View From The CROWN : Simmer, Taylor and Dionne Are Impressed by Selanne and Kariya

Charlie Simmer watches them every game from the radio booth as a Mighty Duck announcer.

Dave Taylor is keenly aware of their progress as well, since it’s part of his job as assistant general manager of the Kings.

And Marcel Dionne fairly snorted when asked if he was keeping up with the exploits of Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne.

“Just because I’ve retired doesn’t mean I don’t watch hockey,” said Dionne, the Hall of Famer and most famous member of the Kings’ Triple Crown line.

Before Teemu, Paul and Wayne Gretzky, there were three famous hockey players in Southern California--all on the same line. The Triple Crown line was spawned on Jan. 13, 1979, and Dionne marked its birth with a four-goal performance in Detroit.

There is no real catchy name for Selanne and Kariya--Legion of Toon has been mentioned, with a nod to Disney--but after all they are but two-thirds of a line with a frequently changing third member. Now, Triple Crown sounds painfully obvious, but Taylor pointed out that there was a contest to pick the name.

“There was one [suggestion] I remember,” he said. “The Baker Line, because they said we were making a lot of dough. Now, that would be an appropriate line.”

Especially when you consider that Selanne is making $2.75 million this season, and Kariya $2.272 million.

Individual greatness doesn’t necessarily mean that two players, let alone three, will blend successfully. But Simmer realized the enormous possibilities the first time Selanne and Kariya hit the ice together on Feb. 10 against the New York Islanders.

“You knew it might take a few games, but in that first game I could see greatness,” he said. “They were trying to do things out there. You could see they had chemistry.”

Taylor, Dionne and Simmer are all amazed at Kariya’s progress.

“He has all the elements to be a superstar,” Dionne said. “He’s got a sense for everyone who is out there with him. I’ve watched him many times this year. One year doesn’t make you a superstar, you have to do it five, six years. I learned that watching Gordie Howe.”

Taylor noted that Kariya is a student of the game, acquiring new skills in the off-season, trotting them out for trial and error in training camp and now using them for all they are worth in the stretch run.

Even Kariya and Selanne are broken up from time to time, especially on the road. So Taylor doesn’t think any line will have much staying power in this era.

“You don’t see lines together much for a long time,” he said. “Especially since coaches like to juggle their lines. A lot of time, you find a center and a right wing and it’s hard to find a left wing.”

The patience of Coach Bob Berry helped keep the Triple Crown line together. And the players truly complemented one another. Dionne was the playmaking center, Simmer the goal-scorer and Taylor the gritty right wing, who was tenacious in the corners.

The Triple Crown line’s most notable season was 1980-81. Dionne, who had won the league scoring title the previous season, finished with 58 goals and 135 points, Simmer had 56 goals and 105 points, and Taylor recorded 47 goals and 112 points.

Simmer’s broken leg on March 3, 1981, effectively marked the end of the Triple Crown line.

All three men still play some hockey and Dionne is on a legends tour making its way through Canada.

But the Triple Crown line hasn’t played together, even in a charity game, since its members retired. But if aging rock bands can reunite, why not the Triple Crown line?

“Davey and I have played together after we retired,” Simmer said. “Yeah, it would be a blast to play again.”