The Los Angeles Kings have promoted associated head coach John Stevens to become their next head coach.
Kings spokesman Mike Altieri says the team will introduce Stevens at a news conference Monday.
Stevens replaces Darryl Sutter after serving as an assistant to two Kings head coaches over the past eight seasons, which included the franchise’s only two Stanley Cup championship runs. Los Angeles has won just one playoff game in three years since its last title in 2014.
Stevens was the Kings’ interim head coach for four games early in the 2011-12 season after Terry Murray was fired and before the hiring of Sutter, who became the winningest coach in Kings history.
The 50-year-old was long considered Sutter’s eventual replacement, though the firing of general manager Dean Lombardi and Sutter earlier this month put everything into question. When assistant Davis Payne was fired, the door was open to promoting Stevens.
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