Fire Hiller

Sure, we were "that close" to winning the series. We had a fantastic regular season as well!

So, why do I want Hiller gone?

Because I've never seen a Kings coach sabotage a chance of victory so thoroughly. Both in the moment (challenging that bleeping goal) and in overall strategy. The success in the regular season should be a blueprint that is refined in the playoffs, not thrown out completely. We ran four strong lines throughout the regular season, and over the last two years can clearly show that a rested and fresh Kopitar is a powerful player, but gave all that up during the playoffs. And we STUCK WITH IT WHEN IT CLEARLY WASN'T WORKING.

And now we're sticking with Blake and Hiller, when it clearly isn't working. My only solace is that his regular season decision making DID work, and perhaps he's learned something.

But, who am I kidding?
 
The Kings keeping Slob Flake as GM and Hiller be back as HC,will be one of the saddest days in Kings history.Also,Kuzmenko(F),Gavrikov(D),and Kuemper(G) are for now UFA’s and will demand good money from the Kings,and/or free agent market.If Slob Flake is unable to resign either one,then the Kings will be back to not making the post season for the next few years,unless he pays a Kings ransom for a top 6 forward,top 4 defenseman and a #1 goaltender.
 
Hockey53 said:
The Kings keeping Slob Flake as GM and Hiller be back as HC,will be one of the saddest days in Kings history.Also,Kuzmenko(F),Gavrikov(D),and Kuemper(G) are for now UFA’s and will demand good money from the Kings,and/or free agent market.If Slob Flake is unable to resign either one,then the Kings will be back to not making the post season for the next few years,unless he pays a Kings ransom for a top 6 forward,top 4 defenseman and a #1 goaltender.
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Kings make the post season without all three of them. They then proceed to exit in the first round. Those three simply get them closer to making the 2nd round but Blake still needs to bring in more to do it.
 
Dr. Tran said:
They can say whatever they want. We saw what we saw.
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Yes, we saw them sit back. That’s not the debate.
The debate is whether it was the strategy from the coach. It wasn’t. The players on record stated that it was not the strategy and they did not know why they chose to play that way.
My point is it’s inaccurate to claim Hilier told the team to play that way. And I don’t understand why people are still arguing that. Fairness and honesty still apply even when it’s inconvenient.
 
There’s 1 more reason Hiller’s not getting fired. Besides ownership not wanting Blake to hire another coach. And that he had a great regular season & they don’t want to throw that out despite his playoff failure. There are 8 teams looking for a head coach right now. I’m not sure if the Kings are a lot of coaches 1st choice. So they could end up with their 8th choice. And that might not be worth it. But I sincerely hope he reflects on what he did to lose the series. And Blake too for that matter.
 
DoubleMinor said:
Yes, we saw them sit back. That’s not the debate.
The debate is whether it was the strategy from the coach. It wasn’t. The players on record stated that it was not the strategy and they did not know why they chose to play that way.
My point is it’s inaccurate to claim Hilier told the team to play that way. And I don’t understand why people are still arguing that. Fairness and honesty still apply even when it’s inconvenient.
Click to expand...
Maybe he didn’t tell them to sit back. But he saw what was happening & didn’t do anything about it.
 
Hockey53 said:
The Kings keeping Slob Flake as GM and Hiller be back as HC,will be one of the saddest days in Kings history.Also,Kuzmenko(F),Gavrikov(D),and Kuemper(G) are for now UFA’s and will demand good money from the Kings,and/or free agent market.If Slob Flake is unable to resign either one,then the Kings will be back to not making the post season for the next few years,unless he pays a Kings ransom for a top 6 forward,top 4 defenseman and a #1 goaltender.
Click to expand...
Kuemper isn’t a FA. He’s signed through 2027. FAs this summer are Kuz, Gavi, Lewis, Jeannot, Ward and Rittich. IMO, four of those six will be gone. Only Jeannot and Ward will be extended. If I were Kuz and Gavi, I’d definitely be looking elsewhere. Both have increased their values.


