LA Kings announce major firing after 4th straight playoff loss to Oilers

Reports surfaced earlier this week that the Kings would be committing to keeping both coach Jim Hiller and GM Blake, but now it appears only Blake will be departing.

Rob Blake has served as the GM of the Los Angeles Kings since 2017, and has never once moved past the first round of the playoffs.

With the last 4 losses at the hands of the Edmonton Oilers, someone had to go to achieve change for Los Angeles. A mutually agreed separation is still a firing.

Although Coach Jim Hiller took a ton of criticism for his role in the Kings loss - like heavily shortening his bench, making a costly challenge, and failing to adjust - he's only been around for 2 playoff runs, and has more leeway after a successful regular season. Though Kings fans are a little irked Hiller will return, they welcome the news on Blake.

Change does need to happen after four frustratingly similar playoff losses, but in the Kings defence, the Oilers may just be an insurmountable road block for them.

With the GM change will likely come a new configuration of the team in the new Manager's vision - meaning some big roster moves could come from LA this offseason.

The McDavid era Oilers have thoroughly dismantled teams in the playoffs before, which also led to front office changes in Calgary and Vancouver.

We'll see how the Kings respond and come back next season, but it's hard to imagine they could improve with an aging group of star players, while McDavid and Draisaitl are still in their prime.