The Kings aren't starting over under GM Ken Holland, but he has quick decisions to make

New York Times

15-05-2025

The Los Angeles Kings have their new general manager, and Ken Holland is the opposite of a new face. The Hockey Hall of Famer, who has worked in the NHL across four decades, now joins his third team as the Kings' vice president and GM. So, what is he getting himself into?
Holland, who will be introduced at a news conference on Thursday, likely will have a clear mission. He'll be tasked with seeing what can be done to augment a solid, hard-working team that hasn't been able to take the next step toward being an elite group — or simply can't, with its current roster. Getting past the Edmonton Oilers isn't the sole goal for Kings president Luc Robitaille — though it's interesting to note that Holland was the Oilers' GM from 2019-24.
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In Robitaille's mind, the next level for the Kings is winning the Stanley Cup.
'I've always said that on July 1, if you look at your team and say, 'What can we add that can help us win the Stanley Cup?' you're there,' Robitaille said last week as he announced Rob Blake's departure and outlined his GM search. 'And we've been thinking that way for the last couple of years. We haven't won the Cup. It's not about beating one team or winning one round. This is about winning a Stanley Cup. …
'Rob made tremendous moves (last) summer but it's not good enough. We've got to get better.'
Robitaille is correct that the Kings must get better, at least to clear the Edmonton roadblock that's preventing them from getting out of the first round. While some skepticism has followed Holland's hiring — Detroit Red Wings fans quickly bring up him putting off a rebuild as he continued to chase a playoff streak that stretched 25 years — what often gets ignored is the Oilers being a bit of a mess, even with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl taking over the NHL.
Holland got results in his five seasons in Edmonton, which isn't surprising with two of the top three players in the league. (Nathan MacKinnon has a spot.) The Oilers had five playoff appearances, won six rounds and were one win away from a storybook Stanley Cup Final comeback and championship last year. Meanwhile, the Kings haven't won a series since they lifted the Cup in 2014.
They're not rebuilding, and Holland wasn't brought in for a start-it-over job. The Kings, with Anže Kopitar and Drew Doughty as their leaders, are pointed in a win-now direction and that's not going to change. So, let's see what Holland faces in the short term, with the salary-cap situation and upcoming decisions.
The first item on Holland's to-do list doesn't pertain to the roster. He has inherited coach Jim Hiller, who acknowledged last week that a GM change often is followed by a coaching change. Before hiring Holland, Robitaille said he would leave the decision about Hiller's future to his next GM but added that he felt it would be hard to fire Hiller after a regular season with 48 wins and 105 points — even with the disastrous series against Edmonton.
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Hiller has two more years on his contract, and paying two head coaches may not be particularly appetizing for Kings ownership. But if a change is being considered by Holland, the pool of potential replacements is shrinking. Mike Sullivan was quickly snapped up. Rick Tocchet is off the market. David Carle decided to stay at the University of Denver. Joel Quenneville is now down the road in Anaheim.
Jay Woodcroft, Gerard Gallant and Peter Laviolette are available. Holland could give Jeff Blashill, now an assistant to Tampa Bay's highly successful Jon Cooper, another shot after hiring him to succeed Mike Babcock in Detroit. But the play could be to run it back with Hiller, with whom he's familiar because of Hiller's one-year stint as a Red Wings assistant under Babcock before both left for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Kings, like every team, will gain cap flexibility this summer, with the ceiling rising another $7.5 million to $95.5 million. It is set to rise further in subsequent seasons. But that cap surge will be a blessing for a franchise that often was constricted in Blake's final years by some ill-advised contracts, which necessitated some roster gymnastics to stay cap-compliant — and limited the Kings' ability to make larger moves at the trade deadline.
CapWages estimates that the Kings will have almost $23.5 million to spend for 2025-26. Ivan Provorov's $2 million salary retention – part of the cost to rid themselves of Cal Petersen's contract – will come off the books. But there are a few things that might eat into that cap space.
A front-burner issue is defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov. The 29-year-old's price has only gone up after the best all-around season of his career. He's finishing up a two-year, bet-on-himself extension ($5.875 million AAV) that he signed under Blake. What might help keep his price down is the fact that Carolina's Jaccob Slavin, generally considered the best defensive-minded defenseman in the NHL, signed an eight-year extension last July that has a $6.46 AAV. But that contract was also signed during the last year of the flat-cap era.
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In March, Blake expressed confidence in getting Gavrikov re-signed. But there has been no extension, and the dynamic could change under Holland. Gavrikov was the Kings' best defenseman this season. He also can be the defensive complement on a team's top pair, with the ability to play equally well on the left or right side. His lack of offense could help keep his number down, but it's safe to say that Los Angeles won't get the kind of discount Florida got with Gustav Forsling ($5.75 million AAV).
At the Kings' locker clean-out day, Gavrikov said he wasn't in a rush to sign a new deal. He could be weighing the comforts of a terrific fit in L.A. against the possibility of resetting the market for shutdown blueliners.
There are other potential unrestricted free agents. Tanner Jeannot provided a physical presence that was missed on the fourth line when Hiller barely played that unit against the Oilers. Andrei Kuzmenko helped juice up an ailing power play and added a dimension to the offense that the Kings didn't have, but his effectiveness and ice time waned sharply as the series went on. David Rittich and Pheonix Copley are UFA goalies behind Darcy Kuemper. Trevor Lewis, 38, said he isn't ready to retire.
Moving on from Jeannot, Kuzmenko, Rittich, Copley and Lewis would free up $7.6 million for Holland from this season's cap total. (Philadelphia retained $2.75 million of Kuzmenko's cap hit after the trade.) But keeping Gavrikov would take a big chunk out of that cap space. And while the Kings could further expand Alex Turcotte's role next season, they don't appear to have a high-ceiling winger prospect in the system outside of Liam Greentree, their 2024 first-round pick, who turns 20 on Jan. 1.
They'll need a backup goalie as well, though they could stay in-house if they feel Erik Portillo is ready as Carter George and Hampton Slukynsky continue to gain experience as potential replacements for Kuemper down the line. But while Holland will have more money available, it doesn't mean the Kings are set to dive into the Mitch Marner sweepstakes if he opts for free agency.
The other question with Holland is whether he will conclude that a trade is necessary to shake up the Kings and propel them forward. Adrian Kempe, the Kings' leading scorer and best player, is heading into his walk year and will be in line for a huge contract after delivering big on a four-year contract that has been a bargain. Kevin Fiala has a full no-move clause until it switches to a modified NTC in 2026. Phillip Danault has a 10-team NTC. Trevor Moore doesn't have trade protection.
Might Holland consider trading Doughty? The best defenseman in franchise history has a clause in which he annually submits seven teams he'd accept a trade to. He's still under contract for two more seasons at an $11 million cap hit. And while young forward Alex Laferriere has proven to be a keeper, the 23-year-old is up for his second contract and is arbitration-eligible after two productive seasons.
One thing is for sure as Holland takes over. The 69-year-old will have to hit the ground running.
(Photo of Adrian Kempe and Drew Doughty: Codie McLachlan / Getty Images)