'The Players' Tribune': Dustin Brown reflects on time in Los Angeles

Look, L.A. is a Laker town — everyone knows that. But I wanted to believe that we could make an impact on the city. Wayne told me it was a great hockey town.

And when I think of 1,000 NHL games, there’s one thing I keep coming back to — that, in the heat of the moment, hockey can make you feel like there’s no tomorrow. But I’ve been lucky enough to have 1,000 tomorrows. And I hope with every single one of them I’ve been able to make the people of L.A. proud.

To the fans who waited nearly 50 years for a Cup, to my wife and kids who have made L.A. their home, and to my parents — thank you. My mom was an E.R. nurse and my dad owned a bar and would take me to and from all of my hockey games. He wasn’t a huge fan, he never pressured me into playing or told me how to play — he just wanted me to have fun. As a father myself now, I see how important that attitude is.