LOS ANGELES (AP) — Rob Blake is out after eight seasons as the Los Angeles Kings' vice president and general manager.
The Kings announced a mutual parting with Blake on Monday, four days after Los Angeles lost to Edmonton in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. Blake was working on a three-year contract extension that concludes this summer.
Blake built a consistent regular-season winner with the Kings, but the team failed to win a playoff series during his tenure. Los Angeles tied its franchise records this season with 48 victories and 105 points while finishing second in the Pacific Division, but the Oilers eliminated the Kings yet again, this time in six games.
“Reaching this understanding wasn’t easy, and I appreciate Rob’s partnership in always working toward what is best for the Kings," team president Luc Robitaille said in a statement. "Rob deserves a great deal of credit and respect for elevating us to where we are today. He has been an important part of the Kings and will always be appreciated for what he has meant to this franchise.”
Blake was a Hall of Fame defenseman during a playing career spent mostly with the Kings, although he won his only Stanley Cup title with the Colorado Avalanche. Blake, whose No. 4 is retired in the rafters of the Kings' downtown arena, retired in 2010 and joined the Kings' front office during the 2013-14 season, Los Angeles' second Stanley Cup championship campaign.
He replaced Dean Lombardi, who built the two championship-winning teams, as the Kings' GM in April 2017. Blake led the Kings back to relevance after a three-year playoff absence, and they went 309-238-71 in his eight seasons despite failing to win a division title.
But the Kings lost in the first round of the playoffs five times during Blake's tenure, winning just eight total games in those five series. Los Angeles has exited in each of the past four seasons at the hands of Connor McDavid's club, unable to withstand the Oilers' offensive onslaught.
Los Angeles won the first two games of its series against Edmonton last month, but then lost four in a row to crash out of the playoffs yet again amid growing fan discontent.
“It’s a hard day,” captain Anze Kopitar said Monday. “I’ve known Blakey for 20 years now. He was my teammate before he was our GM, but more importantly, he’s our friend. I think he did a good job building this team. I think we showed it this year. It (stinks) to see that we didn’t deliver and didn’t move on, and he paid the price for it, really. He’s a very exceptional human, and looking back now, he’s done a lot for me as a player, as a GM, as a mentor. At least for a little bit next year, it’s going to be weird not having him around.”
Blake fired head coach Todd McLellan and promoted assistant Jim Hiller in February 2024 during a difficult stretch. Hiller led the Kings to two standout regular-season finishes, but no postseason advancement.
Moments after Blake's departure was announced, Hiller said he hadn't spoken to Robitaille about his future.
“I’ll be talking with Luc at some point, I’m sure, but I do understand whenever there’s change like that, significant change, there’s usually more,” said Hiller, who is 69-37-10 in 1 1/2 seasons in his first NHL head coaching job.
The Kings' next general manager will have several significant decisions to make beyond Hiller's fate, but the two veteran pillars of the team's roster from the championship years could remain in place.
Kopitar said Monday he will return in the fall for his 20th season with the club, while 17-year veteran defenseman Drew Doughty has two years left on a high-priced contract after missing much of the current campaign while recovering from a preseason injury.
Blake repeatedly took big swings to acquire top-end talent during his tenure, trying anything in his power to build a championship roster. He had big hits and big misses.
Blake traded three solid players to Winnipeg in June 2023 for center Pierre-Luc Dubois, who made it only one poor season into a lavish eight-year contract before being offloaded to Washington for veteran goaltender Darcy Kuemper — who made the Dubois debacle look better by becoming a Vezina Trophy finalist this season.
Blake also traded promising young defenseman Brock Faber in a package for Kevin Fiala, although the Swiss forward has largely delivered the goals sought by Los Angeles, including a team-leading 35 this season. Blake also traded away Jonathan Quick, the Kings' Conn Smythe Trophy winner in 2012 and the goalie of both championship teams.
Blake's draft history is not impressive, although he landed center Quinton Byfield at No. 2 overall in 2020 and found defensemen Brandt Clarke and Jordan Spence.
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AP freelancer writer Dan Greenspan in El Segundo, California, contributed to this report.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL
Greg Beacham, The Associated Press
