Los Angeles Kings Coach Is On The Hot Seat – But Not Who You Think

Following 27 games so far in this 2025-26 campaign, the Los Angeles Kings hold a 12-8-7 record and have accumulated 31 points.

With that, they are third in the Pacific Division, coming off two straight losses, with their latest coming against the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night. While the Kings remain in a playoff position, they could be in a better position if the team’s power play weren’t the worst in the NHL.

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At a 12.9 percent conversion rate with the extra man – the lowest in the NHL – something has to give. Furthermore, with the joint-second-most overtime and shootout losses in the league (seven), a slightly better power play would likely turn those losses into wins.

While head coach Jim Hiller carries the responsibility of the team’s overall style of play, lineup and execution, He isn’t the sole controller of the power play.

The man who specializes in the Kings’ power play and forward group is assistant coach Newell Brown. This is Brown’s second season with Los Angeles as an assistant coach.

NHL Hot Seat Radar: Oilers’ Stuart Skinner Steps Up The NHL Hot Seat Radar series highlights which NHL figures are under serious pressure to improve. The Edmonton Oilers had much better goaltending this past week, while the Flames and Kings still have scoring issues.

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Last year, the Kings’ power play wasn’t all that special, finishing 27th in the league at 17.9 percent.

Before Brown’s time with the Kings, he was a member of the Anaheim Ducks’ coaching staff. In his last season with Anaheim, its power play ended the season with an identical 17.9 percent. The Ducks were tied for 25th among the league’s best power plays.

In fact, Brown’s last successful season as an assistant coach specializing in offense and the power play was with the Vancouver Canucks in 2019-20, when the team finished the campaign as the fourth-best power play.

However, since then, there has been only one season when Brown’s special teams finished better than 25th in the NHL.

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During the team’s power-play slump, Hiller has shuffled his players around and has tried different methods regarding personnel on both power-play units, but that hasn’t resulted in improvement.

The Kings have one power-play marker in their last seven games. In those seven outings, Los Angeles had 24 opportunities with the extra man, tied for fifth most in the NHL during that span.

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