Los Angeles Kings hire Pierre Turgeon as ‘offensive coordinator’

In an effort to score more goals, the Los Angeles Kings have added an assistant coach with that specialty.

Primarily on the strength of superb goaltending from Jonathan Quick, the Los Angeles Kings won Stanley Cups in 2012 and 2014. Prolific goal scoring was not the team’s forte, but it really didn’t matter when it mattered most in the playoffs those years.

After missing the playoffs for the second time in three years, the Kings fired head coach Darryl Sutter and general manager Dean Lombardi in April. The Kings were tied for 24th in the NHL in goals scored last season (199; 2.43 per game), and with Quick missing most of the season that lack of offensive firepower was just not good enough.

To that end, Pierre Turgeon has been added as an assistant under new head coach John Stevens. The announcement technically came from Stevens and general manager Rob Blake, but it was president Luc Robitaille who gave Turgeon’s new role a special label.

"“We are thrilled to bring Pierre Turgeon aboard to join John Stevens and our coaching staff. For the first time in LA Kings history we will have one coach strictly dedicated to an ‘Offensive Coordinator’ role,” Kings President Luc Robitaille said."

Turgeon scored 515 goals (38th all-time) and tallied 1,327 points over 19 NHL seasons, but this will be his first time coaching in the league. It’s worth noting he was a teammate of Blake’s with the Colorado Avalanche for one season (2005-06), so that looks like a tie that bore fruit over a decade later.

Stevens also spoke highly of Turgeon’s acumen, and the prospect for a smooth transition into a NHL coaching role.

"“Pierre had great success as a player and has a tremendous hockey background on the whole. He is a person who brings a lot of energy, passion, and insight to the job along with a great deal of enthusiasm about the game,” head coach John Stevens said."

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Any improvement the Kings show offensively next season will have to come from within last year’s squad. Mike Cammalleri was the only notable addition up front, as he comes back to the team that drafted him at 35 years old and coming off a 31-point campaign (10 goals, 21 assists) over 61 games with the New Jersey Devils.