Well, that was a Monday.
Last Thursday, the Kings were eliminated from the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Less than one week later, there’s uncertainty about what’s next in LA hockey circles. Over the weekend, we had a report that GM Rob Blake and coach Jim Hiller were both likely to return. Earlier today, Blake’s tenure came to an end after eight years. Now, the team is looking for a new GM, with a search set to begin immediately and led by team President Luc Robitaillle. Below is some additional context on the past 72 hours, as well as a very early look ahead to what’s next.
Looking Back Before Forward
For those who like context, we can provide a bit here. None of this is an excuse or backpedaling off our initial report. We stand by what was previously published and here’s why…
From a timeline perspective, nothing was really expected to be said about Blake or Hiller on Friday because the team was flying back to Los Angeles that day. In the early evening, we began hearing that despite the Kings loss to the Oilers, both Blake and Hiller were likely to come back. We didn’t report it at the time because the intel wasn’t strong enough quite yet. We typically like multiple sources to confirm something before we report it. And the strength of each source (i.e. their connection to the Kings or the specific situation weighs into the sort of confidence one has in the information begin gathered).
Saturday morning, we talked to several people close to the situation. All agreed with the sentiment that Blake and Hiller were likely coming back. We published a headline stating – ‘REPORT: Blake and Hiller Likely to Remain with Kings for 2025-26 Season’ and the key paragraph in that article stated:
Hence, that was the best and most accurate information available at that time. It was not a guarantee. However, in the spirt of full disclosure, we had two conversations later on Saturday afternoon with additional key sources (i.e. people who are about as close to the inner workings of the team’s leadership as possible, without being named Phil Anschutz) who shared a belief that Blake wanted to come back and the prevailing thought would be to retain him. Again, still nothing concrete because a contract extension hadn’t been signed yet.
We heard nothing of substance on Sunday. Come Monday morning, the announcement was made Blake isn’t returning. Why? How? What happened? Was it really mutual or is it a polite cover story to allow a Hall of Famer to bow out with the class and dignity he deserves?
From everything we have been able to gather, this was 100% Blake’s decision. Many in the organization were said to be shocked at hearing the news today. Like we reported previously, most of the internal scuttlebutt from the people we spoke with was centered around a likely return. In the end, Blake made the decision, apparently choosing family time over discussing a potential extension (or even waiting for the Kings to make the exit decision for him).
There are three sides to every story. Will the whole story ever come out? Maybe. Sometimes it does, and sometimes it doesn’t.
Despite what was discussed over the weekend, clearly the only person who really knew what was happening with Blake’s future was Blake. When did he know? No later than 9am today.
3 Potential Kings GM Candidates
With the past out of the way, we now turn to the future. There’s a GM opening in LA. What will the organization choose to do next? Below are some candidates worth considering.
Mark Yannetti
– Longtime followers of this website need no introduction to the man everybody simply calls Yank. For more than a decade I’ve referred to him as the ‘Smartest Man in Hockey.’ Many listeners of our podcast have come to agree, as through the years, his episodes have become instant classics. He explains things in a manner few if anybody can come close to. He’s steadfast in his opinions, yet is also admittedly open minded enough to change his mind when somebody (or something) can prove him wrong or show him a better way.
Where things with Yannetti get interesting is that he is almost the perfect balance when weighing what the organization might need — or even desire — in a candidate. He’s close enough to the inner workings of the team over the last five years that he’s up to speed on all the current reasonings behind key moves the organization made. Thus, there should be little ramp up time needed. He can easily hit the ground running on that front. He also has ties to the successful Cup years, so he’s seen the full arch from being on top of the world, through the rebuild, and then now to the current version of the roster. Yet, he’s also an outsider to a degree. He wasn’t the Assistant GM under Blake, he didn’t live in LA, he was in the second rung of the inner circle. He wasn’t Blake’s right hand man, so his ideas are most likely shaped by a combination of the Cup years, the current years, and his own philosophies and beliefs. That should be a very good thing for the organization.
