Blake accepts blame for Kings’ recent woes, coaching change

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Rob Blake understands where the blame will land if the Los Angeles Kings do not respond following his decision to fire Todd McLellan as coach on Friday.

“It’s my responsibility to hire Todd. It was my responsibility to let him go the other day. And I fully understand the repercussions if this team does not win or have success,” the Kings’ general manager said Monday, speaking with reporters for the first time since replacing McLellan with Jim Hiller on an interim basis.

Blake expressed support for McLellan to finish out the season in a press conference Jan. 18, but Los Angeles (23-15-10) went 2-3–2 since that declaration. The Kings are 3-8-6 in their past 17 games.

“I look at our season, there’s 48 games -- 24 were good, 24 have not been good,” Blake said. “Everything we dictate from this point and from this going forward is based off of wins and losses.”

Blake is in his seventh season as Kings general manager. Hiller is their fourth coach in that span, with Blake having hired John Stevens going into the 2017-18 season and firing him Nov. 4, 2018. Willie Desjardins finished out the 2018-19 season before McLellan was hired ahead of the 2019-20 season.

Blake’s relationship with McLellan goes back to when he played for the San Jose Sharks for two seasons (2008-10), the end of his playing career overlapping with McLellan’s first two seasons as an NHL head coach.

“Todd and I, we’ve been together a long time, and there’s a cost to doing this job,” Blake said. “And part of that is you’re going to have a situation where it’s not favorable for somebody you care about.”

Hiller, 54, is a head coach in the NHL for the first time. He was in his second season as an assistant for Los Angeles after stints with the Detroit Red Wings (2014-15), Toronto Maple Leafs (2015-19) and New York Islanders (2019-22).

Blake believes a new voice can help the Kings out of their current funk.

“It’s a different person in charge, so meetings are different, meeting times are different, approaches to the game,” Blake said. “Every single thing will be different when a new person steps in.”

Blake said he also plans to hire a new assistant coach to replace Hiller, ideally from outside the organization.

The Kings are fourth in the Pacific Division and hold the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. They return to practice Thursday following the NHL All-Star break and their bye week before hosting the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.

“Our job is to get in the playoffs,” Blake said. “The team was built and assembled to get in the playoffs, and that’s what we need to do, so that will be judged on wins and losses.”