Dean Lombardi confirmed, via email, this morning that the Kings will hire Davis Payne as an assistant coach to replace Jamie Kompon (as first noted by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch).
Payne fills the qualifications that Darryl Sutter set forth last week — in this post — when he talked about hiring an assistant coach. Payne is young (he turns 42 in September) and has a deep connection to the Western Conference. He took over as interim coach of the St. Louis Blues during the 2009-10 season and held that job until he was fired 13 games into last season.
Payne played eight seasons at the NHL, IHL and ECHL levels as a winger, including 22 games with the Boston Bruins in the mid-1990s. He is also a former ECHL and AHL head coach.
