LA Kings and Darryl Sutter agree on a new contract for the two-time Stanley Cup-winning coach

Kins coach Darryl Sutter talks to players during practice at the Staples Center in Los Angeles Tuesday, June 3, 2014. The New York Rangers will face the Los Angeles Kings for the Stanley Cup. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht/Los Angeles Daily News)

Kings coach Darryl Sutter

The Kings and Darryl Sutter have agreed on a new contract. A team spokesman said a formal announcement would be made Friday. Terms were not immediately available. Sutter’s three-year contract was due to expire July 1 and Kings general manager Dean Lombardi said last week there was a “very fair” offer on the table. The Los Angeles Times first reported the agreement Thursday afternoon.

Sutter is 186-112-45 in four-plus seasons with the Kings. He led the team to Stanley Cup championships in 2014 and ’12. The San Jose Sharks eliminated them in the first round of the playoffs this season, and there’s been plenty of speculation in recent days and weeks that the Kings’ roster could undergo a major shakeup for 2016-17. The head coach will remains the same, however.

“Failure is the best teacher,” Lombardi said last week. “So it’s very simple for every part of this organization right now … We have to look at ourselves in the mirror and admit that these two things happened, and now we have to get back on that path – the innovation, the spark, the challenge that was there seven years ago and we were coming from the gutter. You’ve got to get it back.”

Freeway Series Game 3: San Diego Gulls 3, Ontario Reign 0

Here’s the recap from our man in Ontario, Jim Alexander: http://www.pe.com/articles/ontario-802356-series-alexander.html

Here’s the story from the San Diego Union-Tribune: http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/may/08/gulls-overcome-adversity-to-beat-reign-3-0/

Game 4 is Friday in San Diego.

Freeway Series Game 2: Ontario Reign 2, San Diego Gulls 1 (OT)

Here’s the recap from Jim Alexander, our man on the scene Saturday in San Diego: http://www.pe.com/articles/pay-802307-persistence-reign.html

Here’s the San Diego Union-Tribune story: http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/may/07/despite-hacketts-heroics-gulls-fall-2-1-to-reign/

Game 3 is Sunday in Ontario.

 

Ducks offer congratulations to Bruce Boudreau on his hiring as Minnesota Wild coach

Here’s what Ducks general manager Bob Murray said about the Minnesota Wild’s hiring of Bruce Boudreau as their coach Saturday: “On behalf of the club, congratulations to Bruce and the Minnesota Wild. Although coaching changes are extremely difficult, we felt that Bruce could be back behind the bench quickly. Everyone in the organization is very pleased he’s getting another deserved opportunity.”

Ex-Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau hired by the Minnesota Wild

Boudreau

Well, that didn’t take long. Bruce Boudreau was named the Minnesota Wild’s new coach a little more than a week after the Ducks fired him after a fourth consecutive Pacific Division championship and a fourth straight Game 7 loss at Honda Center.

Darren Drager of TSN and Kevin Weekes of NHL Network each reported the news via Twitter on Saturday night and the Wild later confirmed the hiring. Boudreau was 208-104-40 with the Ducks. He also won four Southeast Division titles and was 201-88-40 with the Washington Capitals.

Boudreau also interviewed with the Ottawa Senators before coming to terms on a four-year contract with the Wild, as reported by the Star-Tribune newspaper. The team said via Twitter that Boudreau would be available to speak to reporters Tuesday in St. Paul, Minn.

Ducks general manager Bob Murray said he would take his time in searching for Boudreau’s replacement. Here’s a link to my story last week about possible successors to Boudreau: http://www.ocregister.com/articles/ducks-714129-coach-league.html

Kings general manager Dean Lombardi says offer is on the table for Darryl Sutter to return as coach

Kins coach Darryl Sutter talks to players during practice at the Staples Center in Los Angeles Tuesday, June 3, 2014. The New York Rangers will face the Los Angeles Kings for the Stanley Cup. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht/Los Angeles Daily News)

Kings coach Darryl Sutter.

Kings general manager Dean Lombardi said Friday he made a “very fair” offer to Darryl Sutter to return as the team’s coach for next season and beyond, but no agreement has been reached. Lombardi said money is not the issue, but the direction of the team is.

