{"id":724085,"date":"2026-06-09T00:24:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T00:24:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/724085\/"},"modified":"2026-06-09T00:24:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T00:24:14","slug":"pagnotta-kings-close-to-naming-head-coach-keep-eyes-on-woodcroft-laviolette","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/724085\/","title":{"rendered":"Pagnotta: Kings close to naming head coach, \u2018keep eyes on\u2019 Woodcroft, Laviolette"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pagnotta: Kings close to naming head coach, \u2018keep eyes on\u2019 Woodcroft, Laviolette<\/p>\n

The Fourth Period\u2019s Jay Woodcroft reported Monday morning that Woodcroft and Peter Laviolette are two names to \u201ckeep eyes on.\u201d<\/p>\n

The LA Kings are close to naming their next head coach, and it will be a new one. Per sources, DJ Smith is no longer in the running. Keep eyes on Jay Woodcroft and Peter Laviolette.<\/p>\n

Woodcroft spent nine years in the Oilers organization from 2015-16 until November 2024, first as an assistant coach with the NHL team under then-head coach Todd McLellan. When the latter was let go ahead of the 2018-19 season, Woodcroft was named the head coach of the Oilers\u2019 AHL affiliate, Bakersfield Condors.<\/p>\n

The franchise saw success during his tenure there, going 105-71-15 in 197 games for a .590 points percentage, making the playoffs in two of his three full seasons, including winning the AHL\u2019s Pacific Division in 2020-21. He took over behind the Oilers bench in February 2022 for Dave Tippett, spending parts of three seasons with the team, coaching them to a 79-41-13 record. They made the playoffs in each of his first two years behind the bench, getting swept in the 2022 Western Conference final by the Colorado Avalanche, and losing to the Vegas Golden Knights in six games in 2023\u2019s second round.<\/p>\n

Woodcroft was fired after a 3-9-1 start to the 2023-24 season, and he remained out of the league until joining the Anaheim Ducks as an assistant coach<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Laviolette, meanwhile, is ninth all-time in head coaching wins, most recently spending the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons with the New York Rangers. He\u2019s spent 23 years behind NHL benches with the Nashville Predators, Carolina Hurricanes, Philadelphia Flyers, Washington Capitals, New York Islanders, and the Rangers. Laviolette has reportedly interviewed with the Oilers for their vacant head coach spot.<\/p>\n

Kings general manager Ken Holland would know Woodcroft well, promoting him to head coach of the Oilers, so he could make sense. The Kings were reportedly after Bruce Cassidy at some point, but like the Oilers, have been barred from interviewing him.<\/p>\n

Zach Laing is Oilersnation\u2019s managing editor, and The Nation Network\u2019s news director. He also makes up one-half of the Daily Faceoff DFS Hockey Report<\/a>. He can be followed on X at @zjlaing<\/a>, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.PRESENTED BY SOUTHVIEW ACURA\"\"<\/a>At Southview Acura, luxury isn\u2019t just what you drive, it\u2019s how you\u2019re treated. Family owned and operated, we\u2019re proud to offer an exceptional selection of new and certified pre-owned Acuras, backed by a service experience built on trust and precision. Whether it\u2019s your first visit or your next, our team is committed to excellence every step of the way. Visit Southview Acura today or online at www.SouthviewAcura.com<\/a>, where luxury meets reality.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pagnotta: Kings close to naming head coach, \u2018keep eyes on\u2019 Woodcroft, Laviolette The Fourth Period\u2019s Jay Woodcroft reported…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":724086,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":["post-724085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/724085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=724085"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/724085\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/724086"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=724085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=724085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=724085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}