Pierre Turgeon has been by the La Kings. "Sneaky Pete" was Buffalo's first overall pick in the 1987 NHL Draft. Turgeon will serve as offensive coordinator of the Kings.
This is a smart hire by the Kings, who finished last season tied for 24th in goals for with 199. The Kings averaged only 2.43 goals against. The bigger issue was the 129 even strength goals for. Turgeon will inherit great offensive producers Anze Kopitar, Jeff Carter, Tyler Toffoli, Drew Doughty and Tanner Pearson.
I enjoyed covering Turgeon when he broke on the scene with the Sabres.
Turgeon was one of the most prolific goal scorers and play makers in the NHL during his playing career.
"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.
Turgeon, 47, is making his NHL coaching debut with the Kings.
The native of Rouyn, Quebec, ranks 38th all-time in career NHL goals after scoring 515 of them over 19 NHL seasons with the Buffalo Sabres, New York Islanders, Montreal Canadiens, St. Louis Blues, Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche.
Turgeon joins a staff that includes head coach John Stevens, assistant coach Dave Lowry (hired on May 30), assistant coach Don Nachbaur and goalie specialist Bill Ranford.
"Pierre had great success as a player and has a tremendous hockey background on the whole. He is a person who brings a lot of energy, passion and insight to the job along with a great deal of enthusiasm about the game," Stevens said. "We look forward to him adding to our team, and to our staff, a real team perspective from a person who was a high-end player, especially in the offensive zone. We have talked a lot during the process of building a coaching staff regarding the qualities of the people we wanted to bring aboard. We feel strongly that Pierre will help compliment myself, Dave Lowry, Don Nachbaur and Bill Ranford and we are together looking forward to the start of the season."
Turgeon averaged 1.03 points-per-game during his long career. He authored nine seasons of 30-plus goals and eight seasons of 80-plus points, and he set career highs in goals (58), assists (74) and points (132) during the 1992-93 season, a season in which he was also named the winner of the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy.
He was selected as an NHL All-Star five times in his career (1990, 1993, 1994, 1996, 2000). In addition to ranking 38th all-time in career NHL goals (515), is also 21st all-time in career NHL power play goals (190), tied for 21st all-time in career NHL game-winning goals (86), 30th all-time in career NHL assists (812) and 32nd all-time in career NHL points (1,327). Turgeon also skated in 109 career Stanley Cup playoff games, totaling 97 points (35-62=97) and 36 penalty minutes.
Turgeon, who recorded over 100 goals and over 300 points in separate stints with Buffalo (1987-1991), the New York Islanders (1991-1995) and St. Louis (1996-2001), announced his retirement as a player following the 2005-06 season.
Thanks, Kings PR