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Kings Fire Todd McLellan, Name Jim Hiller Interim Head Coach

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The Kings have fired head coach Todd McLellan, according to a team statement Friday. Assistant Jim Hiller will serve as Los Angeles’ interim head coach for the remainder of the 2023-24 season.

McLellan, 56, was in the final season of a five-year contract earning him roughly $5MM per season, according to CapFriendly. He’d signed a one-year extension prior to this season, which the Kings will still owe him.

The veteran NHL head coach oversaw the Kings’ return to relevancy after their late-2010s retool, posting a 164-130-44 record in 338 appearances and guiding them to playoff berths in back-to-back seasons for the first time since a five-year run between 2010 and 2014. A team with Stanley Cup aspirations this year has now fallen out of the divisional playoff picture, though, going 3-8-6 in their last 17 games and narrowly occupying a Wild Card spot.

Most pointed to the Kings’ lack of stable goaltending entering the season as a reason why their record might crumble. Interestingly enough, that hasn’t been the case. While he’s going through a recent rut, veteran Cam Talbot has given Los Angeles above-average play with a .911 SV% and 2.5 goals saved above expected (per MoneyPuck) in 32 appearances. Since a mid-season recall from AHL Ontario, backup David Rittich has been excellent, with a .925 SV% and a 5-1-3 record in 11 games.

They’ve also dominated possession. Their expected goals share and Corsi share at 5-on-5 play both rank third in the league, but despite that, their offense has struggled to produce with subpar shooting talent. Their 152 goals scored rank 16th in the league at the All-Star break – exactly in the middle of the pack.

That would still assign blame to a roster construction issue and not a coaching one, given the team’s systems under McLellan, have been conducive to dominating play. The team’s biggest offseason swing, a trade and subsequent eight-year, $68MM extension for Pierre-Luc Dubois, has crashed and burned. The 25-year-old has 10 goals and 20 points in 48 games, far below expectations. He’s averaging under 16 minutes per game and has a team-worst -16 rating.

Nonetheless, Los Angeles will turn to a different voice to ensure they maintain their playoff spot and don’t slide further down the Western Conference standings. Hiller has been on the Kings’ staff since the beginning of last season after being let go as an assistant by the Islanders in the 2022 offseason. Prior to a three-year tenure on Long Island, Hiller served as an assistant in Toronto from 2015 to 2019 and spent the 2014-15 season as an assistant on the Red Wings’ bench. Before ascending to the NHL coaching ranks, he spent nearly a decade as a head coach in the WHL with the Chilliwack Bruins and Tri-City Americans.

Hiller’s NHL career was short-lived, but 40 of his 63 games came wearing a Kings jersey in the 1992-93 season when the Wayne Gretzky-led team advanced to the Stanley Cup Final. Hiller was involved in a major mid-season trade with the Red Wings that year, heading to Detroit along with future Hall-of-Famer Paul Coffey in a deal for winger Jimmy Carson.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Kings Assign Three Players To AHL

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With Los Angeles being off until February 10th, they’ve opted to make a trio of roster moves.  The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve assigned forwards Alex Turcotte and Samuel Fagemo plus defenseman Brandt Clarke to AHL Ontario.

Turcotte was recalled last weekend and got into his first two games of the season with the Kings.  The second was certainly a successful one as the 22-year-old notched his first career NHL goal while picking up an assist in Wednesday’s victory over Nashville.  Turcotte has spent most of the year in the minors with the Reign, recording 23 points in 28 games so far.

Fagemo, meanwhile, has been shuffled back and forth recently, shifting between Los Angeles and Ontario three times over the past couple of weeks.  Playing time during that stretch was fairly limited as he made just four appearances, equaling the number he had with Nashville at the beginning of the season before they put him on waivers in November.  The 23-year-old has been quite productive with Ontario though, recording 20 goals and 13 assists in just 24 contests.

As for Clarke, he got off to a hot start with the Reign to start the season, collecting 32 points in 30 games, quite the mark for a rookie blueliner.  That earned him a recall four weeks ago and since then, he has been in and out of the lineup with the Kings.  Clarke has just one assist in six games so far while logging 16:15 per night, primarily on the third pairing with some time on the second power play unit.

With these moves, Los Angeles is now at the minimum-sized roster.  With Viktor Arvidsson still a little while away from returning (meaning he’ll remain on LTIR), the Kings will likely use that space to recall three players for their next appearance.  The determination on whether it’s these three or others will come next week.

Quinton Byfield To Return, Trevor Lewis Questionable For Wednesday

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Kings forward Quinton Byfield is expected to return Wednesday against the Predators, team editorial content manager Zach Dooley reports. The 21-year-old missed the last two games with an illness and was listed as day-to-day.

Unfortunately, underwhelming play from the rest of the squad has the Kings reeling. The team is 2-8-6 in their last 16 games and is now in a three-way tie for the two Western Conference Wild Card spots with the Blues and Predators. That makes Byfield’s return tonight a key piece of news ahead of Los Angeles’ most consequential game of the season thus far.

