The LA Kings may not be the most popular hockey team in the NHL, but it just might be the sassiest – and the smartest when it comes to social media. After beating the Canucks 4-2 at the Game 1 opener in Vancouver, the official LA Kings Twitter feed sent out the following tweet: “To everyone in Canada outside of BC, you’re welcome.” And wow, did that cause a spike in their popularity!

If you didn’t see the tweet, check it out below in all its glory, along with some immediate replies:

Based on what you see above and Dean Lombardi’s quasi apology that came after, you might think that whoever is the voice behind this Twitter stream should be looking for a new job, but think again. As the LA Times points out, when “most of the official Twitter feeds from around the league are about as edgy as minutes from a weekly school board meeting,” an account trash talking another team stands out – no we mean it REALLY stands out.

The folks at TwitSprout, makers of the awesome Twitter analytics product we’ve featured in the past, tell us that this LA Kings’ tweet was retweeted 13,752 times and that this is the most retweets of any team in the NHL . . . ever. Oh and that places it in the top ten of the most retweeted tweets on Twitter. And FYI? The top tweet from the @vanCanucks received 2406 retweets. Check it out below.

An anomaly, you say? Maybe. But the LA Kings’ Twitter stream doesn’t seem to be slowing down and fans are eating it up.

It’s also important to note that the LA Kings account typically gains 300 followers per day, but within 24 hours after that trash talking tweet was sent, they gained 7000 new followers. Wow. Again.

So what do you think? Would this work for other teams? Is it what followers want?

(Photo of boy sticking out tongue from Shutterstock)