku uses statistical thresholds (“200+ goals”) or career achievements (“Olympic gold medallist”) as categories. Also, if you want to use a Minnesota North Stars player for the Dallas Stars or an original Winnipeg Jets player for the Arizona Coyotes, you can.

Naturally, some players are more useful for Puckdoku than others. Someone like Maurice Richard, who spent his entire career with the Montreal Canadiens, is pretty much useless for the game unless a Habs label happens to intersect with the right statistical category.

On the flip side, players who spent time with several NHL teams are among the most valuable for Puckdoku purposes. And the more obscure the player, the lower (and better) your “uniqueness” score will be. Both Jarome Iginla and Blake Comeau are valid answers for Calgary/Pittsburgh, but one is a little less well-known than the other.

Over the next few weeks, we’re going to spend some time here at Daily Faceoff highlighting three players connected with each NHL franchise who are particularly useful in games of Puckdoku. We’ll press onward today with the Los Angeles Kings.

Mathieu Schneider

Teams: Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders, Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings, Detroit Red Wings, Anaheim Ducks, Atlanta Thrashers, Vancouver Canucks, Phoenix Coyotes

After winning the Stanley Cup as a member of the Montreal Canadiens in 1993, Mathieu Schneider came ever-so-close to winning it again on multiple occasions throughout his career. In the end, he won just once — but, then again, most players never win it at all.

Schneider joined the Detroit Red Wings in 2003, one year after they beat the Carolina Hurricanes to win the Cup in 2002. He left the Red Wings in 2007, one year before they defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins to win it again. And he departed Detroit to join the Anaheim Ducks … immediately after they prevailed over the Ottawa Senators in the 2007 Stanley Cup Final.

A 5’11” left-handed defenseman, Schneider established himself as a full-timer with the Canadiens in 1990–91 and reached the 50-point plateau for the first of six times in his career in 1993–94. After being traded to the New York Islanders in 1995, Schneider bounced between the Islanders, Toronto Maple Leafs, and New York Rangers for the rest of the decade before arriving in L.A. ahead of the 2000–01 season.

Schneider scored 51 points in his first season as a King, in which the club defeated the Red Wings in the first round of the playoffs before falling to the Colorado Avalanche. Then, leading up to the trade deadline in his third season with the Kings, Schneider was sent to the Red Wings for a large package of assets that included young forward Sean Avery.

Despite being in his mid-30s, Schneider experienced some of his greatest career successes in Detroit. He set career highs with 21 goals and 59 points in 72 games with the Red Wings in 2005–06 and helped the team win playoff rounds in 2004 and 2007. After another productive season with the Ducks in 2007–08, Schneider split the 2008–09 campaign between the Atlanta Thrashers and the Canadiens, scoring nine goals and 32 points at age 39. Finally, after appearing in 25 games with the Vancouver Canucks and Phoenix Coyotes in 2009–10, Schneider announced his retirement from the NHL.

Through 1,289 career NHL games with the Canadiens, Islanders, Maple Leafs, Rangers, Kings, Red Wings, Ducks, Thrashers, Canucks, and Coyotes, Schneider collected 223 goals and 743 points. He added 11 goals and 54 points in 114 playoff contests. After retiring, Schneider spent more than a decade in an executive role with the National Hockey League Players’ Association before leaving his post in August.

Felix Potvin

Teams: Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Islanders, Vancouver Canucks, Los Angeles Kings, Boston Bruins

Sometimes, players are thrust into NHL roles by way of circumstance — for example, when someone goes down with injury or the incumbent at a certain position plays poorly over an extended period of time.

But other times, a player strongarms his way into an NHL role simply by outplaying a future first-ballot Hall of Famer and leading his team to a berth in the Conference Finals. That’s how Felix “The Cat” Potvin did it with the 1992–93 Toronto Maple Leafs, taking over from the struggling Grant Fuhr and eventually starting all 21 playoff games as the Maple Leafs made it within one win of their first Stanley Cup Final berth in decades. (The Leafs traded Fuhr for Dave Andreychuk and Daren Puppa during the season once it became clear that Potvin wouldn’t relinquish the starter’s gig).

The 21-year-old Potvin was named a finalist for the Calder Trophy after his first season with the Leafs and he remained the team’s starter for six full seasons (helping the club return to the Conference Finals in 1994) before being usurped by Curtis Joseph in 1998. The Leafs subsequently traded Potvin to the New York Islanders, but he struggled to find his game in 33 games on Long Island before being flipped to the Vancouver Canucks; then, midway through his second season in Vancouver, Potvin was sent to the Kings.

Playing behind Schneider on a strong Kings team, Potvin found a second wind down the stretch in 2000–01 and ultimately backstopped the Kings to a series win over the Detroit Red Wings in that year’s playoffs. Potvin then went 31–27–8 with a .907 save percentage with the Kings in 2001–02 before nearly stealing them a quarterfinal playoff series against the defending champion Colorado Avalanche.

After one more (less successful) season in L.A., Potvin signed with the Boston Bruins and spent the 2003–04 campaign as the team’s backup goaltender behind Calder Trophy winner Andrew Raycroft. When the NHL resumed play after the 2004–05 lockout, Potvin briefly considered signing with the Atlanta Thrashers but ultimately hung up his skates.

Potvin appeared in 13 NHL seasons with the Maple Leafs, Islanders, Canucks, Kings, and Bruins, posting a 266–260–85 record and a .905 save percentage in 635 career games. He went 35–37 with a .910 save percentage in 72 playoff contests.

Wayne Simmonds

Teams: Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers, Nashville Predators, New Jersey Devils, Buffalo Sabres, Toronto Maple Leafs

Wayne Simmonds was affectionately known as the “Wayne Train” during his peak years with the Philadelphia Flyers, but it was Los Angeles where he established himself as one of the premier young power forwards in the NHL. The hard-nosed winger debuted with the Kings in 2008–09 and spent three full seasons with the Kings before being traded to Philadelphia alongside Brayden Schenn as part of a package used to acquire Flyers captain Mike Richards.

Often compared to his idol Jarome Iginla during his early years with the Kings and Flyers, Simmonds played a style that would make the Calgary Flames legend proud. As well as being one of the toughest players in the league, Simmonds was a prolific scorer who managed at least 28 goals on five different occasions during his tenure in Philadelphia. (Also like Iginla, Simmonds won a gold medal representing Canada at the IIHF World Junior Championship).

Simmonds spent eight seasons with the Flyers but won just one playoff series with the team. Slowed down later in his tenure by injuries brought upon by his physicality, Simmonds managed only 27 points in 62 games with the Flyers in 2018–19 before being traded to the Nashville Predators ahead of the deadline. He split the following season between the New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres before signing with his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs as a free agent in 2020.

Although much of his scoring touch had evaporated by the time he arrived in Toronto, Simmonds filled an invaluable leadership role over parts of three seasons with the Leafs and surpassed the 1,000-game threshold with the club. He managed 12 goals and 27 points in 128 games with the Leafs.

Simmonds’ contract with the Maple Leafs expired on July 1. The 35-year-old forward remains an unrestricted free agent and it’s unclear whether he’ll be picked up by a team for the 2023–24 season. To date, Simmonds has collected 263 goals and 526 goals in 1,037 career NHL games; he’s added eight goals and 22 goals in 53 playoff contests. Simmonds is also a member of the Hockey Diversity Alliance, having co-founded the organization in 2020.