LOS ANGELES –– The Kings and a star-studded assortment of entertainers, athletes and influencers came together for Sunday’s “Skate for LA Strong” at Crypto.com Arena, a fundraiser for and homage to the courageous responders and fire victims throughout Southern California.
January brought immeasurable and unprecedented devastation, particularly from the Eaton Canyon and Pacific Palisades blazes. The Kings were the first team to have an event canceled as a result, with their match against the Calgary Flames being postponed on Jan. 8. By then, the ravaging effects of the infernos had already extended light years beyond such minor inconveniences.
As Al Michaels said Sunday, it was better to “look through the windshield than the rearview mirror,” with supportive events like these offering some assistance and direction forward.
Sunday’s tournament was won by Team Red, which was coached by actors Vince Vaughn and Cobie Smulders and featured a number of former hockey stars, including Dany Heatley, Natalie Darwitz and hall of famer Jeremy Roenick, who even got into a pretend tussle with pop singer Justin Bieber.
But the action on the ice took a backseat to the solidarity shown by both the local community and global outreach to the region in the wake of the fires.
“Being a part of something bigger than yourself is what community and all those things are all about,” said 6’7”, 330-pound former Rams tackle Andrew Whitworth, who most appreciated the “time, effort, energy, love and passion” that people in the area and around the world dedicated to disaster relief.
Whitworth developed that strong sense of compassion as a senior at LSU in Baton Rouge, La., a mere 75 minutes from New Orleans, where Hurricane Katrina caused damage that Whitworth understood still lingered today.
“For me, it was a reminder when people would come up to me and say, ‘I lost everything, but I still have my LSU season tickets, so, please, you guys go win on Saturday,’ to give them just that reprieve to get away for a minute, think about something else and be inspired,” Whitworth said. “As athletes, I think it’s one of the greatest obligations we have.”
Whitworth wasn’t the only NFL star lending a massive hand. At the arena were Julian Edelman and Matt Leinart, while Matthew Stafford and Travis Kelce joined Dodgers slugger Freddie Freeman and hockey legend Wayne Gretzky among those who offered video messages. Cooperstown inductee, Minnesotan and Twins icon Joe Mauer joked that he “never thought he’d leave Minnesota to play a hockey game.”
Whitworth also wasn’t the lone empathetic figure who’d previously witnessed tragedy and responded with kindness. Actor Jay Harrington, who played on winning team, became emotional before the event in recanting his interactions at his Santa Monica pizzeria with families whose homes were part of the fires’ unfathomable toll. A Boston native, he also remembered how his hometown rallied following the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013.
Kings goalie guru Bill Ranford felt close to the calamity in more ways than one. His father was a firefighter for the Canadian Armed Forces and Ranford’s son-in-law followed in those footsteps. Additionally, Ranford was tethered to the harrowing experiences of those impacted by the Maui fires of 2023 –– he and his wife are frequent visitors to the island –– and the victims of the Fort McMurray fires in 2016, which prompted Ranford’s former club the Edmonton Oilers and their archrivals from Calgary to each make substantial contributions to reconstruction efforts in Northern Alberta.
“It’s catastrophic, there’s no other way of putting it. The number of families it affected was crazy, and a lot of these homes were family homes for years and years and years,” Ranford said. “It’s so disappointing that it happened, and thank goodness the fire departments from all over the world all stepped in and did what they could.”
Not only were the stands populated by responders and affected families, but there were several valiant emergency personnel peppered among the four teams that laced up their skates Sunday.
“It means a lot. My crew and I were there on the first day of the Palisades fire. Immediately, there was an outpouring of love and support for us and what we were doing, which we felt,” said Jason Northgrave of the El Segundo Fire Department. “To do something like this is just phenomenal, it’s a blessing, we’re thankful for it, and plus it’s a fun game to play.”
Roger Sackaroff, a native New Yorker who once worked for NHL.com, said his calling to service as a firefighter and EMT rang out in the chaos of Sept. 11, 2001.
“I was in the office at 6th Ave. and 51st St. when the planes hit the towers, and over the course of that time, it just changed my perspective on my role in the world and what I was doing,” Sackaroff said.
Sackaroff said the response from the community, its sports franchises and other entities was “overwhelming,” especially given that most first responders were accustomed to their diligence and heroism going unheralded.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the job that all of our firefighters did. Our guys were there the first day, but over the course of that time, it was a rainbow of fire engines,” said Sackaroff, pointing out that the recovery efforts were still very much ongoing. “It’s like the 4 Nations [Face-Off], everybody comes together from different teams to get the job done and be the best they can be.”