Marcel Dionne was the first to join the Kings, traded from the Detroit Red Wings in the off-season before the 1975-76 season. Dave Taylor and Charlie Simmer made their first appearances with Los Angeles during the 1977-78 season. For Taylor, it was his rookie season of seventeen with the team. Charlie Simmer played just three games with the Kings in 1977-78 after spending most of the season in the American Hockey League with the Springfield Indians. Simmer had played sparingly with the California Golden Seals and Cleveland Barons over the three previous seasons.
In the world of vintage hockey cards, Dionne leads the way in value. The 1971-72 O-Pee-Chee Marcel Dionne rookie card is worth around $150. The 1978-79 Dave Taylor rookie card is worth $30. Charlie Simmer’s rookie card didn’t come until the 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee series, five seasons after his first NHL game. The Charlie Simmer rookie card is worth just $6.
1980-81 was the pinnacle of the ‘Triple Crown Line’. All three players tallied over 100 points with Taylor and Simmer recording career bests. Dionne finished with 135 points, two shy of his career best recorded the year before. Taylor totalled 112 points and Simmer finished with 105. Dionne scored 58 goals while Simmer was two behind with 56. Dave Taylor was three off the 50 goal plateau with 47. As per the special 1981-82 O-Pee-Chee #391 hockey card, they were the first NHL line to all surpass 100 points.
As a team, the Kings scored 337 goals that season, third in the NHL behind only the New York Islanders and St. Louis Blues. Los Angeles finished with 99 points, second to Norris Division rival Montreal Canadiens in the Prince of Wales Conference. The Islanders and Blues were the only other teams to finish ahead of the Kings in the overall standings. Despite this, the Kings bowed out in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs to the New York Rangers, three games to one. The Rangers finished the regular season with 25 less points than Los Angeles.
Dionne is the only member of the ‘Triple Crown Line’ to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. The Los Angeles Kings have retired the number 16 of Marcel Dionne and the number 18 of Dave Taylor.