Thx Bud Podcast

The Los Angeles Kings are in the playoffs! And one big reason for that accomplishment is mastering the art of losing. After setting a record for most overtime games and most OT losses, those points earned in extra minutes helped the Kings sneak into the final spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. And though the team lost their first game against the Colorado Avalanche, keeping the score to 2-1 is inspiring some dangerous feelings of... hope? Chanelle and Diane unpack the end of the regular season, Game 1 of the Kings-Avs series, and of course use the opportunity to revisit loving Adrian Kempe (and why he should be the future).

A lot has changed for the Kings since the Olympic break ended. Jim Hiller is OUT as the coach, and the trade deadline saw a few players leave (like Foegele and Perry) and others join (like Joseph and Laughton). Chanelle and Diane get into how this all has changed the team on the ice so far and whether there's more optimism about the team making the playoffs now. Plus, what's up with all the season-ending injuries and Department of Play Safety drama?

Babyyyy, Team USA hockey went to the 2026 Olympics in Italy and came back with TWO gold medals. Both the Women's and Men's hockey teams came out on top. Chanelle and Diane were letting their eagle wings soar all over the Los Angeles streets... until the record scratch circus of the US Men's hockey team's post-win tragicomedy of errors. Woof! Plus, it's time to turn the attention back to the NHL. Could the Kings-ification of the Olympic in-game sounds bring a little golden magic back to help the boys in black?

The LA Kings went into the Olympic with a whimper.... except when it comes to trade news. Chanelle and Diane get into the good and the ugly, and then try to untangle how much of this move is about this season vs 2026-27. Plus, it's time to finally indulge in a little Olympics hype until the NHL returns.

The LA Kings are still losing more than winning, but at least they're back to making it to overtime? Look, we have to take the small joys where we can. Luckily, the list of joys includes Brandt Clarke, and like so many Kings fans, we're ready for Coach Jim Hiller to put trust in Clarke more consistently. Plus, Chanelle and Diane dig into trade rumors (quick take: ugh!), touch on NHL players reacting to the 'Heated Rivalry' phenomenon and get pretty excited about a goalie fight (!!!) last week.

Despite the LA Kings having one of their most disappointing stretches of the season, several players have made Olympic rosters! Diane and Chanelle get into how they hope the 2026 Winter Olympics affect the Kings. Plus, debating Team USA omissions and ambitions, admitting the Phil Danault trade may signal than first assumed, celebrating Alex Laferriere's hat trick, a hopeful harbinger of power play goals to come, and more.

We have a trade to announce... After a ton of rumors, the Kings and Phillip Danault are officially dunzo. Though that trade is hardly the biggest one in recent NHL news. So Chanelle and Diane also talk about Quinn Hughes leaving Vancouver, an unfortunate on-air gaffe in Philadelphia (still laughed), and ponder how the climatic moment in 'Heated Rivalry' episode 5 might play out in real life.

More than 25 games in, Diane and Chanelle hash out why watching the LA Kings feels more frustrating that their record really shows. And just as the pod starts wrapping up the bellyaching — Coach Peter DeBoer rumors?!

Kempe contract!! The LA Kings are still a wild ride of ups and downs, but Kempe's new 8-year deal has Chanelle and Diane feeling all the way up. Now that's he locked in... could he become the next Kings captain after this season? Speaking of, Kopitar's retirement tour rolled through the towns of some fellow legends, making the long goodbye start to feel a little more real. Plus, the pod checks in on Jonathan Quick still being a lovable hot head, weird recent injuries on other teams and works through feelings about the upcoming hockey romance show 'Heated Rivalry,' that's totally, absolutely not based on Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin. Chanelle and Diane discuss the recent ups and downs of the Los Angeles Kings, focusing on Adrian Kempe's new contract, the potential for him to become captain, and the emotional legacy of Anze Kopitar. They also delve into the team's performance, injuries affecting key players, and the upcoming hockey show 'Heated Rivalry' that explores relationships in the sport. The conversation highlights fan reactions, media portrayals of hockey, and the need for consistency in the Kings' gameplay.