And I doubt Kempe extends. I wouldn’t. He’ll tell Blake that he’s going to test the market in ‘26, forcing a trade. He’s due a big payday on an eastern team where he can be the star.⭐️
 
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Hockey53 said:
The Kings keeping Slob Flake as GM and Hiller be back as HC,will be one of the saddest days in Kings history.Also,Kuzmenko(F),Gavrikov(D),and Kuemper(G) are for now UFA’s and will demand good money from the Kings,and/or free agent market.If Slob Flake is unable to resign either one,then the Kings will be back to not making the post season for the next few years,unless he pays a Kings ransom for a top 6 forward,top 4 defenseman and a #1 goaltender.
Click to expand...

Um, a little mistake here. Darcy is signed for another 2 years and is not a UFA.
 
DoubleMinor said:
Yes, we saw them sit back. That’s not the debate.
The debate is whether it was the strategy from the coach. It wasn’t. The players on record stated that it was not the strategy and they did not know why they chose to play that way.
My point is it’s inaccurate to claim Hilier told the team to play that way. And I don’t understand why people are still arguing that. Fairness and honesty still apply even when it’s inconvenient.
Click to expand...
IMO, they chose to play that way because the Oilers were pressing and they have McJesus that can fly out there. They simply were trying to put themselves into a position to try and contain him and not make a mistake. Once the ice tilted for the Oilers the Kings were toast, as usual.

This had been my position all playoffs long. Few wanted to believe it.
 
Dr. Tran said:
Maybe he didn’t tell them to sit back. But he saw what was happening & didn’t do anything about it.
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What can he do? He can tell them what to do, but the players have to be the ones to execute. Playing just 3 lines and 4.x D had the team probably a little fatigued after the Oilers started to turn up the heat. Once the players start to sit back, the Oilers tile the ice, the fatigue worsens. At that point it is hard to press, easier to make a mistake. Then the players fall deeper into trying to make safe plays and well, that is that.
 
dneprovec said:
LMAO
Kings confirm that both Coach Jim Hiller and GM Rob Blake will return
Los Angeles insiders at the Mayor NHL are reporting that both figureheads will return next year despite significant frustration from the fan base.
From everything we've been able to gather over the past 24 hours, it appears Blake and Hiller will remain in place for the 2025-26 season.
Click to expand...
 
King of Pentacle5 said:
Kuemper isn’t a FA. He’s signed through 2027. FAs this summer are Kuz, Gavi, Lewis, Jeannot, Ward and Rittich. IMO, four of those six will be gone. Only Jeannot and Ward will be extended. If I were Kuz and Gavi, I’d definitely be looking elsewhere. Both have increased their values.


And I doubt Kempe extends. I wouldn’t. He’ll tell Blake that he’s going to test the market in ‘26, forcing a trade. He’s due a big payday on an eastern team where he can be the star.⭐️
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I think getting all three of Gavi, Kuzy and Jeano to sign new contracts and remain in L.A. is not a foregone conclusion. And I agree about Juice looking to catch on with a real contender after his contract expires. Kempe would be a great fit (and a star) on many teams in the east. He can play in any style with that speed, shot and defensive strength. If talks stall and Blake could move him in a deal for a left shot #1 defenseman, he should consider pulling the trigger.
 
dneprovec said:
LMAO
Kings confirm that both Coach Jim Hiller and GM Rob Blake will return
Los Angeles insiders at the Mayor NHL are reporting that both figureheads will return next year despite significant frustration from the fan base.
From everything we've been able to gather over the past 24 hours, it appears Blake and Hiller will remain in place for the 2025-26 season.
Click to expand...

I doubt I'll be watching next year. Don't give a sh*t as long as Blake and especially Hiller are at the helm (and neither does management as far as giving a sh*t). Strive for 5 playoff exits to the same team Kings! Delay the rebuild literally forever. Ugh.
 
symbology said:
IMO, they chose to play that way because the Oilers were pressing and they have McJesus that can fly out there. They simply were trying to put themselves into a position to try and contain him and not make a mistake. Once the ice tilted for the Oilers the Kings were toast, as usual.

