Category: Ice Hockey

It’s been a busy few days for the Florida Panthers.

After acquiring Brady Tkachuk from the Ottawa Senators earlier this month, the Panthers addressed several of the team’s needs via trades.

Mainly, the two vacancies in goal.

Before getting to the goaltenders though, the Panthers made a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday, bringing in gritty forward Garnet Hathaway in exchange for a 2026 fifth-round pick and a 2027 fourth-round selection.

The Flyers retained half of Hathaway’s $2.5 million salary in the trade.

Then on Monday, Florida got to the goaltenders, acquiring Akira Schmid from the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for a 2028 third-round pick.

Then about 12 hours later on Tuesday morning, news started to trickle out that the Panthers were trading for veteran netminder Jacob Markstrom.

The former Panthers draft pick was brought back, along with forward Angus Crookshank, in a trade with the New Jersey Devils for Evan Rodrigues, Jesper Boqvist and Ben Steeves.

Florida making a pair of moves for goaltenders also meant that the team would not be bringing back longtime netminder Sergei Bobrovsky. 

After the dust settled, The Hockey Show hosts Roy Bellamy and David Dwork were joined by Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald to make sense of it all.

You can see their thoughts in the video posted below:

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The 2026 NHL Free Agency period officially begins at 12 p.m. ET on Wednesday, and while most of the speculation surrounding the Detroit Red Wings is the ongoing trade request saga of Dylan Larkin, the club still has multiple pending unrestricted free agents. 

As of 8:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Patrick Kane remains unsigned. The club has spoken openly about wanting him back for another season, and Kane himself said there was mutual interest during his season-ending media availability. 

And while the Red Wings are expected to move on from the likes of James van Riemsdyk and Cam Talbot, one pending UFA they could potentially retain is David Perron. 

According to NHL Insider Pierre LeBrun, the Red Wings and Perron are "talking" about a new contract, though there is still a chance he could head to the open market. 

"David Perron, 38, intends to play again next season," LeBrun wrote. "Perron, who had 13 goals between the Ottawa Senators and the Detroit Red Wings last season, is still talking to the Red Wings, but if something can’t be worked out there, he is looking to hit the open market."

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Perron, who signed a two-year contract with the Red Wings in 2022, was a valuable veteran voice in the locker room and provided timely scoring. But he departed the club in 2024 to sign a two-year deal with the divisional rival Ottawa Senators, whom he helped reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs last spring. 

Red Wings Officially Tender Simon Edvinsson, Decline to Qualify Carter MazurDetroit prioritizes blue-line cornerstone Simon Edvinsson ahead of free agency, while recurring injuries leave former third-round selection Carter Mazur without an offer as the roster reshuffle begins.

However, he missed a good portion of this most recent season after undergoing surgery, and was re-acquired by the Red Wings at the Trade Deadline for a conditional fourth-round pick. 

In the 15 games he played after returning to Detroit, Perron scored three goals with no assists.

The 38-year-old veteran has played in 1,239 career NHL games, and has accumulated 332 goals with 480 assists. He also helped the St. Louis Blues win the Stanley Cup In 2019. 

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The Vegas Golden Knights didn't just end the Colorado Avalanche's Stanley Cup hopes this spring—they've now taken another piece of the organization.

Less than two months after sweeping Colorado out of the Western Conference Final, Vegas has hired Colorado Eagles head coach Mark Letestu as an assistant coach, adding another respected figure from the Avalanche pipeline to its NHL staff.

The Golden Knights announced Tuesday that Letestu has joined Ryan Craig's coaching staff as an assistant coach for the 2026-27 season, ending his brief but successful tenure as head coach of the Avalanche's American Hockey League affiliate.

Letestu spent just one season behind the bench in Loveland, but it proved to be a productive one. He guided the Eagles to a 41-20-11 record before leading the club to the Western Conference Finals in the Calder Cup Playoffs, marking one of the organization's deepest postseason runs in recent years.

His departure creates another vacancy within Colorado's development system while strengthening the coaching staff of the team that eliminated the Avalanche from the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Before taking over the Eagles, Letestu spent four seasons as an assistant coach with the Cleveland Monsters. During his time there, Cleveland reached the Calder Cup Playoffs twice, captured the North Division title in 2023-24, and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals that same season.

