On The Spot with Mark Hardy
Photo Gallery
Position: Defenseman/Assistant Coach
Born: Feb. 1, 1959 (Semaden, Switzerland)
Acquired By Kings: Selected by the Kings in the second round (30th overall) in 1979.
Years With The Kings: 1979-88, 1992-94 as a player; 1999-06 and currently as an assistant coach.
Career With The Kings:
- Hardy ranks 16th on the Kings all-time scoring list with 303 points (53-250=303) in his 11 seasons with the Kings, and he ranks eighth overall on the franchise list for games played (616) and penalty minutes (858).
- On the Kings all-time defensemen scoring list, Hardy ranks second in assists (250), third in points and fifth in goals (53).
- With the Kings, Hardy was twice named the Kings Outstanding Defenseman (1984-85 and 1986-87).
- He played in 41 career postseason games with the Kings, and he was a member of the Kings club that advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1993.
Other Noteworthy Accomplishments: - Joined head coach Terry Murray as an assistant coach with the Kings on Aug. 4, 2008. (Kings Coaching Staff)
- Prior to returning to the Kings as an assistant coach he served a similar role with the Chicago Blackhawks where he successfully managed the development of a young blue line that played a major role in the Blackhawks team goals-against-average dropping from 3.40 in 2005-06 to 2.82 in the 2007-08 season.
- Hardy oversaw a Kings penalty-killing unit that ranked third in the NHL for the 2001-02 season with an 86.6 percent success rate (the second best in Kings history).
- Hardy recorded 368 points (62-306=368) and 1,293 penalty minutes in 915 career regular season games with the Kings, Minnesota North Stars and New York Rangers.
Interview Highlights: - Says he’s always felt like he was a King and he’s excited to be back and part of the coaching staff.
- Come in with players like Jay Wells, Dean Hopkins and John-Paul Kelly during the 1979-80 season and all four players lived together and learned together that year.
- Talks about making his NHL debut and learning a few quick lessons with the Kings vs. Detroit on Oct. 10, 1979.
- Tried to emulate Larry Robinson as a player after growing up in Montreal and watching the Canadiens as a kid.
- Credits Bob Berry for showing a lot of faith in him and giving him a chance that first season in the NHL.
- Talks about how emotional he was when he learned he had been traded away from the Kings to the New York Rangers on Feb. 23, 1988.
- Says playing for the Stanley Cup in 1993 is one of his best memories as a player.
- Started to make the transition from player to coach when he served as a player/coach under Rick Dudley with the Phoenix Roadrunners in 1993-94.
- Calls Terry Murray “a great teacher” and says he’s been very impressed with Murray and the rest of the Kings coaching staff since coming on board in August.
