Hockey Hall of Fame executive Ken Holland is likely to be the Los Angeles Kings’ next general manager, multiple media outlets reported on Monday.
Holland, 69, was the Red Wings’ GM from 1997-98 to 2018-19, during which time Detroit captured the Stanley Cup in 1998, 2002 and 2008. He also was the team’s assistant GM during a Stanley Cup run in 1997.
Most recently, Holland was the GM of the Oilers from 2019-20 to 2023-24. Last season, Edmonton lost to the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final, after which Holland left the team by mutual agreement.
According to ESPN, Holland also considered taking a job in the New York Islanders’ front office before settling on the role with the Kings.
Holland was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2020 as a “builder.” He had a brief playing career as a goalie: one game with the Hartford Whalers in 1980-81 and three with the Red Wings in 1983-84. Holland went 0-2-1 with a 4.96 goals-against average and an .825 save percentage.
In Los Angeles, Holland will work alongside Kings president Luc Robitaille, a Stanley Cup winner as a player with the Red Wings in 2002.
The Kings parted with general manager Rob Blake last week following the team’s fourth consecutive first-playoff series exit at the hands of the Oilers. Blake had been on the job since April 2017.
Los Angeles went 48-25-9 (105 points) while finishing second in the Pacific Division this season. Coach Jim Hiller, in a season and a half on the job, has a 69-37-10 record.
–Field Level Media
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