Not every player gets to begin his NHL career on a team with his idol. Blake, a defenseman, got to do just that with the Los Angeles Kings in 1989-90 when he and Larry Robinson were teammates. Blake had always worn No. 19, like Robinson, who helped Blake's game mature, first as a player and later as his coach.

The Kings selected Blake in the fourth round (No. 70) of the 1988 NHL Draft, after his freshman season at Bowling Green. He signed after his junior season, when he had 59 points (23 goals, 36 assists) in 42 games. He quickly showed that he had the skills to play in the NHL. His passes were crisp, his shot was booming and his body checks were punishing. He was a younger version of Robinson, a defenseman who could defend and punish opposing forwards physically but also contribute offensively.

Three years after Blake's arrival, the Kings advanced to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since entering the NHL in 1967. They lost to the Montreal Canadiens in five games, but the team's surprise emergence had a lot to do with Blake being one of the best defensemen in the NHL.

Blake succeeded Wayne Gretzky as Kings captain in 1996 and won the Norris Trophy as the NHL's best defenseman in 1997-98, when he scored at NHL career-high 23 goals. He had 57 points (18 goals, 39 assists) in 1999-2000, when he began a streak of five consecutive seasons when he was named an NHL Second-Team All-Star.

But on Feb. 21, 2001, Blake was traded to the Colorado Avalanche. By June, he was a Stanley Cup champion after helping the Avalanche defeat the New Jersey Devils in a seven-game Final. He played with the Avalanche through the 2005-06 season before rejoining the Kings.

Blake spent two seasons with the Kings and two more with the San Jose Sharks before retiring on June 18, 2010. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2014, and the Kings retired his No. 4 on Jan. 17, 2015. He was named general manager of the Kings on April 10, 2017.