The Los Angeles Kings are not okay with any type of stretch without success, and if you don't believe that, just ask their now former head coach, John Stevens. The team fired Stevens after just over a season together on Sunday afternoon, this after a 4-8-1 start to their season. It took just 13 games in to his second season in Hollywood for the team to realize that it was not a good fit, making this call after a 4-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night.
General manager Rob Blake announced Willie Desjardins as the interim head coach, and he will take over on Tuesday when they play host to the Anaheim Ducks. The team also parted ways with assistant Don Nachbaur and hired former forward with the Kings, Marco Sturm, to join Desjardins' staff.
The Kings sit in last place in the entire NHL after Saturday with just nine points, getting outscored, 45-28, so far this season. They have won two of their past three games, this after suffering a six-game losing streak. They are also playing without goalie Jonathan Quick, who is on injured reserve with a lower-body injury.
This is the second coaching change in the past 19 months, as Stevens took over in 2017 after spending seven years as an assistant to Terry Murray and Darryl Sutter with Los Angeles. Stevens, who played with the Philadelphia Flyers, was a part of the 2012 and 2014 Stanley Cup Championship teams for the Kings.
Desjardins' coaching experience comes from his time with the Vancouver Canucks from 2014-2017 after retiring from the ice in 2012. He missed the playoffs in two of his three season in Vancouver, but also coached the Canadian's men's national team in 2017, which resulted in a bronze medal victory.
The Kings finished with 98 points a season ago and was ousted in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but showed no signs of improvement early on this year. There is still plenty of time for this coaching change to play a role in some type of turnaround out west.
General manager Rob Blake announced Willie Desjardins as the interim head coach, and he will take over on Tuesday when they play host to the Anaheim Ducks. The team also parted ways with assistant Don Nachbaur and hired former forward with the Kings, Marco Sturm, to join Desjardins' staff.
The Kings sit in last place in the entire NHL after Saturday with just nine points, getting outscored, 45-28, so far this season. They have won two of their past three games, this after suffering a six-game losing streak. They are also playing without goalie Jonathan Quick, who is on injured reserve with a lower-body injury.
This is the second coaching change in the past 19 months, as Stevens took over in 2017 after spending seven years as an assistant to Terry Murray and Darryl Sutter with Los Angeles. Stevens, who played with the Philadelphia Flyers, was a part of the 2012 and 2014 Stanley Cup Championship teams for the Kings.
Desjardins' coaching experience comes from his time with the Vancouver Canucks from 2014-2017 after retiring from the ice in 2012. He missed the playoffs in two of his three season in Vancouver, but also coached the Canadian's men's national team in 2017, which resulted in a bronze medal victory.
The Kings finished with 98 points a season ago and was ousted in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but showed no signs of improvement early on this year. There is still plenty of time for this coaching change to play a role in some type of turnaround out west.
