Did the Kings Make a Mistake In Naming Sutter Coach?

Here's a name I haven't heard of in such a while: Darryl Sutter. The former GM and coach of the Calgary Flames has a new gig and it's with one of his old friends named Dean Lombardi.

Sutter was officially announced as the new LA Kings head coach and will take over the team at Wednesday morning practice. He replaces Terry Murray, who was fired on Dec. 12 and John Stevens, who was the interim coach for a short period of time.

The Kings are in fourth place in the division and 10th in the conference, so they're looking for a spark in the offense and Dean Lombardi believes that Sutter is the type of guy who can spark that offense and make it what it was seasons ago.

ESPN's Scott Burnside believes that the Kings are maving the wrong move in hiring Sutter and that they are misguided with this move. Honestly, I don't think they are. Both Lombardi and Sutter had a great tenure with each other in San Jose so I'm guessing Lombardi believes that magic can happen again with the Kings. This is what Dean Lombardi needed. That offense had gone dormant under Terry Murray and Lombardi knows that he needs to bring in someone who can regenerate that offense and honestly, I believe that Lombardi is a smart guy who is making the right moves in bringing back Darryl Sutter.

The question is, Will it last? Can Sutter bring that high-potential offense that he had in both Calgary and San Jose? We don't know but we'll find out when the Kings play the Ducks on Thursday night. But here's the thing. They're having problems in their offense and they're 10th in the West. They needed to do something to help them get back to the playoff picture and hopefully win it.

I still think that Lombardi had a chance with John Stevens. After all, he surprised everyone when he took the Flyers on a surprise run to the 2008 Eastern Conference Finals, so there's something the Kings could've had a chance to build under. But this is the GM's choice and we'll see whether or not it plays out in LA. Right now, they need offense and they need that spark to get themselves somewhere.

To read Scott Burnside's opinion on the matter, click this link:
http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/7370718/hiring-darryl-sutter-coach-los-angeles-kings-looks-misguided-calculation