Jim Hiller, 55, enters his first full season as Head Coach of the LA Kings. Hiller was originally elevated to Kings interim head coach on Feb. 2, 2024, after serving as an assistant coach over the past two seasons. Hiller made his head coaching debut on Feb. 10 against the Edmonton Oilers to become the 18th different head coach in league history to make their coaching debut with the team that originally drafted them, and the first to do so since Phil Housley (6th overall, 1982 by Buffalo).

In 34 games regular-season games, Hiller led the Kings to a 21-12-1 record for 43 points and a .632 points percentage, the 10th-best points percentage in the league during that time, en route to the club’s third consecutive trip to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Under Hiller’s guidance, the Kings were statistically the best home team from the All-Star Break through the end of the regular-season, accumulating a league-leading 14 wins (14-3-1), 29 points and .806 points percentage in 18 games at Crypto.com Arena. The club finished the regular-season winning nine of their last 10 home contests, which included eight consecutive victories on home ice from March 11 through April 13 to mark the team’s longest home winning streak since their eight-game run (8-0-0; Oct. 12 – Nov. 13) in the 2010-11 campaign.

Hiller joined the Kings as an assistant coach on July 19, 2022, with 20 years of coaching experience, including the last eight spent in the NHL with the New York Islanders (2019-22), Toronto Maple Leafs (2015-19) and Detroit Red Wings (2014-15). Prior to his NHL coaching debut with Detroit, Hiller spent 12 seasons coaching junior hockey in Canada between the Western Hockey League (WHL) and British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL).

Hiller began coaching in 2002 with the Tri-City Americans (WHL), where he spent two seasons before taking the helm behind the bench of the Alberni Valley Bulldogs (BCHL) during the 2005-06 campaign. Hiller returned to the WHL the following year as head coach of the then-expansion Chilliwack Bruins, leading the Bruins to the playoffs in their first season.

Following three seasons with Chilliwack (2006-09), Hiller returned to Tri-City from 2009-14. During the first season of his second stint with Tri-City, Hiller led the Americans to a division title, conference title and WHL Championship Series appearance. In total, he coached Tri-City to two division titles (2009-10, 2011-12) and five consecutive playoff berths over his five seasons. He was awarded the CHL’s Brian Kilrea Award and WHL’s Dunc McCallum Award for Coach of the Year for 2011-12, leading Tri-City to a 50-18-2-2 record with 104 points.

A native of Port Alberni, British Columbia, Hiller served as an assistant coach for Team Canada at the 2010 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in Slovakia, helping guide his home country to its third consecutive championship. Hiller was originally selected by the Kings in the 10th round (207th overall) of the 1989 NHL Entry Draft. In total, Hiller appeared in 40 games for the Kings, recording six goals and 12 points. Hiller suited up for 63 career NHL games, registering eight goals, 12 assists and 20 points.

D.J. Smith, 47, enters his first full season as an Assistant Coach for the LA Kings. Smith joined the organization on Feb. 5, 2024, after serving as the Head Coach of the Ottawa Senators for parts of the last five seasons (2019-24). Smith also served as an assistant coach for the Toronto Maple Leafs (2015-19), spending four seasons behind the bench alongside current Kings Head Coach Jim Hiller before being hired by Ottawa.

Prior to his NHL coaching career, the Windsor, Ontario native spent a decade coaching in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) between his hometown Windsor Spitfires (2005-12) and Oshawa Generals (2012-15). During his time in Windsor as assistant and associate coach, Smith helped guide the Spitfires to back-to-back J. Ross Robertson Cups (OHL championship) and Memorial Cups in 2009 and 2010 as the best team in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL).

Following his time in Windsor, Smith was named Head Coach of the Oshawa General for three seasons. In that time, Smith accumulated a 135-53-16 record, including a 42-20-6 record in the 2013-14 campaign to earn OHL’s Coach of the Year honors. In his third and final season with Oshawa, Smith’s squad captured both the J. Ross Robertson Cup and the Memorial Cup.

Smith was drafted in the second round (41st overall) by the New York Islanders in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft. Smith skated in 45 NHL games as a defenseman for the Toronto Maple Leafs (1996-97; 99-00) and Colorado Avalanche (2002-03).

Newell Brown, 62, joins Jim Hiller’s staff for his first season with the LA Kings after serving as an assistant coach for the Anaheim Ducks for the last three seasons (2021-24). Brown has been an assistant coach in the NHL since the 1996-97 campaign, beginning with a two-year stint behind the bench for the Chicago Blackhawks.

