Darryl Sutter New Head Coach of LA Kings

Los Angeles - National Hockey League veteran Darryl Sutter was hired today as head coach of the Los Angeles Kings.

Sutter, 53, will take over the team tomorrow at the Kings' practice in El Segundo. He replaces Terry Murray, who coached the team for the past three seasons but was fired Dec. 12.

Assistant coach John Stevens had been leading the team on an interim basis.

Sutter was most recently the general manager of the Calgary Flames, a team he also coached from 2002-06. He previously served as head coach of the San Jose Sharks and Chicago Blackhawks -- the team for which he played left wing for 406 games. He was the Blackhawks' team captain from 1982-85 and in 1986-87.

Sutter has a career head coaching record of 409-320-131. He ranks seventh among active coaches in both games and wins. In 11 seasons as a head coach, he took teams to the playoffs 10 times, leading Calgary to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2004. He is one of only nine head coaches in NHL history to lead three different teams to 100 wins.

He is one of seven Sutter brothers, six of whom played in the NHL. His son Brett plays in the Carolina Panthers organization.