Marco Sturm, former NHLer and one of Germany’s most successful national team head coaches, has been hired as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Kings.

Sturm will conclude his time with the national team after the Deutschland Cup next weekend, where afterwards he will move to L.A. to join new head coach Willie Desjardins behind the bench for the Kings.

The move comes after Kings head coach John Stevens and assistant John Nachbaur were fired on Sunday afternoon. Desjardins was announced as the team’s interim head coach.

It is a return to California hockey for Sturm, who was drafted by the San Jose Sharks in the first round in 1996, and played parts of eight seasons in San Jose before being traded to the Boston Bruins. 

After retiring from the NHL in 2014, Sturm served as head coach of the German men’s ice hockey team starting in 2015. He led Germany through some strong performances in international tournaments, particularly earlier this year when he coached Germany to a silver medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. 

Desjardins also coached at the Olympic Games this year, the last time the two coached met was during the semi-final game when Sturm’s German team defeated Desjardins and Team Canada in a wild 4-3 upset. He last coached in the NHL in 2017 following a three-year stint coaching the Vancouver Canucks. 

No successor has yet been named to take over the German national team.