In total, Brown brings 27 seasons of coaching experience at the NHL level to the Kings, including time with Chicago (1996-98), the Columbus Blue Jackets (2000-04), Vancouver Canucks (2010-13; 2017-21), Arizona Coyotes (2013-17) and Anaheim Ducks (1998-00; 2005-10; 2021-24) where he helped the club to a Stanley Cup championship in 2007. Under Brown’s assistance in Vancouver, the Canucks claimed consecutive President’s Trophies in 2010-11 and 2011-12 and a Stanley Cup Finals appearance in 2011.

Prior to coaching in the NHL, the Cornwall, Ontario native coached the Adirondack Red Wings in the American Hockey League (AHL) for four seasons from 1992-96. Brown began his coaching career at his alma mater, Michigan State University, where he helped guide the Spartans to back-to-back regular-season and CCHA tournament titles in 1988-89 and 1989-90 before taking the helm as head coach of the Michigan Tech Huskies.

Brown was selected by the Vancouver Canucks in the eighth round (158th overall) of the 1982 NHL Draft. From 1978-80, he skated two seasons for his hometown Cornwall Royals in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) where his four points over five tournament games (4-0=4) helped the Royals capture the 1980 Memorial Cup. Brown went on to register 202 points (73-129=202) in 156 collegiate games for the Spartans. He played one season of professional hockey in 1984-85, splitting times between the Fredericton Express of the AHL and the International Hockey League’s (IHL) Muskegon Lumberjacks.

Derik Johnson enters his second season as an assistant coach and seventh with the Kings organization, having previously served as a skills coach and assistant video coach after joining the team in 2018. Prior to his time with the Kings, Johnson served as a video coach for the Bakersfield Condors of the American Hockey League (AHL) during the 2017-18 season where he helped the Condors achieve a 31-27-10 record.

Johnson played collegiate hockey as a defenseman at the University of Minnesota-Duluth (NCAA), tallying 17 points (2-15=17) in 108 games over four seasons. In 2011-12, despite playing only 11 games, Johnson tallied five points (1-4=5), good for 0.45 points-per-game, the second-highest PPG among all freshman skaters behind only forward Caleb Herbert (41 GP, 14-19=33). Johnson helped Minnesota-Duluth to two NCAA tournament appearances in 2011 and 2015.

He went on to play professionally in the ECHL from 2014-17, tallying 29 points (8-21=29) in 129 appearances between the Missouri Mavericks and Reading Royals. In 2015-16, he made his AHL debut, skating in four games with the Springfield Falcons, before returning to Reading for one more season in 2016-17, where he was one of only four skaters on the team to play in at least 70 games and established career-highs in goals (7), assists (12) and points (19).

A native of Pittsburgh, Pa., Derik is the son of former NHL defenseman Jim Johnson, who also served as an NHL assistant coach and played hockey at The University of Minnesota-Duluth for four seasons as well.

Mike Buckley begins his second season with the Kings after being named goaltending coach on June 9, 2023.

Buckley joined the Kings coaching staff after spending eight seasons (2013-21) with the Pittsburgh Penguins as goaltending development coach (2013-17) and head goaltending coach (2017-21). During his time in Pittsburgh, the organization's goaltenders received accolades at both the NHL and AHL level, including two Stanley Cups (2016, 2017), two NHL All-Star Games (2020, 2022), three All-Rookie Teams (NHL - 2017, AHL - 2015, 2017), three Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Awards as the AHL team with the lowest regular-season goals-against-average (2014, 2015, 2017), one Aldedge "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award as AHL Goaltender of the Year (2015), and one Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award as AHL Rookie of the Year (2015).

In his first season with the Kings, the team’s goaltending tandem ranked third and fifth, respectively, in goals-against average (GAA) and save percentage (SV%) while Cam Talbot earned his second career NHL All-Star nod.

The first U.S.-born goaltending coach to win multiple Stanley Cups, Buckley also brings nearly eight seasons of collegiate coaching experience to his role, having spent three seasons (2012-13, 2015-17) as goaltending coach for the University of New Hampshire and five seasons (2007-12) with his alma mater, the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. 

In addition to his work with teams, Buckley currently sits as President and Head Instructor at Goaltending Development Services, Inc. in North Andover, Mass., where he trains NHL, AHL, collegiate, junior, high school, prep and youth hockey goaltenders throughout the season and summer months. 

A native of Haverhill, Massachusetts, Buckley skated four years (1995-2000) of collegiate hockey at UMass-Amherst before playing five seasons (2000-05) of professional hockey, including three campaigns with the Mississippi Sea Wolves and Gwinnett Gladiators of the ECHL.