Jim Hiller was named the Los Angeles Kings’ temporary coach for the remainder of the season after Todd McLellan was fired on Friday.
“We want to thank Todd for his hard work and dedication to the organization,” vice president and general manager Rob Blake said.
“He has significantly advanced us and had a good effect on both our group and our community. Although it was not an easy choice to make, we believed that the change was required at this moment.Jim is a valued member of ours who is acquainted with our players. We have faith that he can guide our group through this crucial period with effectiveness.”
Though only four points out of a postseason berth, Los Angeles led the Western Conference and held the first wild-card spot heading into the All-Star break.
The Kings started the season with a record of 20-7-4, and after 31 games, they equaled the record for the most points in the history of the team with 44. Their record since the 28th of December is 3-8-6. A total of twelve points is tied for the fifth worst in the league, and the three wins are tied for the fewest in the league during that time period.
McLellan appeared relieved that the Kings defeated Nashville 4-2 on Wednesday before the break.
“We still have a long way to go get our game back, but to go into the break feeling a little bit good about ourselves is a real good thing,” he said after the game.
Lack of offense has been a major factor in the Kings’ recent downturn. In their last 17 games, they have only scored 2.35 goals per game, which is third-worst in the league.
…..McLellan was the Kings’ fifth-year bench boss. Before they were eliminated in the first round by Edmonton, he guided them to the Stanley Cup playoffs the previous two seasons. He became the eighth and fifth-fastest coach in franchise history to win 100 games (219 games) on October 31.
His career record is 598-412-134, and he is ranked 23rd in NHL history with 598 regular-season victories. McLellan coached in Edmonton for five seasons and San Jose for seven seasons before moving on to coach Los Angeles.
After spending eight seasons as an assistant with the New York Islanders, Toronto, and Detroit, Hiller—who was selected by the Kings in the tenth round of the 1989 draft—has been an assistant with the team for the last two seasons.
Hiller played in the Western Hockey League and British Columbia Hockey League for 12 seasons, including five as head coach of the Tri-City Americans, before entering the NHL.
Following the dismissals of Craig Berube of St. Louis, Jay Woodcroft of Edmonton, Dean Evason of Minnesota, and D.J. of Ottawa, McLellan is the sixth coach fired this season.
On the eve of training camp, Mike Babcock resigned from Columbus following an investigation into his habit of requesting to view player phones for photos.