Former Stanley Cup Winner Turns Down 2 Canadian Teams to Become Next LA Kings Coach?

The NHL off-season is almost upon us, with free agency set to begin on July 1st following the 2026 NHL Draft, set to begin on June 26th as teams look to upgrade for both the future and the present. Before that, however, there are plenty of teams set to make changes, with Vancouver naming Manny Malhotra Head Coach, while teams like Toronto and Edmonton are searching for their next bench boss.

Both of the latter were reportedly interested in Peter Laviolette, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, but now, the former Stanley Cup-winning coach has made his decision.

On Monday, it was announced that Laviolette, who last coached the New York Rangers during the 2024/25 season, will now become the newest Head Coach of the Los Angeles Kings.

In LA, Laviolette will replace D.J. Smith, who served in the role as the interim Head Coach after he took over from Jim Hiller, who was fired early in the 2025/26 season. Some expected Smith to stay in the role after going 11-6-6 through 23 games played, but ultimately, with the team having high expectations, they felt it best to hire an experienced coach for the role.

In Laviolette, the Kings are getting a coach with 1,594 regular-season games under his belt, with his most notable season coming in 2006 when he was the Head Coach of the Stanley Cup-winning Carolina Hurricanes. In recent roles, Laviolette has found success too, posting a record of 94-59-11 across two seasons with New York, making the conference finals in his first year before being fired a year later.

While it’s unclear how much interest there was from the Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs, according to Friedman, they were certainly interested until Laviolette chose the Kings.

As of right now, Friedman hasn’t gone into detail on whether Laviolette was officially offered a role in either Edmonton or Toronto, but given the level of superstars in both organizations, it’s a surprise to see Laviolette choose LA over them.

However, the Kings are an exciting young team, and with players such as Quinton Byfield and Brandt Clarke alongside veterans Adrian Kempe, Artemi Panarin, and Drew Doughty, the pieces are there to be successful.

Now, both Edmonton and Toronto will need to continue their search for a Head Coach, but after plenty of turnover in LA in recent times, they’re now settled with Laviolette as their bench boss moving forward.

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