Story Summary
Peter Laviolette will make his debut as coach of the Los Angeles Kings when they face the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena in Denver. The game is the first on-ice assignment for Laviolette with his seventh NHL organisation and brings an immediate return to a familiar recent playoff opponent for Los Angeles.
Laviolette arrives with substantial NHL experience. He ranks seventh among NHL coaches with 846 wins and ninth in games coached with 1,594. His most recent position was a two-season spell guiding the New York Rangers from 2023 to 2025.
The Kings will also have a new captain for the occasion. Drew Doughty is set to make his debut in the role, succeeding Anze Kopitar following Kopitar’s retirement after 20 seasons in Los Angeles. Doughty’s first game as captain and Laviolette’s first behind the Kings bench place two prominent changes at the centre of the club’s opening fixture.
Colorado presents demanding recent context. The Avalanche won the Presidents’ Trophy as the NHL’s top team in 2025-26 with 121 points, then swept Los Angeles in four games in the Western Conference First Round. Colorado reached the conference final before being swept by the Vegas Golden Knights. The Avalanche have also signed coach Jared Bednar to a four-year contract running through the 2030-31 season.
Key Facts
- Peter Laviolette will debut as Los Angeles Kings coach against the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena in Denver.
- Laviolette’s Kings post is his seventh NHL coaching job.
- He ranks seventh among NHL coaches with 846 wins and ninth with 1,594 games coached.
- Laviolette most recently coached the New York Rangers for two seasons, from 2023 to 2025.
- Drew Doughty will make his debut as Kings captain, succeeding Anze Kopitar after Kopitar retired following 20 seasons in Los Angeles.
- Colorado won the Presidents’ Trophy in 2025-26 with 121 points.
- The Avalanche swept the Kings in four games in last season’s Western Conference First Round.
- Colorado coach Jared Bednar has signed a four-year contract through the 2030-31 season.
IHM Discussion
For Los Angeles, this is more than a routine opening game. Laviolette begins with a club that has just experienced a four-game playoff exit to the same opponent, while Doughty takes on the captaincy after a long-serving predecessor’s retirement. Those are separate changes, but they will be visible together from the first puck drop.
Laviolette’s career record gives the Kings an experienced head coach at a moment of transition. The 846 wins and 1,594 games are evidence of longevity across a wide range of NHL situations, but his task in Los Angeles is defined by this roster and this schedule rather than by past stops. The first game offers a direct look at how the Kings begin under his direction against a Colorado side that set the regular-season standard in 2025-26.
Doughty’s appointment provides a clear leadership marker. Kopitar’s 20 seasons with the Kings made his departure significant, and Doughty now assumes the formal captaincy. The fixture does not establish how that leadership group will operate over a season, but it does mark the start of a new official chapter for the club.
There is also continuity on the Colorado side. Bednar’s new contract through 2030-31 confirms the Avalanche will open with the coach who led them to 121 points and the Presidents’ Trophy last season. That contrast is central to the occasion: Los Angeles introduces a new coach and captain, while Colorado begins with its coach newly secured for the longer term.
Why It Matters
The Kings are opening against a team that provided a painful recent measuring point. Colorado swept Los Angeles in the first round last season, so the rematch carries clear competitive context without needing to define the entire campaign.
For Laviolette, the significance is immediate rather than speculative. His debut comes against the club that ended the Kings’ previous season, and his first game will be watched alongside Doughty’s first as captain. The occasion combines a coaching change, a captaincy handover and a playoff rematch in one fixture.
For Doughty, succeeding Kopitar is a major organisational development.
IHM Tactical Outlook
The tactical context is shaped first by the opponent’s recent standard. Colorado combined a 121-point regular season with a four-game sweep of Los Angeles in the playoffs, making the Avalanche a particularly testing first assignment for a new Kings coaching staff.
Laviolette’s immediate responsibility is not to erase last season’s series through rhetoric, but to direct the Kings through the next competitive meeting with Colorado. What is clear is that the opening test comes against an Avalanche team that was the NHL’s top regular-season side in 2025-26 and has retained Bednar behind the bench.
The Kings’ captaincy change is relevant on the ice as well as ceremonially. Doughty will enter the game wearing the captain’s designation for the first time, while Laviolette manages his first match from the Los Angeles bench. Their roles are distinct, but both will be prominent in how the Kings begin a new coaching and leadership phase.
Mini Q&A
How experienced is Peter Laviolette as an NHL coach?
Laviolette is set to coach his seventh NHL team. He ranks seventh among NHL coaches with 846 wins and ninth with 1,594 games coached.
Who is the new Kings captain?
Drew Doughty will debut as Kings captain, succeeding Anze Kopitar following Kopitar’s retirement after 20 seasons in Los Angeles.
Why does the Colorado game carry recent playoff context?
The Avalanche swept the Kings in four games in last season’s Western Conference First Round after winning the Presidents’ Trophy with 121 points.
Coach Mark Comment
A new coach’s first game is often assessed through the result alone, but the more useful early coaching lens is composure against a known challenge. Colorado’s recent sweep of Los Angeles and 121-point season make this a demanding opening environment. Laviolette’s first task is to give the Kings a clear, settled starting point, while Doughty’s first night as captain gives the group an obvious on-ice leadership reference.
What Comes Next
The immediate checkpoint is Laviolette’s first game as Kings coach against Colorado at Ball Arena in Denver. Doughty is also set to make his first appearance as Los Angeles captain in that fixture.
IHM Final View
Peter Laviolette’s Kings debut carries genuine weight because of its setting. Los Angeles begins under a new coach, Drew Doughty begins as captain, and the opponent is the Colorado team that swept the Kings from last season’s playoffs. Laviolette brings one of the NHL’s most extensive coaching records into the role, but the first evidence of this new Kings chapter will come in Denver.