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Jim Hiller will remain the head coach of the Los Angeles Kings after being removed from the interim tag on Wednesday by vice president and general manager Rob Blake.
LOS ANGELES: Jim Hiller will remain head coach of the Los Angeles Kings after the interim tag was removed Wednesday by vice president and general manager Rob Blake.
The Kings were 21-12-1 in the regular season under Hiller after Todd McLellan was fired on Feb. 2. But Los Angeles was eliminated by Edmonton in the first round of the playoffs for the third year in a row.
Under Hiller, the Kings were second in penalty kicks during the regular season and had the league’s best home record after the All-Star break, but neither featured in the postseason as The Oilers won the series in five games.
Edmonton was 9 of 20 on the power play during the playoffs while the Kings did not score on any of their 12 opportunities with the man advantage. Los Angeles also lost both home games after winning nine of its last 10 in the regular season.
Hiller was an assistant coach with the Kings for two seasons after eight as an assistant with the New York Islanders, Toronto and Detroit. A 10th round pick by the Kings in 1989, he became the 18th coach in NHL history to make his head coaching debut with the team that originally drafted them.
Prior to his NHL coaching career, Hiller spent 12 seasons in the Western Hockey League and British Columbia Hockey League, including five years as head coach with the Tri-City Americans.
Los Angeles has reached the playoffs four times during GM Blake’s tenure, but failed to advance beyond the first round. The Kings have not won a playoff series since winning their second Stanley Cup in three years in 2014.
The prospects for a breakthrough in a tough Pacific Division appear difficult.
Team captain Anze Kopitar will turn 37 in August and defender Drew Doughty will turn 35 in December.
Los Angeles doesn’t have many prospects in its minor league league in Ontario, California, and has cap issues. David Rittich is their only goalkeeper under contract for next season.
Hiller also has to find a way to get Pierre-Luc Dubois at tackle. The Kings acquired Dubois from Winnipeg and signed him to an eight-year, $68 million contract last season. The center had no chemistry with anyone on the team and had career lows for a full season in goals (16) and points (40).
During the Edmonton series, Dubois was often on the fourth line.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – Associated Press)
