The Los Angeles Kings haven’t been able to get past the Edmonton Oilers in the first round the last four years.
Now, they’re bringing in a former Oiler and a Stanley Cup winner to be the franchise’s 10th general manager.
The Kings announced the hiring of Ken Holland on Wednesday and he was introduced on Thursday. He will replace Rob Blake, who had been Kings GM from 2017 until he and the team had agreed to part ways on May 5.
“I’m excited because it’s a really good hockey team,” Holland said. “I’m excited to be back in the saddle.”
Holland, 69, had been with the Oilers from 2019 to 2024 but didn’t have his contract renewed after Edmonton’s run to Stanley Cup Final. He also won four Stanley Cup titles with the Detroit Red Wings in 1997 (as an assistant GM), 1998, 2002 and 2008 and has a .622 points percentage as a general manager.
“It was very important to get the right person to guide this franchise to where we want to be,” team president Luc Robitaille said Thursday, “which is not about beating one team, winning one round, it’s about winning four rounds. … He knows the path of what it takes to get to a championship.”
Robitaille played two seasons for Detroit under Holland, winning the Stanley Cup in 2002.
Holland inherits a Kings team that tied franchise records in wins and points last season. But the Oilers stood in their way again. This year’s loss was probably the most frustrating because the Kings led the series 2-0 before Edmonton won the next four games.
“We’ve got to find a way to make the team a little bit different, a little bit better,” Holland said.
That won’t involve a coaching change. Holland said Jim Hiller will remain as coach.
“Jim Hiller did a fabulous job in leading the team to 105 points,” Holland said. “They were good defensively. They were good on special teams. The team played hard. … He’ll be a better coach next year for the experience he went through this year.”
The Kings have most of their core locked in. Defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov is a pending unrestricted free agent, as are backup goalie David Rittich and trade deadline acquisition Andrei Kuzmenko.