Saturday, April 1, 2017

Kris King Autograph card

Kris King is the type of grinder that not everyone remembers the same way. His career-high in goals (11), assists (14) and points (25) all came in the high-scoring 199-91 season as a member of the New York Rangers, good for 11th on the team - which didn't even include Tony Amonte and Doug Weight, who only played in the postseason.

Most remember him for being a tough guy, twice surpassing the 200-PIM mark (286 in 1989-90 with the Rangers, 2005 in 1993-94 whilst with the Winnipeg Jets, and another 199 in 1997-98 with the Toronto Maple Leafs).

Those with pretty good memories will remember he also captained the Jets during the 1995-96 season, after superstar and previous captain Keith Tkachuk signed an offer sheet with the Chicago Blackhawks; the Jets didn't want their locker room leader to be a defector, so they punished him by making likeable King the face of the franchise; other options included superstar Teemu Selanne, long-time defenseman Teppo Numminen, veteran Ed Olkzyk, tough defenseman Dave Manson, and rookie Shane Doan.

Here's a card depicting him as such:
That's card #A-KK from In The Game's 2012-13 Decades - The 1990s set (and Autograph sub-set), which he signed on-card in black sharpie.

It was after his lone season as captain - the team gave the title back to Tkachuk upon moving to Phoenix - that King was awarded the King Clancy Trophy, which combines leadership and humanitarian qualities.

Nowadays, he works for the NHL's Toronto office, as Senior Director of Hockey Operations.

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