When the Dallas Stars’ team plane touched down in Los Angeles this week, John Stevens texted his wife. Back in town for the first time this year, the former Kings coach was passing along a simple message.
He had forgotten how much he missed his former home.
“It reminds you how much you enjoy your time here,” said Stevens, midway through his first season as an assistant coach for a Stars team that beat the Kings 2-1 at Staples Center on Wednesday night.
During nine seasons with the Kings — seven as an assistant from 2010 to 2017, then two as head coach before being fired in November 2018 — Stevens had come to cherish life in Southern California.