Hiller Hotseat Thread

symbology said:
If he asked, or......

If the Kings fall out of they playoffs by the deadline and teams were asking about him. They would ask him, but the decision would be his to make, he does have a full no movement clause.
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Something tells me Kopitar's favorite Kendrick Lamar song is : LOYALTY. So, this is his forever home.
ice hockey hug GIF by NHL
 
Vincent Z. Mercogliano
By Vincent Z. Mercogliano
Feb. 3, 2026Updated 7:13 pm PST




TARRYTOWN, N.Y. — With less than 24 hours remaining until the NHL’s Olympic roster freeze, which begins at 3 p.m. Wednesday and lasts until Feb. 23, all eyes around the league are on the New York Rangers.

Will they trade star winger Artemi Panarin before the freeze goes into effect? Most believe the answer is yes, but the situation is both complex and fluid.

The primary holdup is that it’s taking time for Panarin’s agent, Paul Theofanous, to sort through all of the options. Panarin holds a full no-movement clause, which gives him the power to shop around and handpick his next team. The Rangers can’t do anything until the 34-year-old winger gives them the green light.

The Rangers attempted to accelerate that process by holding Panarin out of the last three games for “roster management” purposes, but the player’s desire to sign an extension wherever he goes has slowed negotiations. He’s aiming high on what could be the final contract of his career, which adds a complicating layer for many interested teams.

As we’ve been writing for weeks, multiple league sources believe that Florida is his preferred destination. That’s an advantage for the two-time champion Panthers, as well as, it seems, the Tampa Bay Lightning. The former came up in a few conversations on Tuesday, and recent buzz has increased around the Lightning.

The problem is, the extension piece won’t come easily for either Sunshine State club. That’s not to say it’s impossible — both general managers, Bill Zito for Florida and Julien BriseBois for Tampa, have shown the ability to get creative in pursuit of what they want — but are either willing to move the mountains required to get it done? That’s a lingering question.

Other suitors believed to have been involved, namely the Carolina Hurricanes, Los Angeles Kings, San Jose Sharks and Washington Capitals, have more salary-cap flexibility. They presumably remain in the mix, but it’s less clear how keen Panarin is on going to any of those teams.
 
In response to my question, Kings GM Ken Holland has full confidence Jim Hiller and his staff

For an AEG owned team, run by Luc taking direction from Danny B.,......allow me to translate the above:

Our fans continue to back Hiller as well. We know this because they keep spending their money on the team, and continue to watch and listen to the games. We follow the money.....errrr....what our fans want.
 
Unless there is a lifeboat that could step in, be an upgrade and take over, Hiller will be staying until the end of the season. I'm not a fan of his coaching, but I'd be very surprised if there was a change. End of last season would have been the ideal time imho, as his playoff decision making was ROUGH.
 
Some here say that it would be pointless to change coach now, this since the players would still be the same so what’s the point. I don’t buy it! A coaching change is exactly what this team need!

Take Columbus as example, they have now got 22 out of 24 possible points since their coaching change! They haven’t changed one thing, except the coach!

There is no way I believe that all the Kings player collectively gets so much worse, has a negative development or all of the sudden lacks true heart, grit and hustle and that the coach isn’t the reason. Of course it has everything to do with 🤡 Hiller sucking every bit of air out of them!!!

My favorite team here in Sweden (Färjestad) played way below their expectations this season. They played bad, but the most worrying thing was that they seemed to not care. They changed coach, to someone with a completely different personality and coaching style, now they look like a completely different team and shows a lot of heart in everything they do on the ice!

Nothing but the coach has changed, just saying…
 
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emsomaso said:
Some say that it would be pointless to change coach now, this since the players would still be the same so what’s the point. I don’t buy it! A coaching change is exactly what this team need!

Take Columbus as example, they have now got 22 out of 24 possible points since their coaching change! They haven’t change one thing, except the coach!

There is no way I believe that all the Kings player collectively gets so much worse, has a negative development or all of the sudden lacks true heart, grit and hustle and that the coach isn’t the reason. Of course it has everything to do with 🤡 Hiller sucking every bit of air out of them!!!

My favorite team here in Sweden (Färjestad) played way below their expectations this season. They played bad, but the most worrying thing was that they seemed to not care. They changed coach, to someone with a completely different personality and coaching style, now they look like a completely different team and shows a lot of heart in everything they do on the ice!

Nothing but the coach has changed, just saying…
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I know there was a a lot of dislike for Hiller. And it’s clear this team is having a very mediocre season. And people direct most of the negativity towards the Coach. I get that. It’s not abnormal. I’ve done it myself over the years.