The Kings roller coaster continues. They can't escape the middle of the pack early in the season, putting Diane and Chanelle in the uncomfortable position of... being grateful for Corey Perry. Plus, uhhh, did you read that story about Arthur Kaliyev? Suddenly some things about his choppy career in Los Angeles might makes a little more sense.

Are the Kings good? Diane and Chanelle ponder that central question on the heels of the Kings' overtime success two games in a row. Winning? Good! No regulation wins? Concerning! As of this recording, they're exactly .500 team in the rankings, which is ripe for getting a little existential. Maybe the Kings need a little Judi Jupiter magic of their own... One thing is clear, though: pay Adrian Kempe!

Don't call it a comeback! Or do, actually. Chanelle and Diane dust off their mics and reunite to discuss their lives, how the LA Kings have changed, and what their hopes and dreams for this NHL season. Emphasis on hope. Obviously the big headline is Anze Kopitar's farewell tour, so get ready to track how emo NHL players around the league get. Once Kopitar's gone, how will the Kings culture change? Can this team drum up even more swagger? They hope so. And luckily, one of them has a surefire way to track team confidence.

The LA Kings are still stuck at the bottom of the league, but at least their front office isn't roasting them in the news? We can only go up from here!

The Kings' 2018-19 season isn't getting any better. Time to talk about who we'd miss the most if traded and gush over the few bright spots in the last month.

Bottom of the league, new coach, goalie injuries. There's no way to sugarcoat it: The Kings are in trouble this season. LA's players seem to have taken an extended preseason, so hopefully, no one noticed that Thx Bud did too. But we're back!

The 2018 playoffs have begun! Chanelle and Diane dig into the good, the bad and the ridiculous about all the Game 1s around the NHL.

The Kings make the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and then Dustin Brown scores four goals?! Fans have nothing but reasons to celebrate right now. Chanelle and Diane dive into the wealth of highlights from the past couple weeks and look ahead to the most exciting teams and matchups entering the postseason. ALSO, bonus question for the Harry Potter nerds: Is Luc Robitaille a veela?

Though the Kings refuse to give themselves any cushion in the Pacific Division, individual players are still making Chanelle and Diane's hearts soar by exceeding all expectations. Yes, mainly, KOPITAR. <3

In just 3 games since the last pod, the Kings have managed to implode, dominate and also wreck fans with a near-perfect comeback. Jack Campbell got very real about his past pro struggles this week, and Jeff Carter proved he's a superhero. Also, Alex Ovechkin scored his 600th goal and responded to media in the Ovi-est way possible.

After a brutal, late loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, the Kings turned things around with a big win over Washington. Trevor Lewis is also back in the lineup and back on the score sheet! Chanelle and Diane dig into what's going on with the Kings heading into the home stretch, and then bask in players around the league showing the Kings' top guys major respect.

Chanelle and Diane celebrate the return of Jeff Carter, and then eat their words on Dion Phaneuf just a little bit. Then saying goodbye to goalie Darcy Kuemper stings, but at least new addition Tobias Rieder has already scored. Plus, it's important to finally get a chance to shout about Olympic hockey (gold! yes!) and some of the funny ups and downs around the league.

Dion Phaneuf gets older but that Phaneuf to the Kings rumor never aged. And now it's real! Chanelle and Diane try to come to terms with this new, Lombardi-esque trade. On the bright side, at least Darcy Kuemper still brings true joy.

Heading out of All Star weekend, the Kings nab a commanding win AND there's Jeff Carter news. Rejoice! Plus, fans get to celebrate Alec Martinez being man with a degree in addition to being funny, cute and a scorer of important goals. However, WHY IS MIKE FISHER COMING OUT OF RETIREMENT?!

