In the wake of the Los Angeles Kings’ fourth straight season of losing to the Edmonton Oilers in the first round, you knew something had to give in the Kings’ organization.
On Monday, the ramifications of the disappointing season resulted in Kings GM Rob Blake parting ways with the team.
Whoever takes over from Blake has some obvious areas to address. Let’s break them down below.
1. The Defense
The Kings allowed the second-fewest goals in the regular season, but that doesn’t matter after what happened in the playoffs.
They didn’t have problems putting the puck in the net against the Oilers, averaging four goals-for per game. But the defense was a disaster, as the Kings allowed 4.50 goals against per game. It certainly wasn’t all the fault of goalie Darcy Kuemper, although his 3.74 GAA and .889 SP didn’t help matters.
You could see the Kings’ defensive struggles all over the place, including their penalty kill, which had an embarrassing 61.5 percent efficiency.
So, with that in mind, it’s obvious what Blake’s successor has to do – namely, tweak the defense corps and make the Kings harder to play against in their own zone against offensive powerhouses. That was their style all season long, but they need to replace a blueliner or two to achieve that style in the playoffs as well.
Brandt Clarke will be a year older, which should help his development, but so will 35-year-old Drew Doughty, who can’t average 24 to 25 minutes a night forever.
Effecting change on the back end won’t be easy, as there aren’t many shutdown blueliners on the UFA front this off-season. Complicating matters is that veteran blueliner Vladislav Gavrikov is a pending UFA. To keep him in the fold, the Kings will have to give him at least the $5.875 million he’s earned this season.
Letting Gavrikov walk shouldn’t be an option for L.A., but it’s the other moves the next Kings GM makes regarding the defense that will probably be the difference between the Kings getting out of the first round next spring or failing once again to follow up on a strong regular season.
NHL Playoffs 2025: Winners And Losers From Round 1 Feature Rantanen, Necas And MoreJust like that, the NHL’s 2025 Stanley Cup playoff field is cut in half.
2. Spending The Kings’ Cap Space Wisely
Los Angeles has about $23.26 million in salary cap space, but Blake’s replacement won’t be able to throw all of it at the best UFAs on the market.
A good deal of that will go to bringing back Gavrikov and fellow UFA Andrei Kuzmenko, who turned out to be a solid addition for the Kings. But the Kings also have RFA right winger Alex Laferriere to re-sign, and they need a backup goalie as well.
As you can see, the Kings’ cap space will evaporate quickly unless the new GM clears out some cap space on the trade market.
Let’s say we’re still focused on Los Angeles’ defense: would targeting experienced D-men Ivan Provorov, Brent Burns or Dmitry Orlov make sense for the Kings’ back end? None of them will come cheaply, but the allure of playing in sunny California on a team that, at least on paper, isn’t that far off from a long playoff run, could be the hook that brings in new blood for the Kings’ defense corps.
Regardless of how Blake’s successor spends the Kings’ cap space, they can’t swing and miss on the talent they do bring in. There will be huge pressure on the new GM to hit a home run with the roster changes they make, and right out of the gate, all eyes will be on Blake’s replacement in the roster and the financial choices they make.
3. Decide On The Coach
At this time last year, the Kings were very happy with coach Jim Hiller, removing the interim tag from him and signing him to a three-year contract extension that began this season.
In the collapse against the Kings, some of the coaching staff’s choices came under intense scrutiny, including a lost coach’s challenge in Game 3 that had some fans irate. The Hockey News’ Connor Doyle also said Hiller shortened the bench during the series, and their top players looked gassed at times.
But now, with Blake gone, his replacement may want to install a replacement for Hiller behind the Kings’ bench. With veterans out there, including Peter Laviolette, Dan Bylsma and John Tortorella – as well as newcomers or NHL assistant coaches who could be available – the Kings may find someone else with a different play style in mind for this squad.
There’s no salary cap limit on coaching, so if L.A. does want to move in a new direction with their coaching, it will only cost them two years of Hiller’s remaining salary. But after the disappointment of two straight first-round exits under Hiller’s tenure, the status quo may not be a viable option for Blake’s replacement.
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