Years before Wayne Gretzky promised a Stanley Cup to the Los Angeles Kings, there was Marcel Dionne, who led the Kings in goals, assists and points while playing nearly 12 seasons on some of the worst teams in Kings' history.
Now he's watching his brother, Gilbert, playing for the Montreal Canadiens against a Kings team that has advanced to the Stanley Cup finals for the first time in this team's history.Dionne finally departed Los Angeles in 1987 after a 23-49 season. He hoped the New York Rangers would give him the only accolade his stellar career lacked - a Stanley Cup.
But hockey's grandest prize would forever elude him after his 18-year career ended in 1989. Now 22-year-old Gilbert is playing for the Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley Cup finals against his brother's former team.
The best-of-7 series resumes today at the Forum, where Marcel Dionne's jersey hangs on a wall as one of only two retired by the Kings.
"I used to ask my parents if I could skip school to come and watch my brother play," Gilbert Dionne said.
He wore a yellow-and-purple Kings jersey with his brother's name and number when the Kings would play on the road in Quebec.
"Sixteen thousand people in the stands and all you see is one yellow jersey," Gilbert Dionne said, "but I didn't really care. I was very proud of my brother and the L.A. Kings."
Already in the finals, the 6-foot forward has knocked heads a couple times with one of Marcel Dionne's former linemates.
The "Triple Crown" line of Dave Taylor, Marcel Dionne and ex-Salt Lake Golden Eagle Charlie Simmer was the highest-scoring in Kings' history.
"Dave Taylor was an inspiration for me. A guy that worked so hard throughout his career with my brother and has been in the shadows," Gilbert Dionne said.
"He's the biggest grinder I've ever seen. Too bad I've got to play against him, but I wish David the best of luck."
The feeling is mutual.
"I just remember him as this little guy that was smiling all the time. When we used to come into Montreal, he used to be with Marcel's mom and dad, and now he's this big winger on the other team," Taylor said.
Gilbert Dionne got to hang around Taylor as a 12-year-old when he would visit Marcel in the Kings' dressing room.
"I still remember Dave Taylor's face - big smile, such a happy guy, and I say I want to be like him," Gilbert Dionne said.
"The next thing you know, I'd asked my brother if it was OK if I could grab one of his sticks.
"Even though he's a righty and I'm a lefty, I said I'll switch hands and try to shoot right. He said, `Sure go ahead, kid.' That was the biggest thrill of my life.
"I grabbed the stick, and when I went home I tried to shoot right but I couldn't so I grabbed it and put it in the basement and I saved it. Still got it," he said.
Gilbert Dionne says his brother isn't sure whether he'll attend any Stanley Cup games. Marcel, 41, lives in New York where he runs a plumbing business.