The Los Angeles Kings have landed on longtime NHL coach Peter Laviolette as their next head coach, per multiple reports. Laviolette reportedly agreed to a deal with the team on Monday, in what will be a three-year contract, per The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun.
Laviolette has spent the past year out of the league after getting fired by the New York Rangers last April. Laviolette had only been with the Rangers since 2023, making to the conference finals in his first year, but was let go after missing the playoffs in the 2024-25 season.
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In total, Laviolette has 23 seasons of NHL coaching experience under his belt, serving as the head coach for six different franchises, starting with the New York Islanders in 2001. The coach has made it to the Stanley Cup Final three times with three different teams (Carolina Hurricanes, Philadelphia Flyers, Nashville Predators) and won it once, giving the Hurricanes their sole Stanley Cup win in 2006.
Meanwhile, the Kings fired head coach Jim Hiller in March, with D.J. Smith serving as the interim head coach for the rest of the season. The Kings finished the season 35-27-20, clinching the final playoff berth in the struggling Pacific Division. L.A. was then swept by the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the postseason — the fifth straight year that the Kings have lost in the first round.
This story will be updated.
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