Ex-Rangers coach ‘really excited to work with’ Artemi Panarin again in L.A.
The Los Angeles Kings’ defense-first style of play hasn’t gotten them past the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs since their last championship in 2014 — including this year’s sweep by the Colorado Avalanche. Former New York Rangers coach Peter Laviolette aims to change that by switching to an aggressive, offense-minded approach.
The Kings hired Laviolette as the 32nd coach in their history on Wednesday. The 61-year-old brings a track record of immediate offensive improvement and playoff success with him during his stints with the New York Islanders, Carolina Hurricanes, Philadelphia Flyers, Nashville Predators, Washington Capitals and the Rangers.
In his two seasons with the Blueshirts, they finished seventh and 12th in goals per game before he was fired in April of 2025 after the Rangers missed the playoffs one season after winning the Presidents’ Trophy.
Laviolette wants to create more offense, both off the rush and in transition. That would be a sharp change from the stodgy style that cost Jim Hiller his job as coach on March 1. D.J. Smith took over and got enough offense from his team in an 11-6-6 finish to make the playoffs for the fifth straight season, but the Kings managed just five goals when they were swept by the Avs.
“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,” Laviolette explained this week. “You have to have a plan in place when there’s no offence available. I think five-on-five is the hardest way to score a goal.”
The Kings finished 29th in the NHL this season with 225 goals (including five in the shootout) and ended up in the top 12 in scoring just twice since 2012. They were 20th in the NHL with 90 points (35-27-20), were outscored by 22 goals and were the lowest finisher among the 16 teams to qualify for the playoffs.
Ex-Rangers coach Laviolette glad to be reunited with Panarin in L.A.
One player who thrived under Laviolette in New York was forward Artemi Panarin, who had career-highs of 49 goals and 120 points in 2023-24. His point total was second-most in Rangers history, and Panarin finished fifth in voting for the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP. He topped the Blueshirts again in 2024-25 under Laviolette with 37 goals and 89 points, and was leading the Rangers in scoring this season with Mike Sullivan as coach, before they traded him to Los Angeles on Feb. 4.
Panarin kept on producing with his new team — finishing with nine goals and 27 points in 26 regular-season games before scoring two of LA’s five goals against Colorado.
“He can change a game on any given night,” Laviolette said. “I’m really excited to work with him again.”
One problem for Laviolette is that there’s no Adam Fox on the Kings’ blue line. He must find a way to get more scoring from a group of defensemen that combined for 23 goals and 110 assists in the regular season and just one goal and one assist in the playoffs.
“There’s not going to be two sets of plans for those that we consider offensive and those that we consider great defensive defensemen,” he said. “There will 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.”
Laviolette coached the Hurricanes to their first Stanley Cup championship in 2006 and got to the Final with the Flyers in 2010 and the Predators seven years later. All three came within his first two years with those teams. His Presidents’ Trophy-winning season with the Rangers came after he replaced Gerard Gallant in 2023.
Laviolette’s teams have reached the playoffs in 11 of the past 14 seasons he finished behind a bench, his 846 wins are seventh in NHL history and 1,594 games coached are ninth.
“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,” general manager Ken 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.”