The 40-year-old transitions to Vegas with plenty of NHL familiarity. Letestu played 11 seasons in the league with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Columbus Blue Jackets, Edmonton Oilers, and Winnipeg Jets, appearing in 567 regular-season games while recording 93 goals and 117 assists for 210 points.

His connection to the Golden Knights extends beyond his coaching résumé. Letestu and Craig were teammates with the Blue Jackets during the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons, reuniting them on Vegas' coaching staff.

Letestu originally signed with Pittsburgh as an undrafted free agent after one season at Western Michigan University and four years with the Bonnyville Pontiacs of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. He also appeared in 255 AHL games during his professional playing career.

For the Avalanche organization, the move represents another offseason change following Colorado's run to the Western Conference Final. While the Golden Knights eliminated the Avalanche on the ice, they've now added one of the coaches who helped develop the club's next wave of talent.

With one day to go until NHL free agency, there are a whole lot of big stories dominating headlines.

And, while the Pittsburgh Penguins trading a reliable yet unspectacular defenseman might not make the front page, it could, potentially, be setting up something much bigger.

On Tuesday, the Penguins sent top-pair left defenseman Parker Wotherspoon to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for right defenseman Kaeden Korczak, who is under contract for three more seasons at an average annual value of $3.75 million. 

In 78 regular season games for the Knights last season, Korczak registered three goals and 16 points to go along with a plus-6 on their third pairing. The 6-foot-3, 206-pound defenseman is a smooth skater, hard hitter, and has some upside offensive potential if given a bigger role in the right situation, and the Penguins' coaching staff gained a reputation for getting the most out of their blueliners.

It's a pretty curious move for the Penguins, who are already anemic on the left side and have several legitimate right-side options. Korczak will join Erik Karlsson, Kris Letang, and promising rookie Harrison Brunicke on the right side, while Wotherspoon's departure leaves just Sam Girard and Ilya Solovyov with prospects Owen Pickering and Jake Livanavage in the mix.

Golden Knights Trade Defenseman To Penguins In Salary Cap DumpThe <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/vegas-golden-knights">Vegas Golden Knights</a> are making moves. On Tuesday, they announced their second trade in as many days, sending defenseman Kaedan Korczak to the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins">Pittsburgh Penguins</a> in exchange for defenseman Parker Wotherspoon.

Of course, there's always the possibility that Dubas could target a cheap upside left defender in a trade or in free agency, similar to his targeting of Wotherspoon last summer. It would make sense, given Dubas's difficulty in engaging the price tags in the market for a top-four left-side defender.

However, I'm more inclined to think that this move is a precursor to a bigger one later. Three noteworthy defensemen, Zach Werenski, Alexander Nikishin, and possibly Thomas Harley, are on the trade block, and the Penguins have already been linked to the Dallas Stars, who employ Harley.

'I'm Super Excited To Get Going': Livanavage Learns From Debut, Aims To Make Impression In Training CampPittsburgh Penguins' NCAA signee Jake Livanavage is putting in the work this summer in hopes of securing a spot on the team's opening night NHL roster.

Could the Penguins execute a trade for Harley? They are rumored to be in on Robertson, but could it be Harley and his $10.75 million AAV for eight years that comes back? He is a legitimate top-four defenseman who is only 25, which is the exact kind of mid-20s player Dubas covets.

Nikishin also makes a fair bit of sense, although there is a bit more uncertainty there despite the upside. He also plays both sides, which could be very useful for the Penguins, especially if Karlsson vacates either by trade or at the end of his contract next summer.

So, on the Penguins' end, it seems they need to make another left-side move one way or another, whether that's a small move or a higher-profile one.

Report: Penguins Had 'Some Momentum' In Robertson TalksNHL Insider Elliotte Friedman reported that there were talks between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Dallas Stars regarding superstar winger Jason Robertson during the NHL Draft over the weekend.

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With Doug Armstrong officially stepping down as general manager of the St. Louis Blues, the NHL's longest-tenured general manager title now belongs to Winnipeg Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff, the only man who has ever held that role in the Jets' modern era.