Well, the Kings did exactly what we told them not to do and lost 6 games in a row. AND Jonathan Quick has a nagging injury. They finally managed to pull out a couple wins, but it's tough to trust in a turnaround. At least Darcy Kuemper and Christian Folin are adorable roommates?

The LA Kings have three all stars! Unfortunately, it's hard to tell they have any when they're on a 4-game losing streak. Chanelle and Diane dive into the ways the roster is being shaken up to spark offense. On the brightest side, Jeff Carter's skating again! Praise tall, blond and handsome silver linings.

Nearly halfway through the season, the LA Kings are 2nd in the West! Jonathan Quick has earned his 47th career shutout, there may finally be light at the end of this Jeff Carter-less tunnel, and most importantly: John Stevens wants the Kings to have fun. Celebrate, dammit! Plus, USA Hockey makes history with their Olympic roster.

They've battled through some awesome highs and inexplicable lows, but the Kings have made it through 2018! Chanelle and Diane celebrate milestones for Dustin Brown and Marian Gaborik while gazing cautiously into the unknown for the rest of the season. Also, what the heck is up with Kyle Clifford?! And can Jeff Carter send fans proof of life? Anything!

One month since our last recording... the Kings are back to winning! Anze Kopitar looks more and more confident, Dustin Brown is feeling free, and the return of Marian Gaborik and Kyle Clifford mean the team has also started tinkering with the roster. Chanelle and Diane get caught up on trades and that 8-game win streak. Outside of LA, the NHL starts bgeins down the long road toward putting a team in Seattle.

Two losses in the same week... Is this what being average feels like?! The Kings have faced a little more adversity recently, but Chanelle Berlin and Diane Phan focus on the bright side. Oscar Fantanberg scored his first NHL, Dustin Brown is still tearing it up, and Jonathan Quick still hates Corey Perry deeply! All is right in the world.

While the Kings continue their best start in franchise history, their old buddy Dean Lombardi is back in the news, talking about his former team. LA's last general manager still has quite a few feelings, mostly about Mike Richards. Obviously Chanelle Berlin and Diane Phan couldn't resist diving into that.

The LA Kings are currently 3rd in the NHL, which DOESN'T MAKE SENSE, but Chanelle Berlin and Diane Phan love riding the wave. Adrian Kempe is the first rookie to score a hat trick, Kurtis MacDermid has scored his first NHL goal and Jonathan Quick earns a shutout in his 500th game! It's a beautiful time for Kings fans. We're so happy to not cheer for, let's say, the Arizona Coyotes, who finally earned their first win of the season this week. Yikes.

The best 5-game start in Kings history! Week 2 of the season still has Chanelle Berlin and Diane Phan basking in that winning feeling. LA's sitting pretty at the top of the Pacific division thanks to hard work from Anze Kopitar, That 70s Line, and the resurgence of Dustin Brown. Kuemper also gets his first start while young guys are buzzing for their first goals. Around the league, things turn emotional in Tampa and Boston has a rookie to absolutely watch.

Season 5 is live! The LA Kings are back in action and off to a promising start under new head coach John Stevens. Jonathan Quick didn't get injured after game 1, Anze Kopitar has already scored multiple goals, and That '70s Line is here to dazzle us again. Chanelle Berlin and Diane Phan dive into what's changed, what's the same, and who has them the most excited as the NHL begins its new season with an absurd amount of goal-scoring.

It’s officially the end of an era. The LA Kings fired Dean Lombardi and Darryl Sutter right after saying #ThankYouBob over the weekend to celebrate Bob Miller’s retirement. It’s going to be an offseason of many changes, folks.

The LA Kings have officially been eliminated from the 2017 playoffs. Despite that, we look at some silver linings in the organization and a couple of in-game highlights worth smiling about. And at least the Kings didn't bungle this week as badly as Gary Bettman announcing the NHL won't participate in the 2018 Winter Olympics.

