Darryl Sutter reportedly will be the next coach of the Los Angeles Kings.
Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times reports that Sutter will take over on Tuesday. Rich Hammond of LA Kings Insider reported that Sutter has signed a multiyear contract and will be publicly introduced Tuesday or Wednesday -- the delay is due to immigration details. Sutter will replace interim coach John Stevens, who general manager Dean Lombardi put in charge after firing coach Terry Murray on Monday.
Sutter has spent 11 seasons as an NHL coach with Chicago, San Jose and most recently in Calgary. He also served as the general manager of the Flames until he resigned in Dec. 28, 2010. He is 409-320-101-30 in 860 games as an NHL coach and led the Flames to the 2004 Stanley Cup Final, in which they lost to Tampa Bay in seven games.
The Kings lost to San Jose in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season, but general manager Dean Lombardi traded for Mike Richards and signed Simon Gagne during the summer and expectations increased in Los Angeles. A slow start to the season has been compounded by the team's inability to score despite the offensive upgrades -- the Kings are last in the NHL with an average of 2.13 goals per game.
Lombardi fired Murray after a four-game losing streak dropped the Kings to 13-13-4 and 12th place in the Westerrn Conference. Stevens is 1-1-0 as the interim coach entering Saturday's game in Detroit.
Hammond reports that Stevens will be kept on as an assistant at least through the end of the season, and that Sutter has been in touch with management to get scouting reports on the Kings' personnel.
