Kings' Rob Blake Era Ends

On breakup day for the team, they break up with their general manager, four days after their fourth straight first-round playoff loss to Edmonton.

This landed in my email inbox Monday morning:

The rest of the news release went on to note that during his eight years as their general manager, the Kings were 309-238-71 in the regular season for a .557 points percentage and that they clinched a berth in the Stanley Cup playoffs five times during his tenure. What wasn’t said is that they didn’t win any of those five playoff series, a rather crucial fact. They were swept by Vegas in 2018 and lost to Edmonton in seven, six, five, and six games the past four seasons.

Their most recent loss to Edmonton surely pushed the powers-that-be over the edge of their bring-Blake-back inertia and into realizing they weren’t making progress when it counted, in the postseason. Not winning a playoff series since 2014 is unacceptable, especially in a city where there are so many choices for fans to spend their entertainment dollars and fewer of those fans were spending dollars by attending Kings games last season. There had to be consequences. With Blake’s contract expiring, this was the right time for the two sides to part, whether mutually, as the press release said, or otherwise.

The 2024-25 version of the Kings was their most accomplished in a long time. Blake recently had redeemed himself from the mistake of his Pierre-Luc Dubois acquisition by dumping Dubois in a trade for goaltender Darcy Kuemper, who is a finalist for the Vezina trophy (awarded to the NHL’s top goalie). Blake’s trade deadline acquisition of impending free agent winger Andrei Kuzmenko was a low-risk, high reward move: Kuzmenko revived a power play that had lacked a right-handed triggerman and he meshed well on the first line with Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe.

The Kings’ defensive play was outstanding most of the season. The kids Blake had drafted or otherwise acquired had been moving slowly through the development system were making progress, though coach Jim Hiller still wasn’t playing some of them enough for them to maximize their growth. Quinton Byfield had stretches in which he carried the team offensively and was an exceptional two-way player, suggesting he’d be their future No. 1 center and potential captain. A season in which the Kings matched franchise records for wins (48) and points (105), set a franchise record with 31 home wins and finally finished ahead of Edmonton to earn home-ice advantage in the playoffs provided reason to believe they’d make it over the first-round hurdle that had brought them down the previous three playoff trips.

But after taking a 2-0 series lead the Kings short-circuited. They were unable to protect leads. Byfield made too many mistakes. Hiller—Blake’s fourth coach—was consistently outcoached by Edmonton’s Kris Knoblauch. As noted before here and elsewhere, Hiller made some bad calls strategically. He overplayed his veterans and underplayed the bottom three forwards and bottom two defensemen, leaving the core players tired and unable to do much more than sit back in a defensive posture that had no chance of holding up. If Hiller felt he couldn’t trust the younger players, maybe they weren’t the right players, and that’s on Blake. Maybe that’s on Hiller, too. Both can be true.

Hiller took part in exit-day media interviews on Monday, according to those who attended. He’s in limbo at the moment, because an incoming general manager usually is allowed to pick his own coach. Whether he stays depends on who gets the job.

The Kings’ press release said a search for Blake’s replacement would begin immediately. How widely they search will be interesting and will say a lot about how serious they are about changing their path forward.

They should go outside the organization and hire someone who can provide an honest evaluation of their assets and liabilities, but that would require an ability to absorb criticism. It’s not clear that team president Luc Robitaille and his bosses can do that or are willing to try that. The Kings’ front office had become an old boys’ network, filled with many of Blake’s friends. While his loyalty was heartwarming, it might not have been the best thing for the franchise.

The most likely GM candidate is Marc Bergevin, a former general manager of the Montreal Canadiens who was hired by the Kings in 2022 to become senior advisor to the general manager. Bergevin is a longtime friend of Robitaille’s, which immediately gives him a head start over the field. Robitaille can justify hiring Bergevin by saying he’s familiar with the players within the organization, which is true but isn’t necessarily what they need at the moment. They need a dispassionate, thorough analysis that will identify their building blocks and their shortcomings if they aspire to become more than a one-and-done playoff team.

The new general manager will inherit a host of problems. Kopitar and Drew Doughty, who have served nobly, clearly can’t effectively play the huge minutes they had been playing. They’re great players and likely Hall of Famers, so they’re not easy to replace. But Blake’s drafts and acquisitions didn’t put into place anyone who seems ready to take on those players’ roles of being a leader emotionally and statistically. Maybe Byfield grows into that. Or Mikey Anderson plays that role on defense. This is a team in need of an identity and strong-willed players who will forge that.

The new GM must find a way to keep defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov, who is an unrestricted free agent. Gavrikov’s shot-blocking and physicality made him a standout and a core player. Kuzmenko, also an unrestricted free agent, also is worth keeping. He brought an energy and creativity the Kings urgently needed. Both are likely to test the market. Gavrikov, 29, has the credentials to earn big bucks after finishing his two-year, $11.75 million deal, but even with the salary cap going up to $95.5 million next season, the Kings will have to do a lot of math. Here’s their status, per puckpedia.com.

Veteran Trevor Lewis, who was given playing time that would have been better allotted to younger players, also is an unrestricted free agent. He should get a handshake and heartfelt thanks but no contract. Rugged winger Tanner Jeannot, whose presence on the fourth line was missed during the playoffs while he recovered from a groin injury, is worth keeping.

Blake is scheduled to meet with reporters on Tuesday. To be fair, he made the Kings better in some ways, including, in the past few seasons, his signings of free agents Phillip Danault and Warren Foegele. He made mistakes beyond the Dubois trade, perhaps most notably in giving a big contract to goaltender Cal Petersen, who wasn’t ready to be an NHL starter and whom Blake later dumped in a three-way trade. Blake’s trade for prolific winger Kevin Fiala is a net plus, too, though defenseman Brock Faber has become dynamic force for the Minnesota Wild.

Internet speculation has suggested Blake was no longer enamored of the job. If that’s true—and the “mutual” element is truthful—walking away from rumored extension offers was an honorable move for him. The job requires nothing less than total commitment. If he no longer wanted to give that, at least he recognized it and walked away before he had to be dragged out from behind his desk.

Through eight years and four coaches, Blake and those above him could not make the Kings good enough to win one playoff round. Say that out loud. He had time and he had resources and he didn’t get the job done. They need someone to come in with a fresh approach to fixing what has become a tired, old problem.