Kings set to hire Crawford

The Los Angeles Times is reporting that the Kings will hire Marc Crawford to be their next coach. Former Vancouver Canucks head coach Marc Crawford is expected to be hired as the Kings' coach, two league sources said, with the deal anticipated to be in place by Monday. Crawford brings a history of success as a head coach. He won a Stanley Cup championship with the Colorado Avalanche in 1995-96 and spent the last seven seasons with the Canucks, reaching the playoffs four times in a row. But they finished ninth in the Western Conference this season and he was fired in April. Crawford would replace John Torchetti, who coached the last 12 games after Andy Murray was fired. [snip] Crawford would bring with him more NHL career victories (411) than any King coach at the time of his hiring. He inherits a team that collapsed at the end of this season, leading to the firing of Murray in March and general manager Dave Taylor in April.