Kings' hiring of Peter Laviolette signals a shift toward more offensively minded hockey

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — In hiring Peter Laviolette as their new head coach, the Los Angeles Kings signaled a break from the too often defensive-focused hockey that won them two Stanley Cup titles in three seasons in 2012 and 2014 but hasn't yielded a postseason series victory since.

On Wednesday, general manager Ken Holland confirmed the addition of the well-traveled Laviolette is intended to kickstart Los Angeles' lagging offense.

“You still got to know how to defend, so defending is going to be important, but certainly we want to do some things that can increase our scoring,” Holland said at a news conference. “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 that.”

Laviolette, 61, brings with him a track record of immediate offensive output and playoff success in previous stints with the New York Islanders, Carolina, Philadelphia, Nashville, Washington and the New York Rangers. In his two seasons with the Rangers, they finished seventh and 12th in goals per game before he was fired in April 2025. The Kings have finished with top 12 scoring offenses just twice since 2012.

Laviolette said he wants an aggressive approach. He's looking to create more offense off the rush and in transition, breaking away from the stodgy hockey that cost Jim Hiller his job as head coach on March 1. Interim coach D.J. Smith oversaw enough of a offensive uptick to get the Kings into the playoffs for the fifth straight season before they were swept by the Colorado Avalanche in the first round.

"Through my experiences, and even just watching the playoffs right now, this is an attack-orientated game, and you have to be willing to move. You have to have a plan in place when there's no offense available. I think five-on-five is the hardest way to score a goal,” Laviolette said.

That mindset helped Kings forward Artemi Panarin set career-highs in goals and points under Laviolette with the Rangers in 2023-24 when they won the Presidents' Trophy. Laviolette is looking forward to his reunion with the speedy and creative Panarin, who was traded to Los Angeles in February and had nine goals and 18 assists in 26 regular-season games for the Kings.

“He can change a game on any given night, and so, like I said, I'm really excited to work with him again,” Laviolette said.

Laviolette also has familiarity with another one of the Kings' top offensive producers in winger Kevin Fiala, having worked together in Nashville.

But a lack of creativity from the blue line played a major part in the Kings' 29th place ranking in scoring last season. Holland indicated changes could be coming to the crop of defensemen after meeting with other general managers at the scouting combine.

If trades cannot be completed, Laviolette said it would be up to him to get more from a group that produced 23 goals and 110 assists combined in the regular season. Against the Avalanche in the playoffs, those Kings defensemen managed one goal and one assist.

“There's not going to be two sets of plans for those that we consider offensive and those that we consider great defensive defensemen. There'll be one set of rules, one set of plans, and those players would be expected to try to do their best to implement that plan,” he said.

If Laviolette can engineer more consistent scoring, it wouldn't be out of the question for another sustained playoff run to follow early in his tenure. He has been to the Stanley Cup Final with the Hurricanes, Flyers and Predators all within his first two years with those organizations, including lifting the Cup in Carolina in 2006.

“When you look at his resume, all the teams that he’s been with, the impact that he’s had on these teams the first couple of years, right off the bat, and it’s a hard league to win,” Holland said. “Going to the Stanley Cup Finals three times with three different teams, also winning a Calder Cup at the American Hockey League level, pro hockey’s hard to win, and he’s done a lot of winning.”

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