Ken Holland was officially introduced as general manager of the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday. The Kings were going to need a new general manager after the team and Rob Blake decided to part ways and time will tell if Holland will be the right person for the job.
The objective for Holland is clear and that is to improve the roster to get it in a place that not only can advance in the playoffs but reach the Stanley Cup Finals. The Kings have gotten to the playoffs now four straight seasons but each year lost to the Edmonton Oilers, a team that Holland helped build as general manager from 2019 through 2024.
On Thursday, Holland gave some hints on what exactly the offseason might look like for the Los Angeles Kings and for some fans they are probably going to be disappointed. The plan is not to completely rebuild the franchise but build on what they did last year.
Jim Hiller will return as head coach of the Los Angeles Kings
This means that most of the franchise structure will stay intact, from the front office, but also for head coach Jim Hiller. During the press conference, Holland made it clear that Hiller will be the head coach and was seemingly impressed with what he was able to do in the regular season, highlighting the fact that the Kings had 105 points during the regular season on multiple occasions.
It also seems clear that the Kings will not only be bringing back Anze Kopitar but also Drew Doughty. The new Kings' general manager said he already spoke with both players and this could be a good indication that he values their input and sees them as part of the plan moving forward.
Fans should be excited about this one statement from Ken Holland
For the fans that were hoping for significant changes, they may not get it in the form of subtraction of Hiller or Doughty but it definitely appears that the Kings are going to be aggressive in free agency. During the press conference, Holland confirmed that he will be spending right up to the salary cap.
"The LA Kings want to be in the big boy league", said Holland. "We're going to be prepared to go to the cap."
This gives the Kings plenty of flexibility to not only bring back some of their free agents but also attract some of the top free agents that should be available this summer. Holland did say, that they are not going to just spend it to spend it but it certainly sounds like they want to be aggressive and go after the top-tier free agents.