Blake didn't hesitate to pursue Stevens: 'There was no search'
Rob Blake knew he wanted John Stevens as his head coach when Darryl Sutter was fired.
"There was no search," the Los Angeles Kings general manager told reporters Monday. "We went to John as soon as the changes were made."
Stevens was named the Kings' new head coach Sunday, less than two weeks after the organizational shakeup by parent company AEG that left Sutter and former general manager Dean Lombardi unemployed, while Blake and new team president Luc Robitaille earned promotions.
Stevens, who had been the Kings' associate head coach since 2014 and a Los Angeles assistant since 2010, already has a plan to fix a team that failed to qualify for the postseason this spring.
John Stevens: "There needs to be a real focus on getting more shots in the middle of the ice and going hard to the net" pic.twitter.com/4shu5d8tBz
— #LAKings (@LAKings) April 24, 2017
The Kings were the NHL's best possession team this season, but they scored only 2.43 goals per game, which ranked sixth-worst in the league.
Stevens said Anze Kopitar will remain captain next season. The center had the worst non-lockout season of his NHL career from an offensive standpoint, managing only 12 goals and 52 points in 76 games.
Kopitar was named captain last June, about six months after signing an eight-year, $80-million extension.