This had been my position all playoffs long. Few wanted to believe it.
Click to expand...
I think this is pretty accurate.
The ghosts of blowing that 3-0 lead a couple years ago are still in the Kings head.
We saw that from the first game of this series when the Kings kept squandering leads.
Credit where it’s due though with the Oilers in those situations. They know the Kings are fragile and just pressured relentlessly and the Kings got shaky. The constant pressure the Oilers applied kept the Kings hemmed in. Then it was flipping the puck out, or icing, both leading to long shifts and the Kings withered.

My suspicion on the controversial challenge is that Hilier saw that the Kings were playing scared. I think initially the belief was that Kane kicked the puck into the net. Once it was clear Kane got his stick on the puck the thought was perhaps Kane interfered with the goalie. Hiller knew the Kings were in trouble and thought his best hope was to win the challenge and try to hold on. I’m not defending the decision. I think it was unwise. But I honestly think the coach knew the Kings were wilting.

I hoped that the Kings had turned a corner. I thought they had managed to make the change from being afraid to lose to wanting to win. I think they just aren’t there yet.
 
symbology said:
Um, a little mistake here. Darcy is signed for another 2 years and is not a UFA.
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Thank you for the update symbology,I thought Kuemper was only signed through this season.If the Kings can somehow resign Kuz and Gavy,get a top 4 defenseman,then the Kings could be better than the 2024-2025 season.We shall see what the Kings have in store in the upcoming FA and/or trades
 
DoubleMinor said:
I think this is pretty accurate.
The ghosts of blowing that 3-0 lead a couple years ago are still in the Kings head.
We saw that from the first game of this series when the Kings kept squandering leads.
Credit where it’s due though with the Oilers in those situations. They know the Kings are fragile and just pressured relentlessly and the Kings got shaky. The constant pressure the Oilers applied kept the Kings hemmed in. Then it was flipping the puck out, or icing, both leading to long shifts and the Kings withered.

My suspicion on the controversial challenge is that Hilier saw that the Kings were playing scared. I think initially the belief was that Kane kicked the puck into the net. Once it was clear Kane got his stick on the puck the thought was perhaps Kane interfered with the goalie. Hiller knew the Kings were in trouble and thought his best hope was to win the challenge and try to hold on. I’m not defending the decision. I think it was unwise. But I honestly think the coach knew the Kings were wilting.

I hoped that the Kings had turned a corner. I thought they had managed to make the change from being afraid to lose to wanting to win. I think they just aren’t there yet.
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For the challenge, you can see Kane's right skate push Darcy's lower leg over the goal line and this helped pin/keep Darcy from moving to make the save. Not saying he would have.

Even Joaquin Gage who is on ETS said he thought there was maybe a 50/50 chance of the interference call being made. Either way it was risky making that challenge. Hiller was not focusing on the video, he let the video coaches make the call, which is what usually happens. They maybe said it was a 50/50 call and the fact that the Kings were folding may have allowed Hiller to think that a close call was worth pursuing.
 
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ChiKingFan said:
If the Oilers could dominate the Kings for 60 minutes like they did in the third and OT, they would. They dominate late in the game because the Kings stop trying to control the puck. And because Hiller thinks guys who played a successful 80 game season aren't good enough to play in the playoffs. Because Hiller is an idiot.
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So, what happened in the very next game?
 
King of Pentacle5 said:
Kuemper isn’t a FA. He’s signed through 2027. FAs this summer are Kuz, Gavi, Lewis, Jeannot, Ward and Rittich. IMO, four of those six will be gone. Only Jeannot and Ward will be extended. If I were Kuz and Gavi, I’d definitely be looking elsewhere. Both have increased their values.


And I doubt Kempe extends. I wouldn’t. He’ll tell Blake that he’s going to test the market in ‘26, forcing a trade. He’s due a big payday on an eastern team where he can be the star.⭐️
Click to expand...

I don't know. I think Kempe will be supper happy to play alongside McDavid after he signs with the Kings next summer.
 
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