Kings name John Stevens new head coach
The Los Angeles Kings are staying in house.
John Stevens is the next head coach of the team, the club announced Sunday.
It's a promotion for the 50-year-old, who has been an associate head coach with the club since 2014. A press conference will take place Monday at 1:30 p.m. local time at the Staples Center.
Stevens was the head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers from October 2006 through December 2009, compiling a record of 120-109-34 in the regular season and 11-12 in the playoffs. He joined Los Angeles after his time in Philly, and the 2017-18 season will be his eighth with the Kings.
New general manager Rob Blake said the following in the team's release:
John and I had very productive dialogue this last week in relation to his head coaching philosophy and specifically how he would implement a strategy to activate our players offensively while maintaining the defensive philosophies we have come to be known for. am confident that we are both in agreement on how that can be executed. With that said, we believe John has the ideal qualities to lead our hockey club. His wide array of coaching experience, including success as an NHL head coach and his inherent knowledge of our players and those in our development system, is very appealing to us. We are confident he is the best person to lead our hockey club forward.
Stevens was part of both Kings' Stanley Cup-winning teams in 2012 and 2014. He takes over for the fired Darryl Sutter, who was let go along with former GM Dean Lombardi earlier this month.
Confirmed that Bill Ranford will remain on as part of John Stevens' staff. This is good and important news for the team.
— Jon Rosen (@lakingsinsider) April 23, 2017
Blake added that he and Stevens will announce the rest of the staff at a later date.