Former NHL forward Gene Carr dies at age 72

The Los Angeles Kings shared that former top NHL prospect Gene Carr died at the age of 72. Carr was drafted fourth overall in the 1971 NHL Draft and appeared in 465 career NHL games. He played with five different franchises throughout his eight-year career, including five seasons with the Kings and three years with the New York Rangers.

Carr was drafted by the St. Louis Blues in 1971, the same draft that saw Guy Lafleur and Marcel Dionne go first and second overall and also boasting Hall of Fame talent with 20th overall choice Larry Robinson. Carr appeared in the 15th-most NHL games of the draft class, making his debut with the Blues in the 1971-72 season. He was traded to the Rangers after only 14 games and five points with the Blues, though, as part of a seven-player swap between the two teams. Carr finished his rookie season with 60 games and 16 points in New York and appeared in one more modest season with the Rangers before being traded to the Kings for a first-round draft pick.

The move to L.A. kicked off the strongest years of Carr’s career. He scored 17 points in his first 21 games with the franchise in 1974 and became iconic for his long, blond hair and charming personality, making him a recognizable face of the early Kings franchise. Despite spending the heat of his career in Los Angeles, Carr’s career year came in 1977-78, when he appeared in five games and scored two goals with L.A. before being moved to the Pittsburgh Penguins, where he recorded 17 goals and 54 points in 70 games, bringing his total on the season to 19 goals and 56 points, both career-highs. It was Carr’s only season in Pittsburgh, and he retired at the age of 27 after one season with the Atlanta Flames.