Los Angeles is the only city in the world that is known as much for its initials as it is its actual name, so why not add it to a logo. On Nov. 22, 2008, the Los Angeles Kings went "Back in Black" at STAPLES Center, in front of a sellout crowd of 18,118 fans unveiling their new logo and uniforms. The Kings logo featuring a shield crest was unveiled. Design elements of two silver crossed sticks divided the live area of the logo into three parts; a newly designed crown in the upper left corner, bright sun in the upper right corner and a majestic standing lion from the side in the center below the intersection of the sticks. Above the shield, “LA” appeared and below the shield “KINGS” appeared. The new crown was added to both shoulders and the city name was spelled out to complete the stripe, a new element among NHL jerseys.
2020 - Present
A black, white and silver pennant with the initials “LA” in white above a king’s black, white and silver crown. In 2019, slight changes versus the old logo just one additional silver stripe is added to the outside of the shield border.
2012 - 2019
In 2011, the Kings’ logo changed to its current incarnation. There was no more blue involved, and the city’s initials were heavily stressed overtop of the crown from the previous logo version. The holding element is a modern interpretation of the traditional shield which has a royal/medieval reference. The logo also features the armband stripe scheme from the Silver & Black jerseys as a dividing element between the “L.A.” on top and the Kings’ primary crown logo.
2003 - 2011
In 2003, the Kings went back to a large crown for their logo, but this crown was more modern and retained the blue, black and grey colors of the previous shield. For the first time, there was no mention of the city’s name or the team name on the logo.
1999 - 2002
Ten years after the silver-and-black logo was unveiled, the Kings changed logos again and they made substantial alterations to the crown, which shrunk drastically and was moved to the upper left corner of a shield that also included a shining sun, a lion, and two hockey sticks. The color scheme also changed: grey was minimized, and black and blue were emphasized.
1989 - 1998
The 1989 Kings logo went completely black. The small crown on the bottom is now in black. The outline has changed to go around all the text. The wordmark “LOS ANGELES” in black on top and the “KINGS” in black in the middle with streaking lines.
1988
In 1988, the Kings’ logo changed drastically. Gone was the purple and gold, replaced by a black-and-silver version of their previous logo. The change coincided with the acquisition of NHL icon Wayne Gretzky, and their new colors were a match with a different Los Angeles team called the Raiders.
1976 - 1987
After eight seasons, the Kings changed logos for the first time. The team added horizontal lines around the name to provide a sense of speed again similar to the Lakers logo. A wordmark “LOS ANGELES” in purple on top and “KINGS” in the middle in purple. A small crown at the bottom with a yellow and purple border in the shape of a hanging banner.
1968 - 1975
When the Kings debuted in the 1967 – 1968 season, the first logo was a traditional crown emblazoned with jewels with busy design elements for detail. A wordmark “LOS ANGELES” in purple at the top and “KINGS” in purple in larger letters above the crown. All surrounded by a yellow and purple border in the shape of a hanging banner.