Dave Taylor

David Andrew Taylor (born December 4, 1955) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and current NHL executive. He spent his entire 17-season playing career as a right winger for the Los Angeles Kings, from 1977 to 1994. Today, he is the vice president of hockey operations for the St. Louis Blues.

Growing up in the mining town of Levack, Ontario, about 45 kilometers northwest of Sudbury, Taylor played minor hockey locally and worked in the mine while attending Levack High School. In 1973, he played Junior A for the Onaping Falls Huskies in the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League, putting up 143 points (67 goals, 76 assists) in 45 games. He then played four seasons at Clarkson University, where he still holds school records for career points (251), goals (98), and assists (153), as well as single-season marks for goals (41), assists (67), and points (108) from the 1976–77 campaign.

That year, he led all of NCAA hockey, won the ECAC Hockey player of the year award, and opposing teams scored a combined 127 goals against Clarkson. He earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial management in 1977. Clarkson inducted him into its Athletics Hall of Fame in 1992, gave him the Golden Knight Award in 2002, and awarded him an honorary Doctor of Science degree in 1997. In 2011, he was named to the ECAC Hockey All-Time Top 50 Players list. He also played seven games for the Fort Worth Texans of the Central Hockey League in 1976–77, recording six points.

Drafted 210th overall by the Kings in the 15th round of the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft (and 113th overall in the 9th round of the 1975 WHA Amateur Draft), Taylor debuted in the NHL in the 1977–78 season, scoring 22 goals and 21 assists for 43 points in 64 games. The following season, he jumped to 43 goals and 48 assists for 91 points. He became a key member of the famous Triple Crown Line with Hall of Fame center Marcel Dionne and left winger Charlie Simmer. In the 1980–81 season, all three scored over 100 points—Dionne had 135, Simmer 105, and Taylor a career-high 112—making them the first line in league history with three 100-point scorers in the same season. Taylor also had a second straight 100-point season. He was named to four All-Star Games in the 1980s, earned one Second All-Star Team selection, and recorded two 40-goal seasons.

Taylor became Kings captain in 1985, succeeding Terry Ruskowski, and held the role until training camp the season Wayne Gretzky was named captain by new head coach Tom Webster, a decision Taylor willingly accepted. He then served as an alternate captain for the rest of his career. On October 15, he assisted on Gretzky’s goal that made Gretzky the NHL’s all-time points leader. In 1991, Taylor won both the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy and the King Clancy Memorial Trophy for his perseverance, leadership, and charity work, including helping people overcome speech impediments.

That same season, he recorded his 1,000th point, becoming the 29th player in NHL history to do so. On April 10, 1990, he, Tomas Sandström, and Tony Granato each scored a hat trick in the same playoff game against the Calgary Flames, the first time three teammates had done so in a playoff game. In 1993, Taylor reached the Stanley Cup Final for the only time, scoring five goals and eight points in 22 playoff games as the Kings lost to the Montreal Canadiens in five games.

Plagued by head injuries, his final season saw him play 33 games before retiring with 431 goals and 1,069 points in 1,111 games. The Kings retired his number 18 in 1995, making him the third player in franchise history to receive that honor.

After retiring, Taylor became general manager of the Kings before the start of a season and held that role until another season. He then served as director of player personnel for the Dallas Stars from 2007 to 2010, before taking the same position with the St. Louis Blues in 2010. He was promoted to vice president of operations in 2012 and won a Stanley Cup with the Blues in 2019.