There was no shortage of applicants for an expansion franchise in Los Angeles when the insular, six-team NHL decided to double in size for the 1967-68 season. Five groups submitted bids, giving the league's Board of Governors many options when it met in February 1966.
Los Angeles Rams owner Dan Reeves was the favorite because he owned the minor league Western Hockey League Blades, who played at the Sports Arena. When he invested in the team, it was with a proviso that the Blades would receive "encouragement" from the NHL for future expansion.
Also bidding were: Metromedia, which owned radio and TV stations; TV producer Tony Owen; Ralph Wilson, owner of the American Football League's Buffalo Bills; and a relatively new guy in town, Jack Kent Cooke, who had made a splash a few months earlier by purchasing the Lakers from Bob Short for $5.