from Helene Elliott of the LA Times,

His familiar public address introduction of "Ladies and gentlemen, your Los Angeles Kings," was a touchstone for all who cared about them even in the darkest days when the team was, according to bankruptcy laws, actually Bank of America's Los Angeles Kings.

It was only right that the Kings were home June 11 and (David) Courtney was able to say the simple but magical sentence most fans doubted would ever be meant for them: "Ladies and gentlemen, the Stanley Cup." An undercurrent of exhilaration simmered beneath his professional tone, and no one could begrudge him that joy.

The tragedy of his death Thursday from a pulmonary embolism isn't limited to the fact that 56 is too young to die. Or that he had enjoyed merely two years of married life with Janet Fisher, whom he wed in a ceremony at Lake Mission Viejo. That, too, is unspeakably sad.

It is also beyond heartbreaking that although he got to see the Kings win the Cup, the lockout imposed by the NHL on Sept. 15 prevented him from becoming the voice of the Kings' banner-raising ceremony. Try quantifying that loss in millions or billions of hockey-related revenues. It can't be done.

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