Armstrong's time as Blues GM came to an end as of July 1, with former Blues forward Alexander Steen taking over as the club's new general manager. Armstrong will remain with the organization as president of hockey operations through 2029. 

His tenure in St. Louis was one of the most decorated in recent NHL history, highlighted by the Blues' first Stanley Cup championship in 2019, but his departure clears the way for a new era in St. Louis and reshuffles the hierarchy of the league's longest-serving front office executives in the process.

Cheveldayoff has led the Jets since June 8, 2011, when he was hired to build the hockey club that was relocating from Atlanta to Winnipeg ahead of the 2011-12 season. Fifteen years later, he remains the only general manager the Jets 2.0 era has ever known, a run of organizational continuity that is virtually unheard of in professional hockey.

The numbers over that stretch paint a picture of a franchise that has built itself into a consistent contender. Since taking over in the 2011-12 season, the Jets have compiled a 610-438-111 regular season record, good for the 11th-best mark in the NHL over that span and tied with the Tampa Bay Lightning for tenth-best team defence with a 2.80 goals-against average per game. 

Offensively, the Jets have ranked 13th in the league during that stretch with a 2.96 goals per game average, figures that reflect a franchise that has prioritized defensive structure while gradually building out its offensive depth.

Much of that success traces back to Cheveldayoff's ability to identify and develop elite talent through the draft. He drafted Mark Scheifele, Adam Lowry, Jacob Trouba, Connor Hellebuyck, Nikolaj Ehlers, Josh Morrissey, Kyle Connor and Dylan Samberg, and oversaw their development into key pieces of the franchise's core.

What separates Cheveldayoff's tenure from many of his contemporaries, however, is not just the ability to find that talent but the capacity to build a culture and an environment that convinced those players to stay. Scheifele, Hellebuyck, Morrissey and Connor have all committed to long-term futures in Winnipeg, a feat that is particularly notable given the market challenges that come with playing in a smaller Canadian city.

The Jets advanced to the Western Conference Final for the first time in franchise history in 2018 and won the Presidents trophy in the 2024-25 season with a 56-win campaign. That sustained competitiveness has allowed the Jets to make the playoffs in seven of the last nine seasons, cementing their standing as one of the league's perennial contenders rather than a boom-and-bust franchise.

With Armstrong's departure, Cheveldayoff is now the NHL's longest-tenured general manager, a milestone that speaks to both his track record and the trust True North Sports and Entertainment has placed in him over a decade and a half of building the franchise from the ground up. 

Whether his next chapter brings the one prize that has so far eluded him and the Jets, a Stanley Cup, will be the defining question of an already remarkable run at the helm of one of the NHL's most loyally supported franchises.

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There were a number of former San Jose Sharks who didn’t receive a qualifying offer from their new teams ahead of Monday’s deadline. The last name to trickle through the pipeline was former Sharks prospect Daniil Gushchin who was traded to the Colorado Avalanche last summer. 

Gushchin was unable to crack the Avalanche’s roster and spent another season at the American Hockey League level, this time with the Colorado Eagles. In 49 games with the Eagles, the Russian winger scored 18 goals, a career-low, and 32 points. He also failed to record a point in three playoff games.

As free agency approaches, the Avalanche opted not to retain his rights by not tendering Gushchin a qualifying offer. As a result, the 24-year-old forward will become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career. 

Despite being undersized and having a poor season in Colorado, Gushchin does have the potential to provide depth scoring at the NHL level if he can find a way to get back on track. With that being said, it’s far from a guarantee that he reaches that potential.

Heading into the summer, it’ll be interesting to see if Gushchin can find a new team to give him an opportunity in North America or if he opts to head back to his native Russia.

Former San Jose Sharks forward Carl Grundstrom will be staying with the Philadelphia Flyers organization for the 2026-27 season.

On Tuesday morning, insider Darren Dreger reported that Grundstrom had signed a one-year contract extension with the Flyers worth $1 million, just a single day before Grundstrom hit the open market.