Anybody who has ever come away from a conversation with Yannetti is smarter for the experience. Having him at the helm in LA could be a master class in hockey evolution. He’s continually reinvented his approach over the past 10 years. And his loyalty to the organization should more than earn him an interview.
Mike Futa
– He absolutely should be interviewed for the position, as well. Futa is the former AGM who left when Blake was the GM. He obviously has ties to the organization and is very familiar with most of the same earlier era information Yannetti is. The difference is likely all in how the organization views his time away. He’s been out of a management role for several years. In theory, that’s probably given him time to refresh, reflect, and a return would be a shot at redemption. All of those can be extremely motivating. We’ve seen plenty of examples across various sports leagues where a coach or GM leave a longtime job and then spend a year or two over on the media side, only to ultimately return to their true calling.
Few who have ever been employed by the Kings understand the GM role like Futa does. After all, he’s a former OHL GM and was even Executive of the Year in that league. While differences between the NHL can easily be pointed out, he adapted just fine once he was brought to LA and was one of Dean Lombardi’s most trusted confidants during the former’s time in the big chair. In speaking to one highly respected, senior-level hockey manager (not employed by the Kings), he quickly noted that Futa has done everything to properly train for the GM role, that his experience and expertise is top tier. Better yet, Futa was with the Kings when many of the current managers and scouts at various levels were brought into the organization. Thus, once again, the ramp up time would be minimal.
Final thought here, Lombardi does not want to be a GM again from what we’ve gathered over the past few years. However, could Futa maybe entice him to sign on as a senior advisor — a role many successful teams utilize? For example, Lombardi had longtime NHL executive Jack Ferreira by his side for years.
Marc Bergevin
– He’s a similar, yet different candidate. All three of the guys listed here have some high-level similarities when it comes to ties to the organization. Yet, make no mistake about it, they are each very different in their own ways. Yannetti is the common thread from the old guard to the new guard; he has the most complete perspective. Futa is bit of a hybrid, in that he knows a lot about the Lombardi years, some of the early Blake years stuff, and then has seen the world from a fresh perspective over the past five years. Meanwhile, Bergevin is relatively new to the Kings, joining in 2009 as an advisor.
Yes, he has strong ties to team Robitaille. Putting that topic aside, there is more to consider.
Bergevin is the only person on this initial list of three candidates to have actually played in the NHL (he was a third-round draft pick who played over 1,100 NHL games). Does that matter? It didn’t seem to hurt Lombardi; that’s one perspective. AEG/Kings leadership will most certainly have their own thoughts about how important that experience may or may not be. Bergevin was also the Blackhawks Director of Player Personnel when they won the Stanley Cup in 2010. He later was the Canadiens GM when they went to the Stanley Cup Final in 2021 (aka the bubble year). During his reign in Montreal, the 59-year-old also finished second in GM of the Year voting (2014 and 2021).
Other Potential Names
We won’t go into details on these other names, only pass a few along that may come up in the process. Why these names? Because every name on this secondary list have either former GM experience or they’re currently in significant management roles with the Kings. Just an opinion here, but we assume that if AEG/Kings management wants to go outside the organization — and not use the list of candidates above — it will most likely be to hire somebody with experience.
Nelson Emerson – current AGM
Glen Murray – current Sr. Director of Player Personnel
Chuck Fletcher – former Flyers GM
Ron Hextall – former Penguins GM
Jarmo Kekalainen – former Blue Jackets GM
Ken Holland – former Oilers GM
Pierre Dorion – former Senators GM
Lou Lamoriello – former Islanders GM
Next Steps in the Process
Circling back to Hiller, during his exit interview (linked below), he seemed to indicate that he hadn’t had any conversations with upper management about not returning. From the outside looking in, he has a contract for next season and the fact the team let him meet with the media today would at least suggest he’s more likely to come back than not. However, as Hiller essentially said, he’s familiar enough with the business side of things to know that the new GM may have some input into his ultimate future.
The next shoe in this entire conversation will drop on Tuesday afternoon. Robitaille is scheduled to meet with the media, where he can address all the events since Friday, as well as what’s next in the Kings GM search.
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