Rumblings: Darryl Sutter stays with Kings, Dale Tallon shuffled, Team Canada finalizing spots

11:06 AM ET

There was never any real chance of Darryl Sutter going elsewhere, but his extension as head coach of the Los Angeles Kings still needed to go through a process of chatting with GM Dean Lombardi about the future of the team.

It really never was ever about the money, although Sutter’s new deal will pay him north of $3 million, which will make him among the top paid coaches in the league. It’s a two-year deal plus a club option for a third year; Sutter has money coming to him even if the third year isn’t picked up, so it’s a good deal for the two-time Stanley Cup-champion coach.

This is just the first step in what will be an interesting offseason for the Kings, Lombardi committed to getting this team in a better place. Much of the past few weeks has been spent with the veteran GM meeting with different front-office staff, dissecting what’s working and what isn’t, and forging a new path ahead.

There’s a renewed commitment to do things with a fresh approach, to get back to being one of the top clubs when it comes to drafting and developing.

In the meantime, pending unrestricted free-agent winger Milan Lucic remains unsigned and with each passing day a deal isn’t done it gets more and more likely he heads to market.

Dale Tallon (left) is set to be kicked upstairs, while Tom Rowe (right) takes over as GM. Gerard Gallant will stay on as coach. Jeff …

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