New Kings Coach Peter Laviolette Looks To Build Pillars For Success

When Kings’ caller caput coach Peter Laviolette took a circuit astir nan Los Angeles area, he thought he was only going to get a one-bedroom location pinch a position of nan water. His children, though, piped in: “Make judge you get a four-bedroom,” Laviolette remembered his 3 children saying.

During Laviolette’s clip distant from nan sport, nan 61-year-old traveled to Scotland and watched his boy play successful nan East Coast Hockey League. The clip distant has fixed Laviolette clip to rethink his coaching, and aft 30 years of coaching, including 23 arsenic a caput coach successful nan NHL, he’s bringing a trident attack to reshape civilization and triumph games. Centering a lucky family is 1 part.

“For me, there’s 3 existent important pieces,” Laviolette said. “First, build a family wrong nan locker room, wrong nan organization. Secondly, to really activity to effort and build nan civilization to get players and organizations to deliberation astir nan choices they make and really that tin impact nan culture. And past nan 3rd portion is nan existent crippled connected nan ice, conscionable making judge that each time from nan commencement of training campy we activity astatine nan game.”

Los Angeles hired Laviolette to a three-year statement aft he spent a twelvemonth distant from nan sport. Laviolette’s coaching acquisition stretches 1,594 games, nan ninth-highest profession total, pinch six teams: nan Capitals, Flyers, Islanders, Hurricanes and Predators. Most recently, he was fired by nan Rangers successful 2025 aft 2 years pinch nan team.

His postseason occurrence mightiness beryllium nan biggest tie for nan Kings, who person seen middling occurrence successful nan years since their 2nd Stanley Cup title successful 2014. Los Angeles made nan playoffs each twelvemonth since nan 2021-22 season, but nan squad did not beforehand past nan first round.

Meanwhile, Laviolette is only nan 4th coach successful lucky to lead 3 teams to nan Stanley Cup Final. He past won pinch Carolina successful 2006, but he earned 2 President’s Trophies successful 2017-18 and 2023-24 pinch nan Predators and nan Rangers.

Kings wide head Ken Holland, left, and Peter Laviolette airs for a photograph during nan caller coach’s introductory news convention Wednesday astatine nan team’s training installation successful El Segundo.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

Still, Laviolette, contempt his way grounds of first-year turnarounds, is joining a squad successful flux. The Kings fired coach Jim Hiller aft nan Olympic break. Interim coach D.J Smith helped guideline nan squad to an 11-6-6 finish, aided successful portion by a waste and acquisition for Rangers winger Artemi Panarin, whom Laviolette has besides coached.

“I had a really bully narration pinch Artemi successful New York,” Laviolette said. “He’s 1 of nan astir talented players I’ve ever coached, and I’m really happy to get to activity pinch him again. He’s an astonishing talent.”

Using nan winger to spell connected nan prowl is 1 of nan mini changes Laviolette plans to bring. The Kings person historically prioritized defense successful a convention that has shifted to attacking. Los Angeles fell to 30th successful goals per crippled past play (2.68), nan first clip nan Kings averaged less than 3 goals since nan 2021-22 season. The squad was besides 28th successful power-play percent astatine 17%. Laviolette acknowledged that Los Angeles needed to change, highlighting that an attack-forward mindset has been a keystone of his coaching.

“I don’t deliberation it should beryllium irresponsible to defense,” he said. “But done my experiences, and moreover conscionable watching nan playoffs correct now, this is an attack-oriented game, and you person to beryllium consenting to move.”

Where does Panarin fit?

“He has nan expertise to beryllium a game-breaker and a difference-maker,” Laviolette said. “He’s not conscionable a extremity scorer. He’s not conscionable a playmaker. He’s elusive. He’s shifty.”

The extremity for adjacent play is to people 250 times, according to Kings’ vice president and wide head Ken Holland. The squad scored 220 past season.

“We’ve sewage to get backmost to scoring much goals,” Holland said. “Part of that’s going to beryllium unit driven, portion of that’s going to beryllium astir apt style‑of‑play driven, mentality, and surely nan caput coach has a batch to do pinch it.”

As Laviolette meets existent staffers and decides whom to bring in, Holland is managing nan phones to scope retired to adjunct coaches and players. Smith has definitively moved on. Phil Housley, whom Laviolette described arsenic an “excellent coach,” could beryllium different imaginable candidate. Housley worked pinch Laviolette arsenic 1 of nan Rangers’ adjunct coaches betwixt 2023 and 2025.

Still, it’s difficult to opportunity nan Kings will beryllium a Cup contender pinch Laviolette. His teams thin to dramatically diminution 2 aliases 3 seasons aft his hiring. He struggles to create younger players, alternatively relying connected veterans to transportation nan weight. Laviolette will person to amplify players for illustration Quinton Byfield and Brandt Clarke, each a talented 23-year-old pinch precocious ceilings.

The Kings’ occurrence will remainder successful really good Los Angeles adapts to Laviolette’s coaching trident. The seasoned coach, to his credit, projected confidence.

“When you put those 3 things together,” he said. “You tin really go an unstoppable force.”