On Sunday, the Los Angeles Kings announced the surprise firing of head coach John Stevens and assistant coach Don Nachbaur. Willie Desjardins was announced as interim head coach and Marco Sturm will join him as an assistant coach after his obligations with the German men’s national team are concluded at the end of this week.
Stevens had been with the Kings since the 2010-11 season, spending four seasons as an assistant coach and three as an associate coach, primarily in charge of the team’s defense, before being promoted for the 2017-18 season. Stevens’ head coaching record was 49-37-9 before he was fired.
Over the course of the week, we’ll be looking at the Kings’ decision, introducing you to Desjardins and Sturm, and checking in to see how the Kings fare with their new bench boss.