Ken Holland was hired as general manager of the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday.
The 69-year-old replaces Rob Blake, who left the Kings on May 5.
“As we did our due diligence, we identified Ken as the absolute best option and acted decisively to make him our general manager,” Kings president Luc Robitaille said. “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.”
Holland previously was GM of the Edmonton Oilers for five seasons until his contract expired July 1, 2024. Edmonton qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs every season after Holland was hired as GM and president of hockey operations May 7, 2019, and advanced to Game 7 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final, a 2-1 loss to the Florida Panthers.
Prior to joining the Oilers, Holland was GM of the Detroit Red Wings for 21 seasons. The Red Wings won the Stanley Cup three times (1998, 2002, 2008) the Presidents’ Trophy four times and the 2009 Western Conference championship before losing the Final in seven games to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Detroit won 10 division championships, five regular-season conference titles and had at least 100 points 14 times, the most in the NHL during that span, and won the Cup in 1997 when Holland was assistant GM.
Holland’s 1,145 wins as a GM are fifth in NHL history behind David Poile (1,533), Lou Lamoriello (1,479), Glen Sather (1,319) and Harry Sinden (1,170). He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a Builder with the Class of 2020.
The Kings (48-25-9) finished second in the Pacific Division this season before a six-game loss to the Oilers in the first round, the fourth straight season Edmonton eliminated them in the opening round of the playoffs.
One of the first things Holland will have to decide is whether to keep Jim Hiller as coach. Hiller, who admitted last week he was uncertain about his future, is 69-37-10 since replacing Todd McLellan on Feb. 2, 2024.
