Who is the Kings head coach next season

[psych3man]

So, Jim Hiller will be a better coach for the Kings than Gerard Gallant?
So, Jim Hiller will be a better coach for the Kings than <fill in your favorite>?

And while we're at it, there is no better GM for the Kings out there than Rob Blake?

This franchise is so frustrating.

 

[Schrute farms]

I find the Hiller hiring interesting. I really wonder what Bluc is thinking. It could be many things -- i don't know which it one it is. Coming off the heals of having a top 5 league paid coach (who got fired). I wish i were a fly on the wall in that decision room.

• Does Blake think Hiller is some up and coming great coach that is just ascending?
• Is Blake limited by ownership and this is the best he can do with no resources to pay another coach?
• Are coaches around the league leery of the Bluc FO and the long-term prospects of this job that they have no interest in it?
• Does Blake want a 'yes' man guy, so a guy like Hiller (who is happy to get a HC job) is the best they can do?
• Is Blake just a complete dolt for thinking Hiller is THE man for the job and the best available coach?

 

[AbsentMojo]

DIdnt see this posted...

 

[Bandit]

I find the Hiller hiring interesting. I really wonder what Bluc is thinking. It could be many things -- i don't know which it one it is. Coming off the heals of having a top 5 league paid coach (who got fired). I wish i were a fly on the wall in that decision room.

• Does Blake think Hiller is some up and coming great coach that is just ascending?
• Is Blake limited by ownership and this is the best he can do with no resources to pay another coach?
• Are coaches around the league leery of the Bluc FO and the long-term prospects of this job that they have no interest in it?
• Does Blake want a 'yes' man guy, so a guy like Hiller (who is happy to get a HC job) is the best they can do?
• Is Blake just a complete dolt for thinking Hiller is THE man for the job and the best available coach?

yes.

 

[AbsentMojo]

Essentially the message/diagnosis from Hiller and Blake is the team lacks enough desire to win - to go to the dirty places... well ya, you signed and traded for a bunch of soft players...1-3-1 is a passive/soft system. You went to a more checking approach last 2 games and didnt get goals because no one went to the hard places in front of the net. So you expect the same roster to suddenly get gritty by talking to them. OK sure.

 

[tny760]

Essentially the message/diagnosis from Hiller and Blake is the team lacks enough desire to win - to go to the dirty places... well ya, you signed and traded for a bunch of soft players...1-3-1 is a passive/soft system. You went to a more checking approach last 2 games and didnt get goals because no one went to the hard places in front of the net. So you expect the same roster to suddenly get gritty by talking to them. OK sure.

just more of the same, blame the players

probably discussing the lewis extension on the beach as we speak

 

[LAKings88]

Run it back/discussion closed

 

[Master Yoda]

So, Jim Hiller will be a better coach for the Kings than Gerard Gallant?
So, Jim Hiller will be a better coach for the Kings than <fill in your favorite>?

And while we're at it, there is no better GM for the Kings out there than Rob Blake?

This franchise is so frustrating.

The one question Blake answered.

So, Jim Hiller will be a better coach in 2025 than Jim Hiller in 2024?

 

[psych3man]

Blake gave Hiller 3-4 years? Are you f'ing kidding me?

 

[johnjm22]

I’m curious. Do we know if Lombardi was aware that he was on a short leash and Luc was rubbing his hands behind the scenes? If so, was that a catalyst to those bad moves he made towards his downfall?

I think as fans we tend to overly dramatize when we speculate what's going on behind the scenes.

Dean was probably fired because LA had the highest payroll in the league while missing the playoffs. It's also possible there was a philosophical disagreement about what direction the Kings should go in.

There used to be some interviews on YouTube with Dean (I can't find them now). He said Anschutz would talk to him every year and hold him to his word.

 

[psych3man]

In the press conference Hiller said "there are teams in the NHL playing right now that play the 1-3-1 and there are teams that don't."
Do any of you know which of the 4 teams he is currently talking about?

 

[johnjm22]

In the press conference Hiller said "there are teams in the NHL playing right now that play the 1-3-1 and there are teams that don't."
Do any of you know which of the 4 teams he is currently talking about?

Rangers and Capitals come to mind.

Pretty much every team runs some sort neutral zone clog up scheme at times.

 

[DoktorJeep]

I think as fans we tend to overly dramatize when we speculate what's going on behind the scenes.

Dean was probably fired because LA had the highest payroll in the league while missing the playoffs. It's also possible there was a philosophical disagreement about what direction the Kings should go in.

There used to be some interviews on YouTube with Dean (I can't find them now). He said Anschutz would talk to him every year and hold him to his word.

You’re basically correct. Ownership is satisfied with just making the playoffs and the bottom line coming in on target.

Uncle Phil is a major improvement upon previous owners. But those guys were clowns and criminals.

I think Beckerman understands that the majority of the fan base are sentimental and don’t follow the league at large. So they can run a mutli billion dollar franchise at break even at worst, while sucking dollars out of the saps with zero further investments.

 

[jgs]

Well Blake just announced that with Hiller it will be more of the same. The 1-3-1 they stifles there offennse more than it does the opposing teams offense. Clearly this organization is being run by people that don't have a clue on how to biuld a Cup winning team.

 

[King'sPawn]

To be fair, it was Lombardi that took the Kings to the black hole.

