New Kings coach Peter Laviolette looks to build

When Kings’ new head coach Peter Laviolette took a tour around the Los Angeles space, he thought he was only going to get a one-bedroom home with a view of the water. His kids, though, piped in: “Make sure you get a four-bedroom,” Laviolette remembered his three kids saying.

During Laviolette’s time away from the game, the 61-year-old traveled to Scotland and watched his son play in the East Coast Hockey League. The time away has given Laviolette time to rethink his teaching, and after 30 years of teaching, including 23 as a head coach in the NHL, he’s bringing a trident strategy to reshape tradition and win video games. Centering a hockey household is one half.

“For me, there’s three real important pieces,” Laviolette said. “First, build a family inside the locker room, inside the organization. Secondly, to really work to try and build the culture to get players and organizations to think about the choices they make and how that can affect the culture. And then the third part is the actual game on the ice, just making sure that every day from the start of training camp we work at the game.”

Los Angeles employed Laviolette to a three-year contract after he spent a yr away from the game. Laviolette’s teaching expertise stretches 1,594 video games, the ninth-highest profession whole, with six groups: the Capitals, Flyers, Islanders, Hurricanes and Predators. Most not too long ago, he was fired by the Rangers in 2025 after two years with the group.

His postseason success may be the largest draw for the Kings, who have seen middling success in the years since their second Stanley Cup title in 2014. Los Angeles made the playoffs each yr since the 2021-22 season, but the group didn’t advance past the first spherical.

Meanwhile, Laviolette is only the fourth coach in hockey to lead three groups to the Stanley Cup Final. He last received with Carolina in 2006, but he earned two President’s Trophies in 2017-18 and 2023-24 with the Predators and the Rangers.

Still, Laviolette, despite his observe report of first-year turnarounds, is becoming a member of a group in flux. The Kings fired coach Jim Hiller after the Olympic break. Interim coach D.J Smith helped information the group to an 11-6-6 end, aided in half by a commerce for Rangers winger Artemi Panarin, whom Laviolette has also coached.

“I had a really good relationship with Artemi in New York,” Laviolette said. “He’s one of the most talented players I’ve ever coached, and I’m really happy to get to work with him again. He’s an amazing talent.”

Using the winger to go on the prowl is one of the small adjustments Laviolette plans to carry. The Kings have traditionally prioritized protection in a league that has shifted to attacking. Los Angeles fell to thirtieth in objectives per sport last season (2.68), the first time the Kings averaged fewer than three objectives since the 2021-22 season. The group was also twenty eighth in power-play share at 17%. Laviolette acknowledged that Los Angeles needed to change, highlighting that an attack-forward mindset has been a keystone of his teaching.

“I don’t think it should be irresponsible to defense,” he said. “But through my experiences, and even just watching the playoffs right now, this is an attack-oriented game, and you have to be willing to move.”

Where does Panarin match?

“He has the ability to be a game-breaker and a difference-maker,” Laviolette said. “He’s not just a goal scorer. He’s not just a playmaker. He’s elusive. He’s shifty.”

The aim for next season is to rating 250 occasions, according to Kings’ vice president and basic supervisor Ken Holland. The group scored 220 last season.

“We’ve got to get back to scoring more goals,” Holland said. “Part of that’s going to be personnel driven, part of that’s going to be probably style‑of‑play driven, mentality, and certainly the head coach has a lot to do with it.”

As Laviolette meets current staffers and decides whom to carry in, Holland is managing the telephones to attain out to assistant coaches and gamers. Smith has definitively moved on. Phil Housley, whom Laviolette described as an “excellent coach,” may very well be another potential candidate. Housley labored with Laviolette as one of the Rangers’ assistant coaches between 2023 and 2025.

Still, it’s onerous to say the Kings will likely be a Cup contender with Laviolette. His groups have a tendency to dramatically decline two or three seasons after his hiring. He struggles to develop youthful gamers, instead relying on veterans to carry the weight. Laviolette could have to amplify gamers like Quinton Byfield and Brandt Clarke, each a gifted 23-year-old with high ceilings.

The Kings’ success will relaxation in how effectively Los Angeles adapts to Laviolette’s teaching trident. The veteran coach, to his credit, projected confidence.

“When you put those three things together,” he said. “You can really become an unstoppable force.”