The Kings officially named Ken Holland as vice president and general manager, the team announced in a Wednesday news release.
He will be formally introduced Thursday at the Kings’ practice facility in El Segundo.
Holland, 69, arrives to a franchise stuck in a first-round rut, having lost four consecutive opening playoff series to the Edmonton Oilers and failing to win a round since 2014. He brings a Hall of Fame résumé and the fifth-most wins of any GM in NHL lore to his new gig.
Most recently, Holland spent five years in Edmonton, where he took a club that had won just one playoff series in 15 years and helped mold it into a perennial contender, one that fell one victory shy of the Stanley Cup last season before Holland and the Oilers parted ways.
The departure of Rob Blake from the Kings’ front office cracked the window for Holland, who for more than three decades was a driving force in the Detroit Red Wings’ front office. His 34-year tenure included four Stanley Cups, three of them with Holland as GM. The middle of those three Cups was won with a particular charismatic left wing: Kings team president Luc Robitaille.
Robitaille hinted at the possibility of Holland or someone like him at his news conference following Blake’s apparent decision not to return to the club, suggesting in his comments that expectations had increased and a new voice with extensive expertise was needed.
“As we did our due diligence, we identified Ken as the absolute best option and acted decisively to make him our General Manager,” Robitaille said in the team’s statement Wednesday. “His track record of success is undeniable and after our conversations with him, we were clearly convinced he was the right person for us at this time. He has the experience to lead us on the proper path that will help us win now and compete for the Stanley Cup.”
Despite the Kings’ stagnation, which coincided largely with Robitaille’s transition into the hockey operations side of the organization, and Blake’s departure, Robitaille was convinced the Kings were “right there” two years ago and that they took steps last season despite not advancing any further in the playoffs.
“A new GM will come in, but we’re in good shape. I really meant it,” Robitaille said last week. “The moves that Rob did and the group did last summer really changed our team. [We] got more of an edge and so forth. But that being said, it’s not enough. We’re going to have to figure out exactly what needs to be tweaked to get this team to the next level.”
In addition to any roster tinkering as the 10th general manager in Kings franchise history, Holland will also address personnel behind the bench and in the executive suite.
Though Robitaille offered a high level of certainty that coach Jim Hiller would return after a regular season that was superlative by the Kings’ standards and a postseason that was disastrous by anyone else’s, he said Holland would ultimately make that decision.
In addition to the always-prominent head coaching position, the assistant general manager role could also take a sharp focus. At 69, it’s unlikely Holland’s tenure lasts eight seasons like Blake’s did. Holland’s son, Brad, worked under him in Edmonton and the Kings have their own assistant GM, Nelson Emerson, under contract still.
That decision could shape how the Kings not only manage their existing roster but scout prospects and, more broadly, who the most likely successor to Holland might be down the line.
There will also be player personnel decisions. Vladislav Gavrikov and Andrei Kuzmenko headline a small group of unrestricted free agents for the Kings. Alex Laferriere took a noticeable step forward last season and now will become a non-arbitration-eligible restricted free agent on July 1. On that same date, winger Adrian Kempe will be eligible to sign a contract extension that would avert unrestricted free agency after the season.