The Los Angeles Kings have officially relieved head coach Jim Hiller of his duties with the team in the West this regular season late this weekend.
Los Angeles Kings fire head coach Jim Hiller after 175 games as the bench boss for the franchise
The Kings' team officially announced on Sunday morning (March 1) that Hiller has been "relieved of his duties" late this weekend in early March this month. Associate coach D.J. Smith will take over as the interim head coach for the Kings for the rest of this regular season for general manager Ken Holland and LA.
Kings' player development coach and former veteran defenseman Matt Greene will be an assistant coach for the rest of this regular season for LA (per David Pagnotta).
This news of the Kings and Holland in the front office parting ways with Hiller comes after LA shut out the Calgary Flames on the scoreboard on Saturday night (Feb. 28) by a score of 2-0. The Kings had suffered two humiliating losses on the scoreboard in the West in the Pacific Division coming out of the break for the Olympics this past week against the Vegas Golden Knights and Edmonton Oilers in back-to-back games.
There was ups and downs in the West in the Pacific Division this regular season for Hiller and the Kings that kept LA out of a spot in the postseason this upcoming playoffs in the standings this campaign.
"At this point in the season, we believe a change in leadership is necessary to give our group the best opportunity to reach its potential and compete at the level we expect. These decisions are never made lightly, but our responsibility is to position this team for success now and moving forward."Ken Holland on Jim Hiller
This regular season in the West, the Kings had struggled to consistently win games in the Pacific Division in the playoffs. The Kings posted a record of 24-21-14 this regular season in the West in the Pacific Division, good for 62 points in the standings.
It wasn't enough in the standings in the West for Hiller and the Kings to be in fifth place in the Pacific Division standings this regular season while being one of the worst teams in the league in the NHL on home ice at Crypto.com Arena this past few months this campaign.
Hiller only spent one full season with the Kings as the head coach for the team. He was an assistant coach for the Kings in the 2022-23 season before being promoted to the head coaching role for LA in February 2024 in the 2023-24 campaign in the West a couple of years ago.
In the one season Hiller was the Kings' head coach for the full year in the West for a complete 82 games this past year, LA posted 48 wins and 105 total points in the standings in the Pacific Division. But this past regular season for the Kings in the West ended with a fourth straight year in the postseason losing in the first round to the Oilers in six games.
Smith has head coaching experience in the East in the league in the NHL with the Ottawa Senators for four seasons in the Atlantic Division. He led the Senators to the best sixth-place finish in the 2022-23 season in the East in the Atlantic Division, with 86 points and 39 total wins in the standings. Smith was fired midway in the 2023-24 season for the Senators a couple of years ago.
Greene has been with the Kings' team for eight seasons, including this past five years as a player development coach for the franchise.