Grundstrom, who spent just one season with the Sharks before being traded to the Flyers, spent the majority of the 2025-26 season in the NHL, but also had some stints in the American Hockey League as well.

The 28-year-old winger appeared in 47 games for the Flyers last season, scoring nine goals and tallying a total of 13 points. At the AHL level, he scored six goals and 15 points in 19 games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. 

With the Flyers looking to establish themselves as a perennial playoff team in a very difficult Metropolitan Division, Grundstrom will be able to provide valuable depth as the season goes on.

Sergei Bobrovsky helped the Florida Panthers win back-to-back Stanley Cup titles before the team missed the playoffs last season. The goalie had one of the worst seasons of his career as the Panthers dealt with major injuries.

Now, he's heading to free agency. Bobrovsky, 37, reportedly had been seeking more years than the Panthers wanted to give him, so Florida traded for Jacob Markstrom on Tuesday, June 30, a day after acquiring goalie Akira Schmid.

Bobrovsky is the top goalie available in a once-spectacular crop of free agents that has been whittled down with extensions signed by Connor McDavid, Kirill Kaprizov, Jack Eichel, Artemi Panarin, Adrian Kempe, Kyle Connor, Evgeni Malkin, Darren Raddysh and Alex Tuch.

Here are the top 10 NHL free agents as of 4 p.m. ET on June 30:

More: NHL trades live updates: Panthers acquire Jacob Markstrom and other deals

When does NHL free agency start?

NHL free agency will open at noon ET on Wednesday, July 1.

Who are the top NHL unrestricted free agents?

10. Frederik Andersen, Carolina Hurricanes

The goalie got the Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup Final before an injury kept him out for the final three games of Carolina's run. Current cap hit: $2.75 million.

9. Patrick Kane, Detroit Red Wings

The 2007 No. 1 pick became the top U.S.-born scorer in 2025-26. He has topped 50 points the last two seasons. Current cap hit: $3 million.

8. Anders Lee, New York Islanders

He had been the Islanders' captain since 2018 and is usually good for 20-plus goals, though he had 19 in 2025-26. Current cap hit: $7 million.

7. Mason Marchment, Columbus Blue Jackets

He struggled with the Seattle Kraken after an offseason trade, but his trade to Columbus revived his season with 32 points in 39 games. He's also an agitator. Current cap hit: $4.5 million.

6. Anthony Mantha, Pittsburgh Penguins

He's the third-highest-scoring player on the free agent list with 64 points after he signed a one-year deal with Pittsburgh. Will a general manager be tempted to think he can do that again, or only look at his subpar production before that? Current cap hit: $2.5 million.

5. Viktor Arvidsson, Boston Bruins

The forward bounced back from a couple subpar seasons and had 25 goals and 54 points after being traded to Boston. Current cap hit: $4 million.

4. Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals

The NHL's all-time leading goal scorer is expected to either re-sign with the Capitals or retire. Otherwise, he would lead this list. He scored 32 goals at age 40. Current cap hit: $9.5 million.

3. Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida Panthers

The goalie won back-to-back Stanley Cup titles and owns two Vezina Trophies. He'll be 38 next season. Current cap hit: $10 million.

2. Rasmus Andersson, Vegas Golden Knights

The defenseman was traded to the Golden Knights this past season by the Flames. He can provide offense with one 50-point season and others topping 40 points, including 47 points in 2025-26. He had an average playoffs. Current cap hit: $4.55 million.

1. John Carlson, Anaheim Ducks

Carlson totaled 60 points in 71 games between the Capitals and the Ducks after his shocking trade. The Hurricanes acquired his rights and the ability to negotiate with him early.  Current cap hit: $8 million.

Others to watch: Mats Zuccarello, Vladimir Tarasenko, Boone Jenner, Daniil Tarasov, Jacob Trouba

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who are the top NHL unrestricted free agents as free agency opens July 1?

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Blues will buy out Jonathan Drouin's contract if the forward goes unclaimed on waivers.

Drouin, 31, has one year remaining on his contract with a $4 million cap hit after being acquired from the New York Islanders on March 6 as part of the Brayden Schenn trade.

