Former Los Angeles Kings defenseman Rob Blake will have his No. 4 jersey retired this season on Jan. 17 before the Kings take on the Anaheim Ducks.
Blake will become the sixth King to have his number retired. He will join Rogie Vachon, Marcel Dionne, Dave Taylor, Wayne Gretzky and Luc Robitaille.
Earlier today, Blake released a statement regarding the news.
"It’s an honor to be included with the former L.A. King players who have their jerseys retired. I have always felt that L.A. was a special place to play and it was and is a tremendous privilege to put on an L.A. Kings jersey.” – Rob Blake statement Monday morning."
During his 20-year NHL career, Blake was selected to play in seven All-Star games. He also won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s best defenseman for his performance in 1998.
Blake hoisted the Stanley Cup in 2001 while playing for the Colorado Avalanche following a tumultuous end to his first tenure in Los Angeles. He also had a brief two-year stint with the San Jose Sharks during the end of his playing career. Blake retired after the 2009-2010 season and is the all-time leader in games played (805), goals (161), assists (333) and points (494) for a defenseman in a Kings’ uniform.
The Hall of Fame defenseman is currently the Kings’ assistant general manager and he helped put together a Kings team that won the Stanley Cup this past season.
This will be the second jersey retirement ceremony the Ducks will be a part of this season as former Duck Teemu Selanne will have his No. 8 honored a few nights earlier on Jan. 11 against the Winnipeg Jets.
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