LA Sports: Seven greatest coaches of the 2010 decade

1. Darryl Sutter, 2011-17, W: 225-47-53

Playoff appearances: 4 Stanley Cups: 2

No coach had a greater impact on their team this past decade like Darryl Sutter on the Los Angeles Kings. Before Sutter arrived the Kings were a young team with talent still looking to rise to playoff success.

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When Sutter took over, he molded the young talented Kings into a hard-nosed team in his image that did what it took to win. Kings fans were rewarded with the second golden era in franchise history as they finally won hockey’s ultimate prize the Stanley Cup.

When Sutter took over in the middle of the season in December of 2011 the Kings were mired in mediocrity taking a few steps back after back to back playoff appearances. Sutter thanks to some shrewd moves by the front office got the Kings into the playoffs as an eight seed.

From there the team took off to put together 16-4 playoff on their way to their first Stanley Cup in their 45-year history.

Over the next two seasons, the Kings continued to roll as they made the Western Conference Finals and then won a second Stanley Cup this time by winning three-game sevens along the way. By the time his tenure with the Kings ended the team had struggled to keep winning missing the playoffs two out of three seasons.

Despite how things ended there is no doubt Sutter turned the Kings into an elite NHL team something no one had done before and for that, he deserves his status as the LA Sports coach of the decade.