Kings Hire Berube as New Head Coach

During a press conference held at the Staples Center earlier today, the Los Angeles Kings announced the hiring of new head coach, Craig Berube.

First to the podium was GM Brandyn Errickson who gushed over being able to come to an agreement with a coach like Berube.

“After we let Guy go last week, we immediately started conversations with the available coaches who interested us. We were looking for a guy that could come in and show our guys what it takes to win. We wanted someone that would focus a bit more on the full 200 feet of ice during the game without also compromising our potential for offensive success. In Craig we feel we’ve found exactly that. Without further ado, it’s my pleasure to introduce the new head coach of the Los Angeles Kings, Craig Berube.” Said the ecstatic GM.

Craig Berube had a 143-85-14 record for the Laval Rocket.

The new coach then addressed the media contingent,

“Thank you. I’m happy to be here today and would like to thank the whole Los Angeles Kings organization for bringing me aboard. I would especially like to thank the players that come out today. We have an exciting group of guys here lead by one of the best captains in the EHE, Steven Stamkos. I’ve heard a lot about his tireless work effort on and off the ice and I’m looking forward to working with him and trying to get him to the next level. I don’t see any reason why he can’t be the first Kings player to top that 100 points plateaus. But it’s not just about Stammer, we have what I would argue is the best top 6 in the EHE. They’ve been together for a couple of years now, and I think they’d agree on this, it’s time to show the rest of the league what they can do. When you have a group like that there’s no reason we shouldn’t be at or near the top in goals scored every year, but we also must remember that hockey is a bit more than just scoring goals. If we allow as many as we score then we’re gonna have a bad time and I won’t last here very long. I see Colton Parayko, Zach Werenski, Charlie McAvoy and the rest of the group and I get a smile on my face. These kids are young but man do they have talent. We just need to keep them in the right mindset to go out there and play. Will they struggle? Maybe, but it’s all apart of the process. Add to all that an up and coming goaltender in Grubauer and I’m excited where this team can go. I think I’ve gone on long enough, so I’ll stop there, but as I said before, thanks for coming today to welcome me and I look forward to talking with you guys again.”

In addition to a new coach, the Kings GM also talked about some recent happenings with the team.

The Kings took Harley with the 19th overall selection.

“We identified some areas of need after last season and have been looking for different ways to solidify those areas. I feel like we had a good draft back in July. It’s hard to believe but it’s the first time this organization has picked in the first round since 2015 when Zach Werenski was selected. If Thomas Harley come anywhere close to who we took back then, I’ll upgrade my analysis and say we had a great draft. We also feel great about the other picks in Mastrosimone, Nikolayev and Walker and look forward to their continued development.”

DeKeyser sports a +63 in his 5 EHE seasons.

“After the draft we held numerous trade talks with other clubs in the EHE but nothing materialized until closer to free agency. After some back and forth with Martins in New York, we came to an agreeable deal for Danny DeKeyser who has just a year left on his current deal. We weren’t too keen on giving up on our 2^nd round pick from last year, but we really like what Danny brings to our team. We feel he’s a shut down top 4 defenseman and we think once he experiences LA, he might be a bit more interested in staying here after his current contract is up.”

Foligno signed a 3 year deal with the Kings.

“When then went into free agency with a few guys we wanted to talk to. We had some great discussions with numerous guys but I didn’t feel comfortable beating what other teams were offering for those players. We really wanted to bolster our bottom 6 forwards and find a backup goalie. In the end, our only notable signing was Marcus Foligno. Craig and I have had some preliminary roster talks, but I’d expect Marcus to fit in on the 3^rd line and get a sizeable chunk of ice time on the penalty kill, which was desperately needed after last season.”

Domingue has recorded a 2.95GAA and a .904 Save % in 3 EHE seasons.

“After failing to come to any sort of agreement with one of the available goaltenders in free agency, we struck a deal with Stephen in Calgary for Louis Domingue. Getting Louis allows us to put Collin Delia in San Diego where he can continue his development and get a much larger chunk of the goaltending duties.

I think that catches everyone up on our offseason. With the abbreviated preseason starting we think we’re done with our roster moves for now. There’s always decisions with very few of them ever getting anywhere near completion, but as we stand now I’m pretty happy with our roster and think we are ready for a return to the playoffs.”