NHL.com is providing in-depth roster, prospect and fantasy analysis for each of its 31 teams throughout August. Today, the LA Kings.
LA Kings coach John Stevens has a familiarity with his roster that most first-year coaches don't.
Stevens, named April 23 to replace Darryl Sutter, joined the Kings coaching staff in 2010 and has been with them for all the good times: the Stanley Cup championships in 2012 and 2014, the awards earned by goaltender
Jonathan Quick
(2012 Conn Smythe Trophy, 2014 Jennings Trophy), center
Anze Kopitar
(2016 Lady Byng, Selke), and defenseman
Drew Doughty
(2016 Norris). But though Stevens knows mostly everyone, he made a point of meeting with his players after being promoted.
"One of the first things I did was sit down with each guy and anybody who hadn't left (for the summer) to make sure I had a chance to have a good conversation about where they were at with their game, what our expectations were, and what we were doing moving forward," Stevens said.
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