The Los Angeles Kings have announced it has fired head coach John Stevens on Sunday. Assistant coach Don Nachbaur was also relieved of his duties. The news came from Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times.
The Kings have relieved coach John Stevens and assistant coach Don Nachbaur of their duties. More changes to come from Kings in an announcement in about 30 minutes.
— Helene Elliott (@helenenothelen) November 4, 2018
Kings Fire Coach John Stevens
The Los Angeles Kings have parted ways with head coach John Stevens and assistant Don Nachbuar. This season, the team has a record of four wins and eight regulation losses and one overtime defeat Los Angeles sit in last place of the eight-team Pacific Division.
Over his seven-year NHL career Stevens has split his time between the Philadelphia Flyers and Los Angeles Kings. Overall he has 171 wins and 148 regulation losses and 43 overtime defeats. His greatest success was with the Flyers in the 2008-09 season when he guided them to the Eastern Conference final. Stevens took the Kings to the playoffs in his first full season in charge before being eliminated by the Vegas Golden Knights.
He took over for longtime coach Darryl Sutter in April 2017. Stevens was handpicked by Sutter to take over and played a key role int the Kings’ two Stanley Cup victories. He the defensive guru behind the team’s stingy defence during those victories.
What This Means for the Team’s Future
The timing of the firing comes at an odd time as the Kings did beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, 4-1, on Saturday night. However, Los Angeles has struggled on offence ranking near the bottom of the league in goals scored, goals against and special teams.
The team is off to one of its worst starts in 30 years and Stevens saw the writing on the wall last month. Alain Vigneault and Dave Tippett are considered to be the leading candidates to take over the full-time duties.
Willie Desjardins will take over the interim coaching duties at this time.
Former Los Angeles Kings head coach John Stevens talks to his team during a timeout. (Getty Images)
