Peter Laviolette’s latest coaching move for the Los Angeles Kings says a lot about how he wants this bench to function in 2026-27. By bringing in Ray Whitney, Laviolette is betting on hockey sense, locker-room presence and a power-play mind more than on a long coaching résumé.
The Kings’ staff is now set with associate coach Phil Housley and assistant coaches Whitney and Chris Hajt joining goalie coach Mike Buckley and assistant coach Derik Johnson. Laviolette plans to keep three assistant coaches on the bench with him, a setup meant to split up decision-making and handle game-day duties, while Johnson and Buckley will stay up in the box.
Housley and Hajt bring the more familiar coaching backgrounds. Hajt has worked as an assistant with the Buffalo Sabres in the late 2010s and has also spent the past few seasons with the AHL’s Ontario Reign. Housley has been around the block plenty, including a run as Sabres head coach from 2017-2019 and previous assistant jobs with the Arizona Coyotes and New York Rangers, where he worked under Laviolette from 2023-2024.
Whitney is the outlier, and that’s exactly why this hire stands out. He has never coached above the AAA level of junior travel hockey, though he did spend three years as a scout in the Carolina Hurricanes organization. Still, Laviolette clearly isn’t worried about the lack of bench experience.
If anyone knows what Whitney can offer, it’s Laviolette. The two were together in Carolina, where Whitney played for four years and was part of the 2006 Stanley Cup team. Laviolette pointed to Whitney’s personality and hockey intelligence as reasons he believed Whitney could become a quality coach in the league.
"Whitney was a player of mine back in 2006 when we won the cup in Carolina. From a pro coaching standpoint, he hasn’t taken that step yet.
But I think sometimes, somebody’s career can supersede the experience that you can get by doing the coaching and actually getting in there. When I hired Ray, it was in my mind all along that it was for the power play, to work with the forwards, to continue to develop skill with [Johnson] on the forwards end of it."
That role makes sense based on what Whitney was as a player. He was known for puck movement, offensive instincts and his anticipation with and away from the puck. Laviolette sees those traits translating into work with the power play and forwards.
Whitney’s track record as a player also gives him instant credibility. He played in more than 1,500 NHL games and won the Stanley Cup, and Laviolette believes that background will matter in the room even if Whitney is still learning the coaching side.
"He’s good inside of a locker room. I’ve seen it first hand, the positive impact that his personality can have on other people. I’ve seen the way he plays the game, how he thinks the game, I’ve talked hockey with him and I just think he has a really high hockey IQ."
Laviolette has seen this formula work before. In his view, players he has coached over the years have gone on to become successful coaches around the league, with Rod Brind'Amour and Tim Gleason as examples. That history helps explain why he’s comfortable handing Whitney a meaningful role so early in his coaching career.
For the Kings, the appeal is pretty straightforward: a staff with a mix of experience, familiarity and hockey brains. Laviolette has already seen Whitney help win at the highest level, and if that same thinking carries over behind the bench, this could end up being one of the quieter but smarter hires of the offseason.
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