LA Kings Name Mike Buckley Goaltending Coach

The LA Kings announced today that Mike Buckley has been named the team's NHL goaltending coach. On head coach Todd McLellan's staff, Buckley joins assistant coaches Trent Yawney, Jim Hiller, Derik Johnson and video coach Samson Lee.

Buckley, 46, joins the Kings staff following eight seasons (2013-21) with the Pittsburgh Penguins where he spent the last four seasons as head goaltending coach after being promoted from his initial role of goaltending development coach in 2017. During his time in Pittsburgh, the organization's goaltenders received accolades at both the NHL and AHL level, including two Stanley Cups (2016, 2017), two NHL All-Star Games (2020, 2022), three All-Rookie Teams (NHL - 2017, AHL - 2015, 2017), three Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Awards as the AHL team with the lowest regular-season goals-against-average (2014, 2015, 2017), one Aldedge "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award as AHL Goaltender of the Year (2015), and one Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award as AHL Rookie of the Year (2015).

Over the Penguins two Stanley Cup runs, Buckley's tutelage helped goaltender Matt Murray produce a combined 22-10 record with a 1.95 goals-against-average (GAA), .928 save percentage (SV%), and four shutouts. In 2016, Murray also became the fourth rookie netminder in league history to lead his team to a Stanley Cup title and tied a then-NHL rookie goaltending record with 15 playoff wins.

The first U.S.-born goaltending coach to win multiple Stanley Cups, Buckley also brings nearly eight seasons of collegiate coaching experience having spent three seasons (2012-13, 2015-17) as goaltending coach for the University of New Hampshire and five seasons (2007-12) with his alma mater, the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

In addition to his work with teams, Buckley currently sits as President and Head Instructor at Goaltending Development Services, Inc. in North Andover, Mass., where he trains NHL, AHL, collegiate, junior, high school, prep and youth hockey goaltenders throughout the season and summer months.

A native of Haverhill, Massachusetts, Buckley skated four years (1995-2000) of collegiate hockey at UMass-Amherst before playing five seasons (2000-05) of professional hockey, including three campaigns with the Mississippi Sea Wolves and Gwinnett Gladiators of the ECHL.