Other notes ahead of tonight’s Kings-Preds showdown on national TV in the United States:

  • Dooley also reports that depth forward Trevor Lewis is questionable for tonight after missing practice with an undisclosed injury Tuesday. Lewis skated this morning, but Dooley called his availability “wait and see.” The 37-year-old has five goals and nine points in 47 games this season after returning to his former squad on a one-year, $775K deal in free agency. Lewis was the Kings’ second of two first-round picks in 2006 and was a member of both the 2012 and 2014 Stanley Cup-winning teams. While he hasn’t produced much offense, he’s been quite effective in a shutdown role for his league-minimum deal. Centering Blake Lizotte (currently injured) and Carl Grundström on the Kings’ fourth line, the trio has produced an expected goals share of 57.1%, per MoneyPuck. They’ve limited opponents to 2.09 expected goals against per 60 minutes, the lowest among any Los Angeles forward line with over 100 minutes together.

Strong Trade Interest In Chris Tanev

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Impact right-shot defensemen are typically in short supply and high demand and with the trade deadline now less than six weeks away, it appears this year will be no exception.  Accordingly, those with one to move will have no shortage of suitors and that’s the case for the Flames with defenseman Chris Tanev as Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that as many as ten teams have already reached out to Calgary GM Craig Conroy to inquire about the blueliner.

The 34-year-old has never been a significant point producer and has just nine points in 46 games so far this season but Tanev has a well-earned reputation as one of the top shutdown defensemen in the league.  He leads the Flames in shorthanded ice time while hanging around the 20-minute-per-game mark as he often does.  On top of that, Tanev is among the league leaders in blocked shots, collecting 135 already, good for fifth-most in the NHL.  Considering that teams are always looking to shore up their defensive reliability and penalty killing, it should come as no surprise that there are plenty of teams showing interest in Tanev.

Garrioch notes that the Maple Leafs, Canucks, and Kings are among those teams that have shown interest.  Toronto GM Brad Treliving is quite familiar with Tanev from his days in charge in Calgary and Garrioch suggests that the blueliner is currently their top target.  As for Vancouver, Tanev would be quite familiar with them having spent the first ten years of his career with them before joining Calgary as a free agent back in 2020.  Los Angeles, meanwhile, has an established top four but they have two youngsters (Brandt Clarke and Jordan Spence) and journeyman Andreas Englund rounding out the rest of the group; Tanev would certainly give them some more stability.

Ottawa has also been speculated as a team that could be interested with GM Steve Staios looking for a quality veteran or two.  However, with the Sens well out of playoff contention, it’s hard to see them coughing up the asking price and Tanev being open to going there over a postseason contender.  Worth noting is that Tanev has a 10-team no-trade clause, giving him some control in where he might go.  If an acquiring team wants to work out an extension at the same time, that also gives the veteran a bit more leverage to make sure he lands with a new organization of his choice.

With players of Tanev’s caliber hard to come by, it appears that Conroy has set a high asking price for his services.  Garrioch relays that the ask is believed to be at least a first-round pick plus a prospect; if teams get into a bidding war, they could get more than that as well if they’re willing to retain the maximum 50%.  Tanev has a $4.5MM AAV which is difficult for many contending teams to afford but if that is cut in half and perhaps Calgary takes a smaller contract back, most potential suitors should be able to make that work.

With more than a month until the trade deadline, there’s a good chance that Tanev won’t be leaving Calgary in the immediate future; the longer they wait, the easier it is for teams with regular cap space to afford the contract.  But if his market is strong as Garrioch suggests, the Flames will be poised to land a quality future return for Tanev’s services by the time March 8th comes around.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Kings Open To Trading Arthur Kaliyev

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Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman believes that the Los Angeles Kings could be willing to move on from winger Arthur Kaliyev if they can make a swap and acquire a depth player with some edge to their game as a potential replacement for the 22-year-old. Kaliyev has struggled to carve out a role with the Kings and may have reached a point in Los Angeles where it might be best for the team and player to go their separate ways.

Kaliyev has been a healthy scratch several times this month and has struggled this season with just six goals and eight assists in 38 games. Kaliyev has had his name pop up in trade rumors over the last few weeks and is likely looking for more consistency in his ice time and deployment. The former second-round pick looked as though he was turning the corner last year with 13 goals and 15 assists in 56 games but wasn’t able to carry his momentum into this season despite having a strong training camp.

Much has been made about Kaliyev’s offensive style not suiting the system that Kings head coach Todd McLellan likes to deploy as McLellan likes his teams to play an energy game where attention to detail and defensive responsibility are top of mind. Kaliyev’s talents lie more in the offensive side of the game, while his defensive skills are not his strong suit.

The Kings could wait to see what happens over the next few weeks with the club’s play heading into the trade deadline but given the struggles with Kaliyev’s development, it appears they would like to address some of their needs elsewhere before it’s too late.

Kings Recall Alex Turcotte

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With the Kings struggling as of late, they’ve decided to give a different youngster an opportunity.  The team announced that they’ve recalled center Alex Turcotte from AHL Ontario.  They had an open roster spot so no corresponding move needed to be made.

