LOS ANGELES – The LA Kings announced on Friday that they have officially agreed to terms on a new three-year contract with Head Coach Darryl Sutter.
Opting to obviate a potential separation, Sutter agreed to a new deal that will reportedly pay him in excess of $3 million per season through 2019, with the final year of the contract a club option.
"It was a clear and easy decision," Sutter told reporters via conference call on Friday morning. "I wasn't interested in going elsewhere or any of that."
Despite the two-time Stanley Cup winning coach insisting he wasn't vacillating on the decision to return to the Kings, the fact remains that the extension was offered by President and General Manager Dean Lombardi over a week ago while they awaited a response from Sutter.
"A lot of it came back to the nucleus of the team and the ownership," Sutter said. "There was never really any point of waiting any longer."
Sutter has been with the Kings for the better part of five seasons and is the 24th head coach in franchise history. Out of his predecessors, he was the fastest in team history to win 100 games (183) and the first to ever win the Stanley Cup, a feat he accomplished twice.
"I've coached in four different decades now," Sutter said on the call. "I think years are important. I tell a lot of young coaches that, too. Careers are so short. They should find a good place and get what they can to make sure they take care of their families."
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Sutter's family is also thankful their father decided to stay put in LA. His oldest son, Brett, plays for the Kings' American Hockey League affiliate, the Ontario Reign, and his youngest son, Chris, is featured on the Kings' "Dance-Cam" during all home games.
"If I don't sound excited that's because I don't have to sound excited," Sutter said. "But you know that Christopher is."
