Willie Desjardins Named Interim Head Coach For The Los Angeles Kings

11/04/2018 at 2:38pm EST

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Kings have relieved John Stevens of his head coaching duties and Willie Desjardins has been named the new Kings interim head coach, Kings Vice President and General Manager Rob Blake announced today.

“This is a critical time in our season and our results to date have fallen well below our expectations. With that in mind, this was a difficult decision but one we feel was necessary,” said Blake. “We have a great deal of respect and appreciation for John’s time with our organization. He was a key part of our past success, and we have tremendous gratitude for his many contributions.”

In addition, Don Nachbaur, who joined the Kings as an assistant coach prior to last season, has been relieved of his duties. His replacement behind the Kings bench will be former LA King Marco Sturm, who is currently the Head Coach and General Manager of the German National Team.

“We appreciate everything Don has done as a member of the Kings coaching staff, and wish him the best moving forward,” said Blake.

Desjardins has 20-plus years of coaching experience. In the NHL he served as head coach of the Vancouver Canucks for three seasons (from 2014-17). He also served as associate head coach with the Dallas Stars for two seasons (2010-12).

A native of Climax, Saskatoon, Desjardins is 61 years old. He is officially the 25th different coach in Kings history.

Sturm is a native of Germany who appeared in 938 NHL games during his playing career that spanned over 14 seasons. He registered 487 total points during his career (242-245=487), a career plus-59 rating and 446 penalty minutes.

Filed In:Kukla's Korner Hockey

11/05/2018

NHL Short Notes

Kukla's Korner Hockey

11/04/2018

John Steven Done In LA

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Create an Account

In order to leave a comment, please create an account.

About Kukla's Korner Hockey

Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.

Email Paul anytime at [email protected]

Most Recent Posts

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Your First Round Picks4/20/24

Pressure Is On The New York Rangers4/20/24

NHL Short Notes4/20/24

Evening Line -Gary Bettman "We Shall Return" (To Arizona)4/19/24

Watching TNT And ESPN4/19/24

Be Prepared For The Stanley Cup Playoffs4/19/24

Recapping The NHL Regular Season4/19/24

Most Recent Comments

Comment by exor54 in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Stream- Derek Lalonde And Steve Yzerman Meet With The Media - 2 minutes ago

Comment by exor54 in Kukla's Korner Hockey from the entry Your First Round Picks - 19 minutes ago