Jim Hiller will return next season as the Los Angeles Kings’ head coach, new general manager Ken Holland says.
Holland praised Hiller and looked ahead to their new partnership Thursday during the Hall of Fame hockey executive’s introductory news conference at the Kings’ training complex. Holland is returning to the NHL after a one-year absence, taking over .
The 69-year-old former GM of the Detroit Red Wings and the Edmonton Oilers immediately made it clear he isn’t in Los Angeles to blow up a team that has made four straight playoff appearances, only to lose to the Oilers in the first round every spring. Holland won鈥檛 make an immediate change behind the Kings鈥 bench 鈥 or even in the front office, where he plans to retain the assistant GMs and hockey executives who worked for Blake.
鈥淛im is going to be the coach,鈥 Holland said. 鈥淛im Hiller did a fabulous job in leading the team to 105 points. They were good defensively. They were good on special teams. The team played hard. I thought three weeks ago that this was a team that had the potential, the ability to go on a long playoff run. He鈥檒l be a better coach next year for the experience that he went through this year.鈥
Holland and Hiller spent two hours in discussion Wednesday, the GM said. Hiller, who , was an assistant coach to Mike Babcock in Detroit a decade ago while Holland was the Wings’ general manager.
The Kings tied the franchise records for victories (48) and points this season under Hiller, only to Edmonton . Los Angeles is a consistent playoff team with star power and solid depth, but Holland knows his job is to get the Kings off this franchise plateau.
鈥淚’m hoping to add something to it, maybe a little different idea,鈥 Holland said. 鈥淚’m looking forward to getting going. ... I understand that this is a marketplace that’s really competitive. You talk about all the competition for the entertainment dollar, so it’s important that you win and you compete. Got to find a way to make the team a little bit different, a little bit better. I think the experiences they’ve been through here will benefit us down the road.鈥
Blake voluntarily left the team less than two weeks ago, according to president Luc Robitaille. Holland called the Kings 鈥渁 legitimate Stanley Cup contender鈥 this season, and he praised Blake for his rebuilding job.
The Kings’ search quickly zeroed in on Holland, who spent the past year working in the NHL鈥檚 hockey operations division after he left the Oilers by mutual consent. Robitaille said the Kings are 鈥渧ery fortunate鈥 to hire Holland.
鈥淗e knows the path of what it takes to get to the championship,鈥 Robitaille said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a hard thing to do, and that鈥檚 a hard thing to learn. His experience, what he鈥檚 done over the course of his career, is very important for this franchise to get to that next level.鈥
Holland won one Stanley Cup as an assistant GM in Detroit and three more during his 22 years as the Wings’ general manager. In 2019 he moved on to Edmonton, which made the playoffs in all five years of his tenure and even advanced to Game 7 of last year鈥檚 Stanley Cup Final before falling to Florida.
Holland said he wasn’t sure whether he would return to a front office after he left Edmonton, but he’s ready. He spent the winter watching games every night at home in British Columbia when he wasn’t working alongside NHL director of hockey operations Colin Campbell.
鈥淚鈥檓 excited to be back in the saddle,鈥 Holland said. 鈥淚鈥檝e got a lot of energy. I had an opportunity this past winter to get my batteries re-juiced.鈥
Holland called Los Angeles 鈥渙ne of the great sports cities in all the world,鈥 and he is already getting to know the breadth of the city in a way he never did as a visitor: He spent the past two nights in a hotel in Manhattan Beach, the beautiful seaside enclave where most of the Kings鈥 players and executives live.
鈥淢y wife is excited, and my grandkids are really excited,鈥 Holland said. 鈥淟et me tell you, they鈥檙e looking forward to coming to LA, watching some Kings games and going to Disneyland.鈥
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