The current team core has quit on 2 coaches. Kopi and Drew have their own history as I pointed out.
Well, if you concentrate on the current core...McLellan lasted 4,5 seasons, which is above average. Hiller was a rookie HC promoted from within and Rob foolishly gave him a 3 year contract, which backfired after it became apparent he isn't fit to be a head coach in the modern NHL. He seems like someone that could do well back in the day of no cap with a stacked team with clear cut hierarchy of proven vets with immaculate on-ice leadership and a track record of linemate chemistry, where he would be able to roll mostly 3 obvious lines/pairings and occasionally send out a goon line, playing trap game and trying to suffocate the opponent...and not worry about deciding when to challenge a ref's call.
He often seems very clueless with his line shuffling, his pressers are woeful, he seems very uncharismatic, has seemingly no authority and is likely bad at handling the communication with the players (similarly bad as he is handling the press).
I don't think "the core" (whoever that encompasses) was unreasonable to "quit" on a coach like this. The pressure to succeed is big and Hiller seemingly mishandled many situations, can't communicate for s*it and at the same time doesn't seem to have any authority whatsoever.
Most professional collectives have ups and downs, and when the pressure to succeed is high it's only reasonable to replace those who lead and assemble the collective rather than replace half of said collective.
Hiller getting fired mid-season wasn't planned, but the p*ss poor performance of this team in the last 6 games forced Ken's hand to act. In my opinion it's a good sign the team isn't fine with a coach that screams mediocrity, stagnation, spinning tires or whatever you want to call this situation. They can't go out and say out loud "we don't like our coach, we disagree with his coaching philosophy", they know better than that. So silent quitting is the only "hygienic" way to deal with this.
Now whether or not Ken will go with a "soft seller" approach or go "all in" to try and salvage something with DJ at the helm, or something in between...that remains to be seen. It's likely going to be based on how the team responds to the firing.
AI says DJ Smith is a good coach for young players and is a good at instilling confidence in players, so...maybe he finds a way to guide Byfield better than Hiller did and lays a solid foundation for next season without a radically different approach.
Senators were on the rise with him at the helm and then failed to meet the high expectations and he got fired. Perhaps that team was less suited to a defense-first coach than the Kings are, and it's not like Ottawa are now radically better with a different coach. From a much improved season after Smith's firing they are now looking into a bit of a regression again, despite improved roster in comparison and prediction they will be a sure bet playoff team this season. Though it is true the East is brutal this season...
