Which NHL franchise did Gretzky lead to the 1993 Stanley Cup Final?

The Los Angeles Kings were the NHL franchise Gretzky led to the 1993 Stanley Cup Final. It was the first Stanley Cup Final appearance in Kings history and Gretzky’s only Final appearance with Los Angeles.

The Kings reached the championship series by defeating the Calgary Flames in six games, the Vancouver Canucks in six, and the Toronto Maple Leafs in seven. Gretzky delivered a defining performance in Game 7 of the Campbell Conference Final against Toronto, scoring a hat trick and adding an assist in Los Angeles’s 5–4 victory.

The Final matched Los Angeles against the Montreal Canadiens. The Kings won Game 1 in Montreal, but the Canadiens captured the next four games to win the series 4–1. Montreal goaltender Patrick Roy won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

Readers sometimes confuse this run with Gretzky’s four Stanley Cup championships as an Edmonton Oiler. Those titles came before his 1988 trade to Los Angeles. The 1993 campaign was historic for the Kings, even though they fell short of the championship.