NHL veteran Marco Sturm is currently in his second season as head coach of the AHL's Ontario Reign

Things are looking dire in the City of Angels.

Los Angeles dropped a heartbreaking 4-3 overtime loss to St. Louis on Sunday for their fourth straight defeat, pushing the club to 2-5-3 in their past 10 games.

The Kings now find themselves sitting fourth in the Pacific and in the first wild card spot, with the Blues, Predators and Kraken nipping at their heels. 

Many have raised the question as to whether now is the time to make a coaching change in Los Angeles, or risk falling out of contention in a year where expectations have steadily risen from playoff hopeful to legitimate Stanley Cup contender.

Enter Marco Sturm.

A veteran of 938 games (with 242 goals, 487 points) NHL games with the Kings, Bruins, Panthers, Sharks, Canucks and Capitals, Sturm took over as head coach for the AHL's Ontario Reign in the summer of 2022 after serving as assistant coach with the Kings from 2018-22, working directly with current Kings bench boss Todd McLellan. 

Under Sturm the club finished with a 34-32-5-1 record in 2022-23, bowing out to the Colorado Eagles in the first round of the Calder Cup playoffs. The Reign currently sit with a 22-15-3-1 record 41 games so far this season.

Sturm previously served as head coach of Germany’s national team from 2015 to 2018, leading the program to a silver medal at the 2018 Olympics to go with a Deutschland Cup title in 2015 and appearances in the quarterfinals at the IIHF Men’s World Championship in 2016 and 2017.

A player's player and now an effective coach, Sturm knows the Los Angeles systems and its players. If a turn to a more NHL-seasoned head coach isn't in the cards, perhaps looking within to a respected face with a proven record is just what the doctor ordered for a team operating below expectations in 2024.