I don’t care who the Kings coach is. None of them really matter to me. If the team plays well I’m happy with it. If they play poorly I’m not.

I don’t know what the issue(s) is with this team. They are wildly inconsistent. They cannot play well for extended periods of time.

I have come to believe that this team is just not keying well individually or as a team. Seems like every night there are a few players who cannot handle the puck. Not the same ones, a variety of them. Just a couple guys batting the puck around and coughing it up. It ruins the momentum and the flow. It’s different players but it’s commonplace this year.
Add in the high risk-high reward style of Fiala and it’s just too much frustration. (And I actually like Fiala.).

The sense that this inconsistency is due to Hiller could be accurate. But I don’t see it. At least yet.
Last season a line comprised of Danault, Moore & Foegele combined for 50 goals. This year, same guys, same system, same coach and these three through 40+ games (when Danault was traded) had barely 10. Combined.
How is that solely the coach?

There is a belief that the team has turned on or lost confidence in the coach, with a predominate belief that Hillers decisions in the playoff series are the reason.
I agree Hiller made curious decisions in that series. Some criticisms are valid. Some I do not believe are.

If it was true that the players did not want Hiller as coach, particularly the vets like Kopi, DD, Kempe, Anderson (perhaps even Danault) would have been more than able to make those feelings known to Holland when he became GM, and I have little doubt Holland did have conversations with some team leaders about that specifically. Holland was perfectly within his right to let Hiller go, especially as an incoming GM and a coach who’s contract had expired. Holland chose to keep Hiller and give him a three-year contract. That wouldn’t have happened if the players did not support Hiller, or made their reservations clear.

I’m old enough that I’ve seen a lot of things. I still value merit even though that is not as pertinent as it should be.
I don’t care who the coach is. I have no personal investment in it whatsoever. I just want to believe that a coach should keep his job until he has shown he isn’t capable. I don’t think we honestly or fairly know that yet. I know others feel that question has been answered.

Personally, I am far more disturbed with the player’s performance this year than the coach. Is one returning player from last year performing as well or better than last year? I can’t think of even one. Maybe Mikey or Laffy. But lots of them are underperforming.
 
DoubleMinor said:
I know there was a a lot of dislike for Hiller. And it’s clear this team is having a very mediocre season. And people direct most of the negativity towards the Coach. I get that. It’s not abnormal. I’ve done it myself over the years.

I don’t care who the Kings coach is. None of them really matter to me. If the team plays well I’m happy with it. If they play poorly I’m not.

I don’t know what the issue(s) is with this team. They are wildly inconsistent. They cannot play well for extended periods of time.

I have come to believe that this team is just not keying well individually or as a team. Seems like every night there are a few players who cannot handle the puck. Not the same ones, a variety of them. Just a couple guys batting the puck around and coughing it up. It ruins the momentum and the flow. It’s different players but it’s commonplace this year.
Add in the high risk-high reward style of Fiala and it’s just too much frustration. (And I actually like Fiala.).

The sense that this inconsistency is due to Hiller could be accurate. But I don’t see it. At least yet.
Last season a line comprised of Danault, Moore & Foegele combined for 50 goals. This year, same guys, same system, same coach and these three through 40+ games (when Danault was traded) had barely 10. Combined.
How is that solely the coach?

There is a belief that the team has turned on or lost confidence in the coach, with a predominate belief that Hillers decisions in the playoff series are the reason.
I agree Hiller made curious decisions in that series. Some criticisms are valid. Some I do not believe are.

If it was true that the players did not want Hiller as coach, particularly the vets like Kopi, DD, Kempe, Anderson (perhaps even Danault) would have been more than able to make those feelings known to Holland when he became GM, and I have little doubt Holland did have conversations with some team leaders about that specifically. Holland was perfectly within his right to let Hiller go, especially as an incoming GM and a coach who’s contract had expired. Holland chose to keep Hiller and give him a three-year contract. That wouldn’t have happened if the players did not support Hiller, or made their reservations clear.

I’m old enough that I’ve seen a lot of things. I still value merit even though that is not as pertinent as it should be.
I don’t care who the coach is. I have no personal investment in it whatsoever. I just want to believe that a coach should keep his job until he has shown he isn’t capable. I don’t think we honestly or fairly know that yet. I know others feel that question has been answered.

Personally, I am far more disturbed with the player’s performance this year than the coach. Is one returning player from last year performing as well or better than last year? I can’t think of even one. Maybe Mikey or Laffy. But lots of them are underperforming.
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I overlooked Clark who is an exception. My mistake. He is playing better than last season.
 
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