Double Agents: Players Who Have Been Part of Both SoCal Teams

Dustin Penner

Left Wing, Age 31

After playing the 2003-04 season for the University of Maine, Dustin Penner inked his first NHL contract with the then Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, adding his name to the list of undrafted players that would go on to help secure the franchise's first Stanley Cup. He paid his dues and honed his abilities in the AHL with the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks in 2004-05 and Portland Pirates in 2005-06, and managed to crack the Anaheim lineup 19 times during that second regular season and 13 times in the 16 playoff games the Ducks played in 2006. The next year, the big man played in every regular season and postseason game for the Ducks, most of them alongside Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry. At the end of their last game together until 2013, the trio hoisted the Stanley Cup.

The following summer was the setting for Kevin Lowe's infamous offer sheet, [Ed Note: Barn Fight! -CK] and before long, Penner found himself in possession of a lot of money and a couple of Edmonton Oilers jerseys. In his third season up north, he scored 63 points, which still stands as his career high. The year after that, Oilers GM Steve Tambellini traded Penner to the Kings, where he spent parts of three seasons, including 2011-12, when he won his second Stanley Cup. Kings GM Dean Lombardi elected not to resign Penner after a disappointing 2012-13 campaign, and with some prodding from Getzlaf, Penner signed with the Ducks. As of this writing, he has as many goals in 40 games this year than he had in all 117 regular season games he played in a Kings uniform — eleven.

Tim Jackman

Right Wing, Age 32

The Columbus Blue Jackets took Tim Jackman in the second round of the 2001 entry draft, and from then until the 2008-09 season, he was an AHL regular who played in NHL game only during brief call-ups with the Blue Jackets, Phoenix Coyotes, Kings, and New York Islanders. His stint with the Kings occurred in 2006-07, which give me the opportunity to remind everyone how good the Kings were that year: This good.

Back to Jackman. He finally became an NHL regular with the Islanders and then the Calgary Flames, who employed him for three full seasons, plus half of this one until he was traded to the Ducks. For the first time in his career, he is playing for a team that will qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and he isn't just the passenger that his scoring stats may indicate, as explained in the Gospel According to Kid Ish.

Colin Fraser

Center, Age 28

This one doesn't really count, because when Colin Fraser played for the Norfolk Admirals (2004-07), they were the affiliated with the Chicago Blackhawks, not the Ducks. But hey, now you know that he had more than twice as many penalty minutes than games played while he was with the Ads.

Honorable Mentions:

Emerson Etem was born in Long Beach and grew up a Kings fan.

Bruce Boudreau coached the Manchester Monarchs and Lowell Devils, both AHL affiliates of the Kings.