The 22-year-old was the fifth-overall pick back in 2018 after a strong showing in the U.S. National Team Development Program but has struggled to live up to that draft billing so far.  Turcotte has played just a dozen NHL games so far – eight in 2021-22 and four in 2022-23 – and is still looking for his first point.  This marks his second recall of the season, the first of which just lasted one day.  This one could last longer as Los Angeles is one of the few teams that will be playing right up to the All-Star break and will get their bye week after.

Turcotte has shown some improvement with the Reign this season, posting career-bests in goals (seven), assists (16), and points (23) in 28 games, good for fifth in team scoring so this is a merited opportunity.

This is Turcotte’s final season of waiver exemption which is something worth keeping an eye on.  It’s not a bad idea to give Turcotte a few games to get a better idea as to if he’s going to figure into their plans for 2024-25.  If he doesn’t show well, perhaps he becomes a candidate to be moved before the March 8th trade deadline if a selling team wants someone closer to being NHL-ready over a draft pick that will still be a few years away.

Senators Among Teams Believed To Be Interested In Arthur Kaliyev

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  • The Senators are among the teams believed to have shown some level of interest in Kings winger Arthur Kaliyev, Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos reports in his latest Toronto Star column. The 22-year-old had been a capable secondary scorer the last two seasons but has struggled this year with just six goals and eight assists in 37 games while being healthy scratched with some regularity lately.  There’s a connection between Kaliyev and the Sens front office as the winger played for OHL Hamilton in junior, a team run by Staios and owned by new team owner Michael Andlauer.

Arvidsson Still Weeks Away From Returning; Fagemo Sent To Ontario

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The Kings have been without a key winger all season as Viktor Arvidsson works his way back from a back injury sustained during training camp.  It appears they’ll be without the 30-year-old for a while yet as Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times notes that while Arvidsson has started skating on his own, he’s still two or three weeks away from rejoining the team for practice; it would obviously be longer than that before he’d be good to return.  Arvidsson, who had one of his best years last season with 26 goals and 59 points, is currently on LTIR, giving Los Angeles ample room to carry a full-sized roster.  They’ll have to get cap-compliant when the time comes to activate him which could come not long before the March 8th trade deadline.

  • Still with Los Angeles, they have returned winger Samuel Fagemo to AHL Ontario, per the AHL’s transactions log. The 23-year-old has been up and down a couple of times now this week, getting into one game with the Kings during that time.  Since being claimed back off waivers in November, Fagemo has been quite productive with the Reign, notching 20 goals in just 24 games.

Kings Likely Not Replacing McLellan

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In this week’s edition of TSN’s Insider Trading, one of the proposed questions centered around the possibility of the Los Angeles Kings parting ways with current head coach Todd McLellan. Hoping to compete for a Stanley Cup this season, the Kings have produced a 1-5-4 record since December 28th, which has led some to speculate that a change behind the bench could be on the horizon in Los Angeles.

Unlike most teams that have made an in-season coaching change this year, the Kings still find themselves within a playoff spot in the Pacific Division, but the gap has certainly tightened over the last few weeks. Keeping together much of the same core over the offseason and bringing in Pierre-Luc Dubois, it’s safe to say that Los Angeles is not meeting their expectations up to this point in the season.

One of the main drivers in the team’s current misfortune has been the offense, which has only averaged 2.3 goals per game in their last 10 contests. In the year, the Kings rank 14th in the NHL with 3.27 GF/G, which does not appear to be enough firepower to take down a team such as the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, or Vancouver Canucks. With little salary cap mobility and a coaching change seeming unlikely, the Kings will have to do their best to handle this downturn internally.

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Kings Recall Samuel Fagemo

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With center Blake Lizotte listed as doubtful for tonight’s game against Dallas, the Kings opted to make a roster move to add some extra forward depth.  The team announced that they’ve recalled winger Samuel Fagemo from AHL Ontario, filling their one vacant roster spot.

It has been an interesting start to the season for the 23-year-old.  A late cut in training camp, Fagemo was claimed off waivers by Nashville and spent nearly six weeks on their roster.  However, playing time was hard to come by as he played in just four games, scoring once.  That landed him back on waivers in November where Fagemo was scooped up once more by Los Angeles.  As no other team put in a claim at that time, they were able to send him down to the Reign.

Since then, Fagemo has been a high-end scorer, notching 20 goals in just 24 games, ranking second in the AHL in that department despite the fact he missed the first 11 games of their season.  It’s the third straight year that he has reached the 20-goal mark although he needed 46 games to get there last season.  Now, he’s being rewarded for his efforts with a recall where he’ll look to have more success than his first couple of stints with the Kings which saw him collect two goals and an assist in 13 games over two seasons.

As for Lizotte, he left last night’s game against Carolina early with a lower-body injury and did not return.  The 26-year-old has struggled a bit offensively this year compared to 2022-23 when he had a career-high 11 goals and 23 assists in 81 games.  This season, he checks in at five goals and four helpers in 34 contests with his playing time dipping to just above 11 minutes a night, the lowest ATOI mark of his career.

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