Los Angeles Kings name Jim Hiller as next head coach

PUBLICATION

Noel Drolet
May 22, 2024 (8:48)

SHARE THIS STORY

The Los Angeles Kings are heading in a new direction, under their rookie coach Jim Hiller.

With the Kings' in season failures, they had to fire long term head coach Todd Mclellan and leave a vacancy at head coach. They chose assistant head coach Jim Hiller for promotion to interim head coach, giving him his first head coaching job.

Despite giving him the interim title, no one was sure if they'd renew him after the season. The Kings went 21-12-1 under Hiller, but dropped in 5 games to the Oilers in the playoffs. The Kings want to give him another shot however, and have stripped his interim title to make him full time head coach.

This move is a little surprising, and we'll have to wait to see if it's the right one. The Kings were great under Hiller in the regular season, but playoff success is very hard to come by.

This move does make a little sense though, when you look at the head coaching options left over. You've got guys like Woodcroft, Evason, Granato, Sullivan and more that were available. All these guys come with pretty big flaws such as inexperience or noted playoff failure.

The Kings seem to want a head coach who knows the players and the system really well, which is why they decided to hire within the organization. Only time will tell how this move will fare for the Kings, but with their young guys poised to take a step up this season and the new head coach they could be a real surprising team next season.