With Alexander Steen set to officially take over as Blues general manager on Wednesday after the Blues introduced the 42-year-old at a press conference on Tuesday, it will go down as the first buyout by the Blues since before Doug Armstrong took over as GM in 2010.

“Obviously a tough decision. We waited a lot,” Steen said. “I think ‘Dru’ is a very defined player and at the end of the day, we didn’t feel like we were going to provide him with a position to excel, so we landed at that decision.”

The Blues will but themselves some cap space, and under the current structure in the CBA, are responsible to pay 2/3 of Drouin's remaining salary.

If Drouin, who had a goal and two assists in nine games in St. Louis, goes unclaimed, the Blues will owe him $1,333,333 million over the next two seasons.

Asked whether this was to give more of a defined role to someone like Otto Stenberg, a first-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, Steen said, " What our management group is really high on is internal competition, so we’ll be looking at everything. We’re happy with where our team’s positioned right now, but that would be something that we’d explore if it presented itself to us. This is going to be a highly-competitive camp."

Blues Qualify McMichael, Place Drouin On Waivers, Don't Issue QO's To Berggren, KesselDeadline to qualify restricted free agents was 4 p.m. (CT) Monday; players can become UFAs on Wednesday

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There has been plenty of talk and noise regarding right winger Patrick Kane and the Toronto Maple Leafs as a potential destination for him this off-season. Those discussions were kick-started when 2026 first overall pick Gavin McKenna revealed that Kane had messaged him after being drafted and that he was his hockey idol growing up.

However, Chris Johnston on TSN's early version of Insider Trading reported that it seems unlikely that the Maple Leafs and Kane would become a marriage this summer.

"It doesn't seem to be like that's actually something that's likely to materialize," Johnston reported on Tuesday. "I'm not sure that's a good fit as some people have said."

Along with that report, Johnston added that there should be multiple teams lining up for Kane's services, possibly including his hometown Buffalo Sabres or even a return to the Chicago Blackhawks. 

Nonetheless, though Kane seems interested in testing out what the free-agent market looks like in his favor, Johnston doesn't believe the Maple Leafs will be among the front-runners to land the three-time Stanley Cup champion.

How Patrick Kane Would Fit With The Maple Leafs If Acquired In Free AgencyToronto Maple Leafs first overall pick Gavin McKenna revealed that Patrick Kane is one of his hockey idols. With that, the thought of Toronto pursuing Kane in free agency has surfaced. How would Kane fit in with the Maple Leafs?

Though Kane is 37 years old, he's proven to still be an offensive threat and a respectable point-producer in the NHL. In his past three seasons with the Detroit Red Wings, he recorded great numbers considering where he is in his career and the major hip resurfacing surgery he went through in the summer of 2023.

This past year, Kane registered 16 goals and 57 points in 67 appearances for Detroit, while averaging 17:42 of ice time. He finished the year as the fifth-best scorer on his team.

Also, he showed no signs of slowing down at the end of the 2025-26 season. In fact, after the Olympic break, Kane posted eight goals and 25 points in his last 24 games of the year, averaging over a point per game. He was the second-highest scorer on the team in that span, only behind Alex DeBrincat's 11 goals and 28 points.

The 2015-16 Hart Trophy winner is coming off three straight one-year contracts, with his latest deal costing just $3 million against the salary cap.

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The Vancouver Canucks have signed veteran defenceman Guillaume Brisebois to a one-year, two-way contract extension. 

A third-round pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, Brisebois has been with the Canucks' AHL-affiliate since the 2017-18 season, playing for both the Utica Comets (2017-18 to 2020-21) and Abbotsford Canucks (2021-22 to present). He is one of only three players drafted by the Canucks before 2016 still with the organization. 

Brisebois has served predominantly as a depth defender for the Canucks organization throughout his time with Vancouver. He made his NHL debut on February 14, 2019 against the Los Angeles Kings and scored his first-career NHL goal on March 14, 2023 versus the Dallas Stars. 

Though he spent most of the 2025-26 season injured, Brisebois did end up skating in nine games for Abbotsford, scoring a goal and an assists during this span of time. 

Brisebois was set to become a free-agent come July 1. 

Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.

