The Los Angeles Kings hope a new hire will help educate and support players regarding domestic violence and substance abuse issues.

General manager Dean Lombardi has named former NHL forward Brantt Myhres as the club's player assistance director, he confirmed Tuesday to Lisa Dillman of the Los Angeles Times.

Myhres appeared in 154 career games and racked up almost 700 minutes in penalties with six teams. He was suspended four times and ultimately hit with a lifetime ban after a series of failed drug tests.

After studying substance abuse behavioral heath at Mount Royal University in Calgary, he sought to create a player-assistance program for the league or specific teams.

"It just so happens Dean was the first general manager to be proactive enough to approach me on it," Myhres said in an interview with the Times. "This is an in-house program that we've structured. They're going to have every resource available to them, whether it's about drugs, alcohol or domestic violence or gambling. They're going to have resources to be able to use at any point of their playing careers."

The hiring comes after three Kings players were arrested over the past year. Two cases involved allegations of drug possession - Jarret Stoll and Mike Richards - while the third landed Slava Voynov in jail on a conviction for domestic violence.