“Darryl has an offer on the table,” Lombardi said during a conference call. “I think there’s an offer that’s certainly respectable. I don’t think this is about money. It’s, are we ready to do this? That issue of where we’re going and where we are is always out there. It’s a different challenge. You want to hear what our game plan is. It’s not different than when I first hired him.”

Freeway Series Game 1: Ontario Reign 5, San Diego Gulls 3

Here’s a look at the Freeway Series opener from our man Jim Alexander of the Press-Enterprise: http://www.pe.com/articles/first-802102-ontario-reign.html

Here’s the report from the San Diego Union-Tribune, which also is covering the series: http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/may/05/gulls-start-too-cautious-fall-5-3-to-reign/

Game 2 is Saturday in San Diego.

Freeway Series Game 1 preview: San Diego Gulls at Ontario Reign

Southern California News Group colleague Jim Alexander is covering the series between the Kings’ American Hockey League affiliate and the Ducks’ minor-league team. Read his preview of the second-round series here: http://www.pe.com/articles/reign-801979-save-socal.html

Freeway Series: Ontario Reign take on San Diego Gulls in the American Hockey League playoffs

The Ontario Reign eliminated the San Jose Barracuda on Friday in the first round of the American Hockey League’s Calder Cup playoffs. The San Diego Gulls knocked out the Texas Stars in their first-round series Friday. So, the Kings’ AHL affiliate will face the Ducks’ team in a Freeway Series matching beginning next Thursday.

Here’s the schedule, which is a little different from what we’re used to in the NHL:

Game 1: Gulls at Reign, 7 p.m, May 5, Citizens Business Bank Arena.

Game 2: Reign at Gulls, 7:05 p.m., May 7, Valley View Casino Center.

Game 3: Gulls at Reign, 7 p.m., May 8, Citizens Business Bank Arena.

Game 4: Reign at Gulls, 7:05 p.m., May 13, Valley View Casino Center.

Game 5 (if necessary): Gulls at Reign, 7 p.m., May 14, Citizens Business Bank Arena.

Game 6 (if necessary): Reign at Gulls, 7:05 p.m., May 16, Valley View Casino Center.

Game 7 (if necessary): Gulls at Reign, 7 p.m., May 18, Citizens Business Bank Arena.

Ducks exit interviews: Andrew Cogliano

Ducks left wing Andrew Cogliano on Saturday addressed the notion that the team’s core players, himself included, were more to blame for another Game 7 defeat than coach Bruce Boudreau. He spoke at length about that subject. Here’s some of what he said during his season-ending interview with reporters:

“Questions about the core are fair. We haven’t gotten the job done. We’ve made some good strides during the year. We showed character in coming back. There’s positives. But we haven’t done the job at the right time and rhythm when it really counts. I think…I’m not sure what the factors are. Bob (Murray, the Ducks’ GM) is right. This isn’t on Bruce. I think a lot of guys need to know where they’re at and figure out where we went wrong. A lot of them have been here for a while. I’m not just talking the captains.. Myself, Cam (Fowler), guys like Hampus (Lindholm) and Sami (Vatanen) aren’t young anymore..Not singling them out, but we’ve been here for a while now. We don’t have a lot of young guys in the lineup. Like i said, guys have to figure out where we’re gone wrong. Today’s a much different feeling leaving the rink. In those years there’s been a sense of hope. Today there’s zero feeling like that.”

Cogliano also spoke about not doing enough individually this season, but especially during the playoffs. Here’s more:

“My meeting with ‘Murph’ (Murray) won’t go the same as it has. I wasn’t good enough, simple as that. Everyone can say the same thing. I had good moments but ultimately I  didn’t do enough. Everyone wants to talk about that we have ‘Getz’ (Ryan Getzlaf) and ‘Pears’ (Corey Perry), but we have guys who have been here and need to play better. Guys could have stepped up more. They’re not the captains of the team. I’ve played over 700 games, Cam’s been in the league since 18. Hampus, Sami, ‘Raks’ (Rickard Rakell) … we’ve learned the hard way but it’s not acceptable, simple as that, and we let a real good opportunity get away from us. I don’t know why. Maybe we came into the playoffs thinking we were better than we thought. That wasn’t the case.”