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The Vegas Golden Knights are making moves. On Tuesday, they announced their second trade in as many days, sending defenseman Kaedan Korczak to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for defenseman Parker Wotherspoon.

The Golden Knights are only on the hook for paying Wotherspoon $500,000, as the Penguins are retaining 50% of his contract. They also gained another $2,750,000 in salary cap relief by dumping the 25-year-old Korczak, whose four-year, $3,250,000 contract extension had not yet kicked in.

The Golden Knights drafted Korczak with the 41st overall pick in 2019. He’d taken the steps towards becoming an every-night NHLer, and he got his chance last year without Alex Pietrangelo in the lineup. However, Korczak never lived up to the contract extension he signed last July, and he was inconsistent in a sheltered role. His struggles continued in the postseason, and Korczak eventually lost his roster spot to Dylan Coghlan.

Parker Wotherspoon is 28 years old and is coming off a career year in which he scored 3 goals and 30 points in 80 games. He isn’t the biggest player, and he’ll be the runt of the litter on the Vegas blueline. However, Wotherspoon is one tough customer, as he was second among all Penguins players in hits with 162. He’s a smooth-skater who is dangerous in transition, so he’ll fit right in with the other Golden Knights defensemen.

Acquiring Wotherspoon, a left-shot defenseman, almost certainly marks the end of Jeremy Lauzon’s time in a Golden Knights sweater. Lauzon will become an Unrestricted Free Agent on July 1st, and after the postseason he had, he is due for a raise that the Golden Knights most likely couldn’t afford to pay him.

As per usual, the Golden Knights have been linked to just about every big name on the trade block. Their flurry of activity, combined with how efficiently they’ve freed up salary cap space, probably signals that something big is coming.

The Los Angeles Kings have completed Peter Laviolette's coaching staff for the 2026-27 season, announcing the additions of Phil Housley as associate coach and Chris Hajt and Ray Whitney as assistant coaches.

Assistant coach Derik Johnston and goaltending coach Mike Buckley will remain on Laviolette's staff after serving in those roles last season.

Housley reunites with Laviolette after previously working alongside him with both the Nashville Predators and New York Rangers. The Hockey Hall of Famer most recently spent two seasons as an assistant coach in New York before joining the Kings.

The 62-year-old brings more than a decade of NHL coaching experience. Before his time with the Rangers, Housley served as head coach of the Buffalo Sabres from 2017-19 and spent three seasons as an assistant coach with the Arizona Coyotes. He began his NHL coaching career in Nashville, where he worked under Laviolette from 2013-17 and helped guide the Predators to their first Stanley Cup Final appearance in franchise history.

During his 21-year playing career, Housley appeared in 1,495 NHL games, recording 338 goals and 1,232 points. Both totals rank fourth all-time among NHL defensemen. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2015 after earning seven NHL All-Star selections and representing the United States internationally on multiple occasions.

Hajt joins the Kings after spending nine seasons with the Ontario Reign, Los Angeles' American Hockey League affiliate, where he most recently served as associate coach. His time with the organization included six playoff appearances, two Pacific Division titles and a trip to the Western Conference Final.

The 47-year-old also has previous NHL coaching experience, serving as an assistant coach with the Buffalo Sabres during the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons under Housley.

Before joining Ontario, Hajt helped the Manchester Monarchs capture the 2015 Calder Cup and previously spent six seasons behind the bench with the Ontario Hockey League's Guelph Storm, where he was part of the club's 2014 OHL championship team.

Whitney enters the NHL coaching ranks following a distinguished 22-season playing career that included 1,330 regular-season games and 1,064 career points.

Selected 23rd overall by the San Jose Sharks in the 1991 NHL Draft, Whitney played for eight NHL organizations and won the Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006 under Laviolette. He later spent three seasons as a professional scout with Carolina before coaching youth hockey in Arizona.

The Kings also confirmed Johnston and Buckley will remain on the coaching staff.

Johnston returns after serving as an assistant coach last season, while Buckley continues as goaltending coach following his work with the Kings and his role as Team USA's goaltending coach at the Winter Olympics.

With the announcement, the Kings have finalized Laviolette's first coaching staff as they prepare for the 2026-27 season.