During last week’s introductory press conference, where Kings GM Ken Holland introduced new head coach Peter Laviolette, there was some mention of the team’s assistant coaches. And we now have a brief update to pass along.
When asked about the status of assistant coaches Newell Brown and Matt Greene at the time, Holland indicated it would be sort of a mixed bag. While he wanted his new bench boss to be able to largely select his staff, there seemed to be an indication that Laviolette would most likely only be adding one person to the group — and even said they’ve already talked about who that person might end up being, while stopping short of sharing a name.
“I believe the head coach needs to have his own people,” explained Holland. “We have some good people here, so we’ve talked about the people that have been here. He’s in town now for the rest of this week — he wants to meet the staff. But I think it’s important that the head coach has people that he has relationships with. He does have somebody in mind to come in here to be part of the staff. Other than that, he’s open-minded.”
As we reported that day, Brown has one year remaining on his current contract as assistant coach. That’s not to say he absolutely will be back, though.
Newell Brown is under contract for one more season. Laviolette will be meeting with him before any decisions are made regarding his two assistants. #GoKingsGo https://t.co/7WzfySGaLy
— The Mayor | John Hoven (@mayorNHL) June 10, 2026
Laviolette indeed got right to work and hasn’t wasted any time on this important process. Mayor’s Manor has learned through various sources that the veteran coach already met with both Brown and Greene, in addition to conducting “a lot of interviews.”
Greene is perhaps the most interesting person involved. On one hand, many players voiced their approval of the former NHL defenseman stepping into the role late last season. They valued his intensity, accountability, and communication in the temporary role — an opening that was created when Jim Hiller left the organization and DJ Smith took over as interim head coach.
His specific situation was discussed in detail during the most recent Kings Of The Podcast episode.
In brief, Greene has always appeared content with his position in LA’s player development group. He loves being on the ice and teaching young players, while the daily grind and travel of an NHL coach just didn’t seem to appeal to him. Did he maybe catch the bug over the last few months? It’s possible, yet probably not very likely.
Recently, the Kings have had three assistant coaches, along with goaltending coach Mike Buckley. We’re assuming the latter is staying. Along with Greene and Brown, the other assistant coach is Derik Johnson. After first joining the Kings in 2018, he previously served as an assistant video coach before seeing his role morph into more of a skills coach. A defenseman by trade, including a college career at the University of Minnesota-Duluth before a brief pro career, Johnson is likely staying, as well.
Circling back to Brown, he’s a veteran NHL coach, having served in an assistant role for five other clubs over the past 30 years. However, the numbers simply weren’t good enough with LA last season.
For the 2025‑26 regular season, the Kings ranked near the bottom of the league with a power‑play percentage of 17%. Further, their 220 total goals ranked 29th out of 32 teams. This came after putting up 249 goals the year before, good enough for 14th in the league.
For some quick context, Hiller was responsible for the power play when he was an assistant coach under Todd McLellan from 2022-24. When Hiller was then promoted to head coach, Brown was brought in as the ‘offensive coach’ to round out his staff in the summer of 2024 (ed note: most NHL teams have two primary assistants, one focusing on offense and the other on defense; Smith was Hiller’s ‘defensive’ assistant). Given LA’s woeful offensive output last season, Hiller took over the power play at one point. Were the issues tied to players, coaching, the structure and approach? Some combination? Regardless, it’s an area Holland has been talking about improving during his last few press conferences.
In an attempt to connect the dots a bit, let’s quickly review Laviolette’s history. Former center Michael Peca was his offensive guy in New York. He’s currently with Chicago, so getting him to come over in a mostly lateral move may be a challenge. He’s also had guys like Scott Arniel and Dan Muse under him before, they’ve advanced to become NHL head coaches in Winnipeg and Pittsburgh. Therefore, unless Laviolette has a different candidate in mind, Brown could potentially return for another year.
Over on the defensive side, former NHL defenseman Kevin McCarthy was by Laviolette’s side in Philadelphia, Nashville, Washington, and they won a Cup together in Carolina. However, he’s retired from full-time activity, opting to spend time as a development coach with the Hurricanes for a few years now.
Thus, if Greene bows out of the conversation, things will likely quickly turn to Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman Phil Housley. In addition to being one of the top offensive-minded defensemen in NHL history, Housley is also somebody Laviolette holds in high regard.
“I think he’s an excellent coach,” said LA’s new bench boss. “I’ve worked with Phil in the past for, I think, three years. Two of those years, we made it to the Conference Finals and the Stanley Cup Finals.”
Even so, Laviolette wasn’t ready to cast aside the current staff without first meeting with them and getting to know them a little better.
“I wanted to have the opportunity to talk to the staff that was here,” he explained. “I think it’s important to be respectful of the coaches that were in place before me. They’re terrific people. … I think it’s important to take the time to talk to them. From there, we’ll work to formulate the best staff for the LA Kings. It’s just a little bit of a process. [After being hired], now we’re in a position where I can start to talk to Ken about some of the people that could help this team. So it’s in progress right now. But yeah, Phil Housley’s a great coach, for sure.”
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