Los Angeles Kings head coach Todd McLellan during a game against the New York Rangers, in Los Angeles, Calif., on Jan. 20.Jayne Kamin-Oncea/The Associated Press
The Los Angeles Kings fired coach Todd McLellan on Friday and named Jim Hiller the interim coach for the rest of the season.
“We want to thank Todd for his hard work and dedication to the organization,” vice president and general manager Rob Blake said in a statement. “He has done a tremendous job in moving us forward and making a positive impact on our group and in our community. This was not an easy decision, but we felt the change was necessary at this time. Jim is a well-respected member of our staff who is familiar with our players. We are confident in his ability to lead our team effectively during this pivotal time.”
Los Angeles went into the All-Star break with the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference, but only four points from falling out of a playoff spot.
The Kings had a 20-7-4 start to the season, with the 44 points tied for the most in team history after 31 games. Since Dec. 28, they have gone 3-8-6. The three wins are tied for fewest in the league in that span and the 12 points are tied for the fifth worst.
McLellan had seemed relieved that the Kings went into the break with a 4-2 win over Nashville on Wednesday.
“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.
A big reason for the Kings’ recent slump is lack of offence. They are averaging just 2.35 goals per game in their last 17 outings, third-worst in the league.
McLellan was in his fifth season behind the Kings’ bench. He led them to the Stanley Cup playoffs the past two seasons before they were eliminated by Edmonton in the first round. On Oct. 31, he became the eighth coach in franchise history to win 100 games and the fifth fastest to do so (219 games).
He has a career mark of 598-412-134 with his 598 regular-season wins ranking 23rd in NHL history. Prior to coaching Los Angeles, McLellan spent five seasons with Edmonton and seven in San Jose.
Hiller. a 10th round pick by the Kings in the 1989 draft, has been an assistant with the team the past two seasons after eight seasons as an assistant with the New York Islanders, Toronto and Detroit. Prior to his NHL coaching career, Hiller spent 12 seasons in the Western Hockey League and British Columbia Hockey League, including five years as head coach with the Tri-City Americans.
McLellan is the sixth coach fired this season, following Edmonton’s Jay Woodcroft, Minnesota’s Dean Evason, St. Louis’ Craig Berube, Ottawa’s D.J. Smith and the Islanders’ Lane Lambert. Mike Babcock resigned at Columbus on the eve of training camp after an investigation into his practice of asking to see photos on players’ phones.