In the days following LA’s elimination from this year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs, we reported there was a greater than 50% chance Jim Hiller would be losing his ‘interim’ tag and officially be named as the Kings head coach for 2024-25.
GM Rob Blake then confirmed and elaborated on this information when asked about it during his end of season press conference last Monday.
“The mandate with Jimmy when he took over was get us in the playoffs,” explained Blake. “There was going to be some change, but it wasn’t dramatic or drastic enough. There are some things he wants to implement in this team. We want to meet with him and do that. We’re confident in his presence and the passion that he brings, confident in the message he gives, his communication skills and all that … We’ll meet with him and just go over exact changes that he would feel would go into place before we get a decision.”
Blake later shared that he would like to see the team keep its solid defensive structure, especially considering the Kings gave up the third fewest goals against.
“You don’t want to deviate too far from that,” said LA’s GM.
This is a key point when thinking about the future. More on that in a minute, though.
Meanwhile, the offense will need some help, not only with new players injected into the lineup, but also with its approach to scoring.
“We’re still at league average [there],” Blake acknowledged. “There are different ways to [improve] that, whether it’s off the rush, whether it’s plays to the slot, chances from the slot, etc. We have to increase [the offensive output].”
Which brings us back to the coaching. Hiller, who guided the team to a 21-12-1 record after taking over at the All-Star break, moved into the head role after serving 10 years as an NHL assistant. He also was a head coach in the WHL for eight seasons. Thus, his time behind the bench has already far exceeded his time sitting on one as a player after being drafted in 1989.
He’s currently preparing to pitch Blake and others involved with Kings management on his ideas for how to open up the offense. He was known around the NHL for being a power play guru even prior to being hired two years ago. He fixed things up in Detroit, Toronto and New York, then promptly improved LA’s numbers with the man advantage last year. Curiously, the Kings power play stagnated in the playoffs this year.
To be fair, Hiller is not totally responsible for the Kings lackluster offense down the stretch and into the postseason. As has been covered repeatedly since he was put in the interim role, he was largely tasked with keeping everything as it was, just fixing the team’s mindset. There wasn’t time for wholesale changes during the season. Now, there is — and that’s why management is so curious to hear his ideas.
Upon his bump up the Kings coaching ranks, Hiller was also allowed to bring in D.J. Smith as an assistant. The two had worked together previously in Toronto, so the onboarding time was able to be kept rather short.
While not confirmed, we’ve also heard that Smith has a contract in place — or something similar — if Hiller is retained as coach. From our understanding, there is something similar to a team option to retain Smith for next season, should they sit fit.
And let’s not forget how Trent Yawney factors into all of this. He joined the Kings in 2019 when Todd McLellan was brought in as head coach. It is believed — again, though, not confirmed — that Yawney has one year remaining on his contract.
The 59-year-old former defenseman has worked alongside McLellan at multiple stops around the NHL. With Mclellan currently interviewing in places like Toronto and New Jersey, he’s expected to land somewhere in the weeks ahead? Will be come calling for Yawney? If so, will he want to join his friend and put the band back together someplace else?
Regardless, that’s only one side of the coin.
There’s also the matter of how Blake and the Kings see things. They have yet to confirm Yawney will be back in LA next season, assuming that it’s a decision that starts with Hiller’s status. If Hiller returns, he’ll weigh in heavily on that decision. If a different head coach is brought in from the outside, who will that coach prefer to have run the Kings defense?
Then there’s also Smith. Not to say that a team can’t have two ‘defensive-minded’ assistant coaches, but let’s not discount the fact that Smith was a defenseman by trade, thus his strengths largely fit on that side of the puck.
Short of bringing in another assistant to complement the aforementioned trio, it would at least seem curious to have two former defensemen as assistants on a team looking to open up the offense. Given Hiller’s longstanding relationship with Smith, perhaps Yawney will be the odd man out when all the dust settles over the next few weeks.
Time will tell.
Hiller’s status will be the first of many dominos this summer.
RELATED CONTENT:
Follow @mayorNHL
Continue reading...
