Stevens returns to Philadelphia with Kings near top of Pacific Division

Los Angeles Kings coach John Stevens, like his players, has grown in all aspects the past eight years.
When the Kings play the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center on Monday (7 p.m. ET; NHLN, NBCSP, FS-W, NHL.TV), it will be eight years and 11 days since the last time he was a coach of an NHL team in Philadelphia.

Stevens spent parts of four seasons as coach of the Flyers, a tenure that ended when he was fired Dec. 4, 2009, 25 games into his fourth season. He was hired by the Kings in 2010 and spent seven seasons as an assistant, first under Terry Murray and then Darryl Sutter. When Sutter was fired on April 10, Stevens was promoted to replace him.
As he returns to the scene of his first NHL coaching job, Stevens, now 51, feels the experience he's gained has made him a far better coach.
"You see the most senior coaches in the League … they would all agree they've gotten better as coaches, and I'm no different," Stevens said. "I think I know the League a lot better than I used to, especially spending time out west. … What experience has brought is [that] I know the League, I know the players, I know what to expect, I understand the travel now, how important the rest is and how important it is to pick the right points to get your work in."

Most of the same players who Stevens worked with as an assistant remain. They said little has changed in his approach.
When Stevens coached the Flyers, his calm demeanor was a respite from his predecessor, Ken Hitchcock. But he demanded a high work ethic and held players accountable. That hasn't changed with the Kings.
"He's an honest guy and he brings a lot of positivity," forward Dustin Brown said. "When things aren't going well it's supposed to be hard, but let's get back to playing and not worrying about what we can't control. I think that's been really good for this group. … He's demanding and we have to be ready to play every night. I think our effort level has been there the majority of nights. That's the one thing you never want to question, your work ethic as a group. That's something he holds us accountable to."
Stevens said he took different elements from Murray and Sutter during his time on their staffs.
"They force you to be better all the time," he said. "Terry is extremely organized, detailed, an X-and-O guy. And Darryl … he really pinpoints key things that are important to winning and just how important preparation and emotion are to your hockey game. I learned a great deal from those guys with detail and how those little things you can't measure like emotion and preparation have a difference in the outcome of hockey games."
Stevens is putting those lessons to good use this season. After the Kings missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second time in three seasons under Sutter, Stevens has them even in points with the Vegas Golden Knights for first place in the Pacific Division, though Vegas has played three fewer games.
"He's a straight shooter," Kings captain Anze Kopitar said. "There's nothing really to it. If you play good he'll let you know; if you play bad he'll also let you know. That's what you want. He's brought freshness to the locker room, he's brought freshness to our style of play on the ice and it shows."
As an assistant, Stevens oversaw the defense and penalty killing. Defenseman Drew Doughty, who won the Norris Trophy in 2016 and is a three-time finalist for the award, credited Stevens for some of his success.
"He's been amazing," Doughty said. "He's an awesome coach, great [defense] coach for us, very smart coach. He teaches the details of the game very well. One thing he helped me with was my off-ice stuff, my leadership stuff, how certain things I did affected the team in different ways," he said. "That's really where he helped me, a lot of the off-ice stuff."

Stevens can't just focus on one position or area of the game now. But he still keeps the lines of communication open.
"I think he's been open to ideas," Brown said. "He has an opinion and he's open to changing that opinion. … I've always had a good rapport with him in regard to what I'm thinking as a player. The game's really easy on video, and I think he's been really cognizant of that."
Stevens said he's never felt any ill will toward the Flyers organization, and he still credits former general managers Bob Clarke and Paul Holmgren for helping set the foundation of his coaching career. He also has kept a home in Sea Isle City, New Jersey, a popular beach town about 75 miles southeast of Philadelphia.
He's happy to be back in Philadelphia, but his focus is set firmly on the Kings and making the most of his latest chance as an NHL coach.
"He really did learn a lot from Darryl and the things that he did right and the things he did wrong," Doughty said. "Johnny's been awesome for us, all the coaches have. … It's about us executing their game plan. If we do that we'll win hockey games."