First look at Kings’ names engraved on the Stanley Cup

The Hockey Hall of Fame and the Kings released the first photos of the Stanley Cup with the champions’ names newly engraved on it, and among them was one surprise.

Owner Ed Roski, whose name wasn’t on the original list of 52 names the Kings had submitted for inclusion, appears on the top row, after owners Phil and Nancy Anschutz and AEG boss Tim Leiweke. That gave the team 53 names, one over the limit. However, adding Roski’s name didn’t require adding another line and the NHL gave permission for it to be engraved. Roski was a partner of Phil Anschutz in buying the Kings out of bankruptcy in 1995 but they later developed opposing plans for building a stadium to house an NFL team.

It’s interesting that the name of forward Andrei Loktionov was not added, even though he played 39 regular-season games and two playoff games. He wasn’t on the original list and a team spokesman said Loktionov didn’t qulaify based on the criteria the team had set internally.

Cup engraver Louise St-Jacques completed the work this week in her Montreal studio. She hammers the names in by hand, a wonderful tradition that adds to the Cup’s unique history and appearance.

And yes, all the names appear to be spelled correctly … with Matt Greene listed as “Matthew” and Rob Scuderi listed as “Robert.”

The Cup is scheduled to return to Los Angeles this week for promotional appearances. It would have been at Staples Center for the Kings’ scheduled Oct. 12 season opener and Cup banner raising, but the lack of progress in labor negotiations is making an on-time start to the season nearly impossible.

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