The Kings need to win a lot to make the playoffs. To help this, they are... losing. More. Great plan! Plus, we dive into USA Hockey vs. the women on the national team and look ahead to who we're supporting in the playoffs.

The LA Kings’ loss to the Blues put them in more playoff danger. At least Adrian Kempe scored his first goal to bring some light to the past week! Meanwhile, the Calgary Flames can’t stop winning and the New Jersey Devils can’t stop taking Ls. Plus, we get to contemplate a future where PK Subban is the most handsome NHL commissioner ever.

The trade deadline has passed! The Kings made some unexpected moves, though one of them we all should have predicted. Meanwhile, Jonathan Quick has returned and is already hilariously confusing the new guys on the team.

Right after we talked about Claude Julien being fired, he got hired! But another guy was fired. In the west, the LA Kings came back from time off stale. At least Adrian Kempe's ridiculous and charming shenanigans have made their NHL debut. Plus, Henrik Zetterberg is thinking a lot about retirement and horses.

The LA Kings may be on a break, but we still have plenty to say! From Paul LaDue’s debut to Dustin Brown’s involvement in You Can Play — there’s a lot going on. Somehow it all devolves into us deciding which players we’d like to mistake us for Uber/Lyft drivers.

Aaand we're back! After time away, we figure out what the heck has been up in hockey. We dig into highlights we missed, where the LA Kings are now, which teams are hot heading toward the trade deadline and which teams are surprisingly cold. Oh, and Chanelle makes amends with the Blue Jackets.

The LA Kings are still more of a rollercoaster than a joyride. Oh, and a quick update: we're checking out for a while.

To celebrate franchise history, the LA Kings decided to get shut out three times in a row. Luckily fans didn't have to stay in the gutter. American hero Trevor Lewis reignited the offense, and somehow one of our Twitter followers predicted the whole thing. On the bright side, the Kings also didn't get shut out 10-0 last week like the Canadiens. It could always be worse, guys.

Happy Halloween! More Kings players have sustained injuries and the team got shut out in back-to-back games. It's all tricks for Kings fans so far this year. Meanwhile, LA's locker room culture is changing, unlikely Canadian teams are doing far too well, and there's a player in the league writing stories for your kids.

Wow! Wins! For the third year in a row, the LA Kings took three games to warm up and then earned some Ws. Tanner Pearson’s on fire, and Dustin Brown ruined the Canucks again. The biggest question is still what to do about the goaltending. Names are already circulating, including one familiar face and French-Canadian accent...

Hockey is officially back, and the LA Kings are already making life difficult. (Yay! ...Wait.) Injuries to Jonathan Quick and Marian Gaborik coupled with poor performances in their first two games have fans getting nervous. Is a disastrous Greene-Forbort pairing really what people in LA have to look forward to this year? Don't worry. Everyone can all console themselves with Auston Matthews highlights. Or maybe that's just what Chanelle and Diane are going to do.

Remember when the Kings were in the playoffs? It was a brief, not very inspiring run. Chanelle and Diane wrap up a season that started high and ends with bizarre lows. And yet! Somehow! The Kings are still in the news for getting award nominations. There's still plenty of playoff hockey elsewhere too, luckily. Find out which teams get Thx Bud's west coast allegiance and which team just inspires an unexpected amount of guilt.

Kings vs Sharks, Game 4: Well, well, the Sharks have once again put the Kings' backs against the wall. Being down 3-1 in a playoff series isn't as dire as 3-0, but there's real cause for worry.

Kings vs Sharks, Game 2: Kings win 2-1 to make the series 2-1! Hope in Los Angeles. Cling to it. Protect it. Thank Dustin Brown and Tanner Pearson for reminding us what it's like to feel alive.

Kings vs Sharks, Game 2: Well, that was uninspiring. The Kings dropping both games at home means everyone now has to worry about repeating 2014 with a less cool outcome. But, hey! At least they got Marian Gaborik back.