Penguins’ Lizotte Has LA On His Mind; ‘Pray For Them And Hope For The Best’

Ten days from now is a date Pittsburgh Penguins forward Blake Lizotte has had circled for some time. That’s when he is scheduled to play against his former team, the only other NHL organization he has known, the Los Angeles Kings. Things have suddenly changed leading up to that Jan. 20 game at Crypto.com Arena, things that put hockey and even life into a different perspective.

“It’s a heavy topic,” Lizotte said Friday after the Penguins practiced at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.

He’s talking about the horrific and out-of-control fires that are wiping out thousands of acres of land, including homes and businesses, in various locations in and around Los Angeles and have killed at least several people.

“It’s obviously devastating to so many families and people there losing their homes. And not even just homes and stuff, but stuff that really matters. Lives and people getting injured,” Lizotte said.

“My wife (Abby) and I were talking yesterday. It’s kind of been a heavy start to 2025 with things happening around the world. It definitely tugs at your heartstrings for sure.”

Lizotte, who was undrafted, played two seasons at St. Cloud State and then signed with the Kings at the end of the 2018-19 season. He played 320 games with Los Angeles, notching 37 goals, 100 points. He signed a two-year contract worth $1.85 million per season last summer with the Penguins on the first day of free agency.

After all that time in LA, he built up a circle of friends and a familiarity with some parts of the massive urban area.

“There’s a few hiking trails up in those mountains that kind of got fried,” he said. “And the Santa Monica area is very popular. A lot of guys go there, including myself when I was there. A lot of Santa Monica was evacuated. You hope it doesn’t spread down to the buildings there, but you never know.”

Lizotte has heard from some friends who live in areas that could be threatened.

“Calabasas Hills and that area. People I know, their houses are fine, but they had to evacuate for precautionary reasons,” he said. “It’s very scary. It’s pretty crazy, and, hopefully, it will die down soon.

“(We’re) hearing first-hand stories of people we know in LA having to evacuate and leave all their stuff behind and just hope for the best. Fortunately, all the people we know are safe and haven’t had any lives in danger or injuries or anything, but your heart goes out to all those people that maybe have lost loved ones, or all their stuff in this world. It’s pretty sad to see. All you really can do is pray for them and hope for the best.”

It seems California is hit with devastating fires nearly every year. But it rarely happens in January, and rarely in the populated metropolis as Los Angeles and adjacent areas.

Lizotte became familiar with some of the weather patterns, such as the Santa Ana winds, that have led to such calamitous fires.

“I think with the dryness there, it’s always something that could have happened or could happen. I think (it’s) the timing of it, with the wind. When there’s 80-, 90-mile-an-hour winds and there are fires roaring, it doesn’t take long to spread,” he said.

“It’s obviously devastating, but living in that area, everyone in the back of their mind, you always know it could happen, but I don’t think anyone’s really prepared for it actually happening.”

While downtown LA is not being threatened, the Kings postponed their home game Wednesday against the Calgary Flames out of concern for everyone affected by the fires.

The Kings started a road trip Friday. Their next scheduled home game is the one Jan. 20 against the Penguins.

After being limited by two injuries to 27 game this season, with eight goals and four assists playing in the bottom six, Lizotte had been looking forward to that game. Now what otherwise would have been a fun return for Lizotte will feel different.

“Absolutely,” he said. “It’s a heavy spot to go right now with all that’s going on and all the emotions. Hockey is not the first thing on anyone’s mind in LA right now. … I think (the Kings) are doing a good job as an organization of kind of putting that aside and focusing on what really matters.”