Wait. I thought he was lucky to win the championships. You don't subscribe to the idea he was unlucky his team was a black hole team? Isn't that a double standard?

And I'm not sure I agree with the championship infrastructure thing. Dean made moves that got LA over the hump, but a lot of the moves he made were damaging for the future of the franchise.

I do agree that LA should be an ideal place to build a winner (deep resources, patient owner, non-critical media), so it's frustrating that we're in the god forsaken black hole (again).

He went into detail about how he restructured the way things were set up with the organization, including giving the team updated facilities. And almost all of the old guard was removed as far as scouts and coaches. He clearly and thoughtfully outlined his plan and process from the get go.

He made bad moves. Every GM does. But saying he can't be credited for building a championship infrastructure due to some bad moves is like saying Jonathan Quick shouldn't have been considered for the 2012 Conn Smythe trophy because he had some bad games.

Nobody's expecting perfection. Not even from Blake. The problem is it's hard to say Blake has been even average considering what he's done with what he's inherited.

 

[kingsfan28]

So, Jim Hiller will be a better coach for the Kings than Gerard Gallant?
So, Jim Hiller will be a better coach for the Kings than <fill in your favorite>?

And while we're at it, there is no better GM for the Kings out there than Rob Blake?

This franchise is so frustrating.

-Gallant is not a coach known for his strategic acumen with the x’s and o’s or making in-game adjustments to out coach his opponent. The Rangers appeared to be on their way to an easy first round victory against the Devils, taking the first two games of the series on the road. Lindy Ruff made the adjustments and had his team ready for rest of the series. New York didn’t have any answers once it was them with their backs against the wall.

Who does this sound like?


-After his recent exit from Broadway, New York Post columnist, Larry Brooks, had this to say about Gallant in a recent piece:

“The Rangers’ breakout system was wanting. They lacked structure in their own end. Their forecheck was, well, there is no need to belabor the point, but there effectively was none against New Jersey after appearing intermittently during the season.”

Sounds like TMac, doesn't it?

"Gallant is a coach who has historically deferred to veterans and trusts them to keep up cultures and standards."

Same


Gallant was fire from his last 3 jobs, and ask any Rangers fan what they think, you'd swear they were talking about Todd.

 

[kingsfan28]

Rangers and Capitals come to mind.

Pretty much every team runs some sort neutral zone clog up scheme at times.

The Oilers did it a bunch of times and Fox called them out for it. It was the same 1-3-1 we used.

 

[Sol]

The Oilers did it a bunch of times and Fox called them out for it. It was the same 1-3-1 we used.

Oilers did it when they were winning and the Kings were countering the oilers 1-3-1 with 1-3-1 when the Kings were losing. Context matters.

 

[Surf Nutz]

In the press conference Hiller said "there are teams in the NHL playing right now that play the 1-3-1 and there are teams that don't."
Do any of you know which of the 4 teams he is currently talking about?

swamp rabbits
Reign
Kings

 

[johnjm22]

Wait. I thought he was lucky to win the championships. You don't subscribe to the idea he was unlucky his team was a black hole team? Isn't that a double standard?

Luck (or chance) is part of it. It's not the only determining factor (I never said otherwise).

Difference being that one outcome is exceptional while the other is common. Thus the former is requires more "luck" than the the latter.

He went into detail about how he restructured the way things were set up with the organization, including giving the team updated facilities. And almost all of the old guard was removed as far as scouts and coaches. He clearly and thoughtfully outlined his plan and process from the get go.

He made bad moves. Every GM does. But saying he can't be credited for building a championship infrastructure due to some bad moves is like saying Jonathan Quick shouldn't have been considered for the 2012 Conn Smythe trophy because he had some bad games.

Nobody's expecting perfection. Not even from Blake. The problem is it's hard to say Blake has been even average considering what he's done with what he's inherited.

Championships are quantitative. You either won it, or you didn't. "Championship infrastructure" isn't. People would have different opinions on the definition of that term.

I don't disagree with most of what you're saying. He had vision. Built up the team through a cohesive and consistent ideology. He cleaned house so thoroughly that he even fired the video guy. He was also one of the main drivers behind bringing the AHL to California. People often forget that.

I think the reason you guys get defensive when I talk about luck, bad moves, and point out rosy retrospection, is because you think I'm not giving Dean any credit at all.

 

[Telos]

Blake gave Hiller 3-4 years? Are you f'ing kidding me?

It sounds stupid because the hire is stupid, but it is standard to give a new coach a 3-4 year deal. Mangement deals obviously aren't like player deals and job/financial security handshake deals are passed around nepotistically. It technically doesn't matter because there is nothing to stop a coach from getting fired at any point, it doesn't affect the team or the salary cap in any way, and AEG pays out the coach on the backend. It is like the extension we gave TMac just before we fired him. It is Anchutz's money to waste, and as Lombardi pointed out, the Kings are a tiny drop in the bucket to him

 

[tigermask48]

Been in Canmore and Banff on vacation the past week. Finally get a chance to check news and see this...

Think I'll go enjoy the rest of this vacation.

 

[hauspaint]

This kinda reminds me of Seinfeld episode about George hiring a maid to avoid getting called Koko
Luc: who is this?
Blake: Hiller, our new head coach
Luc: So you just hiring new people now? that's your job? hire new people?
Blake: yes?
Luc: Okay. good enough for me.