Breaking News: LA Kings Part Ways With GM Rob Blake

Breaking News: LA Kings Part Ways With GM Rob Blake

We have significant breaking news from the NHL regarding the Los Angeles Kings. They will be looking for a new GM as they part ways with Rob Blake. We’ll discuss the scenario coming up next. So, welcome back to another video here at TopShelf Hockey. As I mentioned, we have some pretty significant breaking news from the NHL. The Los Angeles Kings have announced that they’ve mutually agreed to part ways with general manager Rob Blake. Now, just to be totally clear here, this is not a case of Blake being fired. It was no secret that Rob Blake had no contract beyond the current season. Uh, essentially, they had decided uh to wait, see how the season went before they would engage in contract negotiations for an extension or decide what was next for the him personally and for the team. Now, of course, uh you know, this could be a case of the team deciding that they’d rather not resign him. We know that they had their fourth consecutive first round playoff loss to the same opponent, the Edmonton Oilers. Um, so obviously I’m sure they’re still looking through trying to figure out ways how they get over the hump here. Um, but obviously it was a mutual decision. So essentially, you know, it’s a little different than being fired, but at the end of the day, they’re still moving on. You’re still parting ways. It’s still significant change. Doesn’t really matter what the terminology here that you use. I mean, Rob Blake’s got a long history, of course, with the club as a player and as an executive, been in his current role. I believe he’s going on eight years and obviously was with the team in the front office in a different role for a few years prior to that. So, I mean, you know, he’s got a lot of history here obviously and, you know, somebody who’s got a ton of experience, but you know, unfortunately for Los Angeles, um, they were never really able to kind of get over the hump, so to speak. I mean, if you look at where things were at as a team when he first took over. It wasn’t too long after that when they kind of, you know, had to start doing things different, had to start rebuilding, had to start moving along with some veterans, and they were going through a rebuild, but, you know, ultimately, I don’t know, like to me, they rushed this rebuild, and I’m I’m not really sure that it was really what was best. I mean, did they get into the playoffs a lot quicker? I mean, obviously, you know, four consecutive first round losses. if you look at, you know, missing the playoffs for a few years before that, but you know, at the end of the day, I don’t know. I mean, they had Copitar, they had Dowy. I understand that those guys did not want to really go through a rebuild and that you don’t really want to waste their prime years, but um, you know, if you look at their record when they kind of made it clear that they were kind of starting to go through a rebuild. They didn’t do things a traditional way, and that’s not always a bad thing. There’s different ways of going about things. We’ve seen uh other teams go about their business different ways as well. Some work out um better than others. Um but the drafting and development for me was not overly strong. If you look at all their draft classes from, you know, the last seven, eight years, they really don’t have a lot on the roster for prospects that were taken by the team. The bulk of their team comes in via trade and free agency. Um obviously, and you know, without really looking at guys like Kopitar and Dowy, obviously they were drafted players. key cornerstones that was, you know, obviously put in place long before the Blake regime was running the franchise. But, you know, even looking at some high picks, a couple more recently like Biffield, of course, Brent Clark, but you know, outside of that, they’re they’re still, you know, nowhere near their ceiling yet either. Um, so they’re not having, you know, the impact on this team that they will down the road. But, you know, lots of other players that you had high hopes for, thought would have bigger roles by now, looking at like Alex Turkot and, you know, obviously even like Thomas and um, you know, lots of these other guys, a lot of the defenseman you thought would have bigger roles in the team. Uh, they’ve been flushed with a lot of prospects that just haven’t really taken that big step here in my opinion. Um, so, you know, we’ll see where things go. Obviously, they’re going to start a search immediately. I don’t know at this point. It’s it’s believed the coaching staff is is still in place. We haven’t heard anything about them being let go or anything. And I believe Jim Hiller was supposed to speak to the media this morning. So, clearly that’s not going to be something that happens immediately. I would suspect that, you know, Luke Robbitai, who’s the president of the team, would likely hire the next GM and let them make the decision on whether or not there’ll be changes within the coaching staff. I do wonder um who could be the next candidate to be that that role. It’s going to be a coveted role for sure. I mean they’re like I said they’re a team that’s got a lot of good pieces. Like you look at them and you’re like okay you know it’s yes they they may have rushed things. They may have been critical over how they got here but at the end of the day they did get here and they’re still a team that’s been a perennial playoff team. You know 100 point season. There’s definitely things there they can build off of. Um, so the next GM who takes over this team is definitely going to have a few tough decisions to make like they always do, but it’s going to be a covenant role. Uh, I do wonder about a guy like Mark Berseran. Now, I know he’s been mentioned as a um leading candidate for the New York Islanders because of course we know they’re going through um a regime change as well and they not only are hiring a GM, but a president as well. Uh there’s been some talk that Burjan might be more likely to be the the top candidate or one of the top ones for the role as president. At the same time, I know he was working with the Kings as an adviser to Blake. So, I don’t know if this will change things, if he’ll be considered a candidate for the GM job. I really don’t know what his first preference would be or if the team wants to go like outside in a completely new direction. It’s hard to say, but I think we’re probably going to hear Burj’s name more. Um, but certainly there’s going to be other uh candidates for sure. There’s lots of AGMs around the league that are looking for opportunities to uh to grow and get that next step. Uh, and there’s some real good ones out there as well. So, be curious to see what happens. If if it were me, I I would make a coaching change, too. I’m I’m not a Jim Hiller fan. I thought this time around in the playoffs for me was the worst loss of the four years that they’ve played the Edmonton Oilers. I thought they they had a phenomenal start to the series. of course, won the first two games. In game three, that coach’s challenge is what turned everything. They had a tie game. And you know what? If they don’t challenge that goal and give the Oilers an immediate power play that they scored on 10 seconds and the Oilers take that game, if they don’t that if you go back in time and that doesn’t happen, you don’t know what happens. Whoever scores that next goal probably wins the game. But you give yourself a chance. If LA manages to get that next goal like they did in game one after a comeback, it’s 3 0. It’s a whole different series. To me, that’s a turning point. Uh you combine that with the fact of the deployment and the uh the lack of playing time for the the bottom D’s and the the fourth line. I mean, I understand looking at it, maybe they’re not as deep as they need to be, too. Uh which is not all on the coaching staff, but I just felt like Hillary got out coached and made a few critical errors. um you know is as his first full season, first time as a head coach. Uh you maybe I’m being too hard on him. I just thought that uh those were critical mistakes that cost him the series, but uh otherwise, you know, like I said, there is there’s lots to like, but they definitely have to make some changes to get over the hump. So, let me know your thoughts. Who do you think could be a good candidate to be the next GM? Do they make coaching changes? Do they stick with Hillary and his staff? or you know what else do they do here to get uh to the next step. Let me know your thoughts in the comments. We’ll discuss further. If you’re new to the channel, of course, make sure you subscribe and stick around. We’ll keep you up to date with all the news, rumors, and analysis of all 32 NHL teams. Thanks for watching. I’ll catch you next time. [Music]

Breaking News: LA Kings Part Ways With GM Rob Blake

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