Kings Hire Former NHL All-Star Pierre Turgeon as ‘Offensive Coordinator’
- Updated: July 11, 2017
When one hears the term “offensive coordinator”, they immediately turn to football. However, on Monday, the term was extended to hockey as the Los Angeles Kings completed their coaching staff with the hiring of former NHL all-star Pierre Turgeon.
Photo credit: Larry MacDougal/CP Photo
The 47-year-old joins an assistant coaching staff that includes goaltender coach Bill Ranford and fellow off-season hires Dave Lowry and Don Nachbaur.
“We are thrilled to bring Pierre Turgeon aboard to join John Stevens and our coaching staff. For the first time in LA Kings history we will have one coach strictly dedicated to an ‘Offensive Coordinator’ role,” Kings President Luc Robitaille said in a statement released by the Kings.
In any of the four North American sports, highly-successful players aren’t guaranteed to be successful behind the bench. For proof, look no further than Bryan Trottier‘s brief coaching career with the New York Rangers or, more notably, Wayne Gretzky‘s stint as the bench boss of the Phoenix Coyotes. Plus, Turgeon hasn’t had any prior coaching experience at the major professional level, so how he fares in his new role is anyone’s guess.
With all that said, though, to hire someone who will strictly focus on offense, there are few better candidates than Mr. Turgeon — even if he is a little wet behind the ears in the coaching ranks.
Photo credit: Denis Brodeur
Drafted first overall by the Buffalo Sabres in 1987, it would be an understatement to suggest that heavy expectations were laid upon Pierre Turgeon. Yet, despite a modest 42-point rookie season, the native of Rouyn-Norando, QC, only got better.
After a sophomore season that saw him net 34 goals and 88 points, Turgeon scored 40 goals and 106 points in his third campaign. However, Turgeon’s biggest season offensively came in 1992-93 when, as a member of New York Islanders, he scored a career-high 58 goals and 132 points, ultimately helping his team reach the Conference Final for the first time in a decade. Yet, while he wouldn’t eclipse the 100-point plateau again, Turgeon nonetheless remained a solid, dependable center for the remainder of his career. In total, Turgeon would score 515 goals and 812 assists for 1327 points in 1294 career games. These totals rank Turgeon 38th and 35th all-time in goals and points respectively. He also ranks 21st all-time in power-play goals with 190.
Photo credit: canadiens.nhl.com
These are numbers that help spark a valid debate on whether a player is worthy of induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Until then, though, it proves that Turgeon is a wise choice to be the Kings’ first-ever ‘Offensive Coordinator’.
In addition to his scoring prowess, Turgeon was a consummate leader. His leadership skills even saw him wear the C for the famed Montreal Canadiens when they moved out of the iconic Forum in 1996. As for said scoring prowess, though, Turgeon was reliable wherever he played, collecting 100 goals and 300 points for three different teams: the Sabres, Islanders and St. Louis Blues.
A five-time all-star and even a Lady Byng recipient in 1993, Pierre Turgeon had quite the playing career in the NHL, making impacts on each of the six teams he played for. Even later in his career when injuries limited his playing time, Turgeon could still find the back of the net. In his final four full seasons, Turgeon notched 40 or more points in each of them with the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche respectively. In fact, it was at his latter stop where he was teammates with current Kings GM Rob Blake.
Photo credit: Bruce Bennett
When he was promoted to head coach following the conclusion of the regular season, some were skeptical of John Stevens being named the Kings’ new head coach. While many certainly didn’t have anything against him personally, the fact that a defensive-minded coach would take the reigns of an offensive-anemic team such as the Kings casted dought on the team’s future success. However, Turgeon’s hiring, despite his lack of coaching experience, may very well put those worried minds at ease.
Over the course of his 19-year NHL career, it was fun watching Pierre Turgeon play whomever he suited up for. What he accomplished during his playing career speaks for itself. However, joining a team coming off a season where they scored just 199 goals — good enough for 24th overall — Turgeon has his work cut out for him. Still, Kings fans should feel confident that the former all-star can use his tutelege to spark a new offensive phiiosophy that will hopefully include players not named Jeff Carter hitting twine on a regular basis.
Hiring an inexperienced coach to run a team’s offense may seem risky. Heck, it is risky. However, with a man of Pierre Turgeon’s tutelage, it is a risk, in this writer’s opinion, at least, that is well worth taking.
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