Frozen Royalty: Mattias Norstrom Left The Game On His Own Terms

Not only were the New Jersey Devils and Ilya Kovalchuk in town on Saturday night but so was Mattias Norstrom. The Kings honored the former captain in a very nice ceremony and Gann Matsuda got a chance to talk with Norstrom. Check out the story!

LOS ANGELES — On a night in which the Los Angeles Kings handed the once-vaunted New Jersey Devils a 3-1 defeat, shutting down the mighty $100 million superstar Ilya Kovalchuk in the process, the Kings took time to pay tribute to their past, and to one of their own.

Former Kings defenseman Mattias Norstrom was back in Los Angeles on October 30, and was honored by the team during a pre-game ceremony.

“It is fun, it’s great being back,” said Norstrom, who played in 780 regular season games with the Kings over eleven seasons after being acquired in a trade with the New York Rangers on March 14, 1996. “I haven’t been back here for two-and-a-half years. The last time I was back was with the [Dallas] Stars in the Spring of ’08.”

“It’s always good to be back, especially after such a long history—eleven years,” added Norstrom, who ranks second in franchise history in games played by a defenseman and fifth overall. “So it’s the hockey side of it, but it’s also the private life we lead. Both [of his] girls were born here. It’s just fun to be back.”

“It’s a fun night, it’s a real pleasure to be here, and for the Kings to put something like this on—I thank [former Kings teammate and current Kings President/Business Operations] Luc [Robitaille] a lot. I think he was the one pushing the idea.”

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