LA Kings fire head coach Todd McLellan amid brutal stretch

The Kings are changing course.

Los Angeles fired head coach Todd McLellan and named Jim Hiller interim head coach Friday, the team announced in a press release.

The Kings are in the midst of a season-defining slump, having lost 14 of their last 16, which brought their impressive 16-4-4 start crashing down to 23-15-10, good for fourth in the Pacific Division.

McLellan, 56, spent more than four years with the Kings, compiling a 164-130-44 record in a role where he was expected to help turn the team into a Stanley Cup contender.

We want to thank Todd for his hard work and dedication to the organization, general manager Rob Blake said. He has done a tremendous job in moving us forward and making a positive impact on our group and in our community. This was not an easy decision, but we felt the change was necessary at this time.”

The Kings have firedTodd McLellan. NHLI via Getty ImagesBlake, who gave McLellan a contract extension last summer, had voiced confidence in the coach just weeks ago, but clearly something changed.

No, not at all, Blake said to the LA Times about making a coaching change on Jan. 18. Our philosophy here in the past three, four years is on the structure and the system and the design, in the buy-in of players, and hes gotten that from the players. Im going to rely on the players and the leadership to get us out of that.

Following two painful losses to San Jose and Buffalo, cracks in the team’s foundation began to show when veteran defenseman Drew Doughty put the team on blast.

The Kings have lost 14 of their last 16. AP“Honestly, its felt like the bottom-out for a while now. Its frustrating not getting these wins. Were trying to stay positive,” Doughtry said after the loss to Buffalo. “Were trying to get back to having fun out there and play our game, but its hard to do that when youre on a streak like this. This has been a struggle for us, and the only way were going to get out of it is if we get everybodys 100% effort, and everyone playing for the team and for each other.”

Hiller joined the Kings as an assistant coach in 2022 and served in the same role for the Islanders, Maple Leafs, and Red Wings.