Key Takeaways – Ken Holland Introductory Press Conference

Formally introducing Ken Holland, the new Vice President & General Manager of the Los Angeles Kings. Holland is the tenth general manager in franchise history, succeeding Rob Blake, who parted ways with the organization via a mutual decision, after serving in that role for eight seasons.

Holland spoke on several topics today at Toyota Sports Performance Center, as he was joined by Kings President Luc Robitaille, who was primarily responsible for hiring Holland.

In terms of the process of getting to this point, Robitaille said today that he spoke with “numerous” candidates over the last week or so, with Holland quickly surfacing as the top candidate available. After an initial conversation, Holland and Robitaille conducted a more formal interview late last week, culminating in the ultimate decision to proceed on Monday. Took a couple of days to dot the i’s and cross the t’s and Holland’s contract was formalized on Wednesday, with yesterday’s announcement following shortly after.

“We had numerous talks, we talked about the philosophy of the team, where this franchise wants to be, our players and our coaching staff and the entire organization and it became clear to me that the best person was Ken,” Robitaille said. “The one thing that he has is he knows the path of what it takes to get to the championship and that’s a hard thing to do and it’s a hard thing to learn. Obviously his experience, what he’s done over his career, is very important. It’s very important at this time for this franchise that would get to that next level.”

The deal for Holland is a multi-year contract, as he specified, though he did not detail the firm number. Holland was connected to the Kings opening as well as the Islanders opening, which remains unfilled and he mentioned he talked with “a few” teams overall, meaning he’s been involved on the lists of several NHL clubs. Ultimately, what drew Holland to the Kings was the group in place, among several other things. He sees the Kings as a team close to getting over the hump that has held them back now in four consecutive seasons, sharing the vision of existing management and team ownership. Funny part is, he was partially responsible for preventing the Kings from getting there sooner, as the General Manager of the Edmonton Oilers during the 2022, 2023 and 2024 postseasons. When talking about selecting the Kings, he also spoke about stable ownership, a commitment to winning, his relationship with Robitaille and a desire to ideally remain on the West Coast, which is more accessible for him and his wife Cindi to see and visit family.

“When Luc called – and I’d talked to a few teams here over the last three weeks – I just thought this was a great fit for me, personally and professionally,” Holland said. “I missed being under the fire.”

As far as the direction of the group, this is not a rebuilding situation or even a retooling situation, in Holland’s mind. Not the direction the Kings plan to go. There could certainly be some changes coming, no doubt, but changes designed to get the Kings where they want to go, which is deeper in the playoffs than they have over the past four seasons, with a third championship the ultimate destination for any club.

“I’m in LA and I’m going to use that same mentality that we did in Detroit, that we did in Edmonton and I’ve got to peck away, a day at a time, a meeting at a time, a move at a time, to try to build this team up to where we obviously want to win some playoff series, but I don’t want to screw it up, because they had a good year, this is a good team, they had 105 points,” Holland said. “This is a good hockey team that I thought, three weeks ago, when I looked around the league, that was one of the teams that I thought they could go to the final four and beyond and they didn’t……we want to win the Stanley Cup, that’s the ultimate goal, but it starts with building blocks and lots of building blocks are in place here. I’m hoping to come to add to it, build upon it, and at the time, you make a couple of trades and you can just look at what happened in Edmonton, a couple of trades and free agent signings, and you peck away. There’s lots of great, positive [things] to build on around here and it’s a really good hockey team.”

So what’s his plan?

Fair question. He’s only been on the job for 24 hours, formally, but his mind has certainly been on the Kings singularly over the last several days. He’s got decisions to make, internally at first, and ultimately in the bigger picture of the organization. He’s got a busy two months ahead of him. He said that he plans to connect with all 31 other general managers over the next 7-10 days and plans to attend the NHL Scouting Combine personally, as another touch point for those conversations, on top of the work in prospect evaluation. Holland also will meet with both pro and amateur scouts in the coming weeks to get a feel for what’s already in place, adding his own input in those conversations as well.

There’s probably not an external candidate who knows the Kings better than Holland. He was a part of three playoff series as the opposing general manager and he understands the team that he built that beat the Kings. He also understands the team that has stood in the way of the Kings now four seasons running……because he built a lot of that team. If you look at the moves Holland made in Edmonton, there was a pretty clear focus and direction to them of being made to win in the postseason. The type of players acquired specifically over his last three seasons with the Oilers brought in the types of players who have made an impact in the postseason. An impact the Kings need to make and they need to make it soon.

Here’s what Holland had to say on a few different subjects, as it pertains to the status of the organization heading into the summer.

On the status of Jim Hiller as the team’s Head Coach
Holland confirmed that Jim Hiller will return as the team’s head coach, pointing out that he and Hiller met yesterday for around two hours, on a number of different topics. Hiller, along with his coaching staff, were in attendance at the press conference today, with Hiller referenced multiple times for the work he did this season and his expected growth going forward as now a second-year head coach.

“Jim Hiller did a fabulous job in leading the team to 105 points. They were good defensively. They were good on special teams. The team played hard again, I thought. I thought three weeks ago that this was a team that had the potential, the ability to go on a long playoff run, and he’ll be a better coach next year for the experience he went through this year. I think each year that goes by, I’m a better manager than I was the year before. I think when you coach and when you manage, you need playoff experience, it’s a good thing, it’s not a bad thing. So again, I think Jim did a great job. Looking forward to working with him and him and his staff.”

On having the ability to spend to the salary cap to build the team
Holland reiterated what Robitaille said last week, which is that the Kings will have the freedom to spend to the salary cap if they so choose. Doesn’t mean they will, right off the bat, but there’s the possibility of doing that throughout the course of the season as well. The Kings currently have over $20 million in space, accounting for all returning players who finished the season with the NHL club. That’s plenty of room to add. Should the Kings find the right players via trade or free agency, regardless of dollar amount or term, they’ll have the ability to bring that player in.

“Yes, absolutely yes [Robitaille and I] talked about that. The LA Kings want to be in big boys group. We’re prepared to go to the cap. Now, you’re not just going to spend it to spend it but if we think there’s a player out there that could cost a lot of money and a lot of lot of term, the answer is yes. I’ll work with Luc I’ll work with Dan [Beckerman] and obviously ownership, but this is an organization that is committed, certainly. That’s why I’m here, in my mind, going through all this. I know to win, you’ve got to have some things and that’s why I’m here. The ownership’s committed, Dan and Luc are committed, the people that are here, the work that’s been done, the passion for it.”

On the different things the Kings need to do to take the next step forward
Holland touched on this topic in one form or another in a bunch of different questions and it was hard to pull just one quote.

He spoke about the importance of feeling built for the postseason. He spoke about the likeliehood of making a trade or signing a player but also about the importance of younger players taking steps forward in their process as well. Getting Year 2 of Brandt Clarke better than Year 1 could be as impactful as signing an external player, for example. I think the Kings need both, personally, and it seems as if Holland agreed. What he certainly has is the experience to get the job done, having undergone similar evaluations in Detroit and Edmonton, something he leaned on in today’s availability.

“When I reflect back on the growth of the Detroit Red Wings when I was there and then I reflect back on the building of the Edmonton Oilers and where they are today, in the Final Four two straight years in a row, you’ve just got to stick with it. You’ve got to find a way to win a series and every time, you can get a little more confidence from accomplishing something, it builds you going forward. I think you’ve just got to stick with it. There are no magic wands or tricks. You got to stick with it, you’ve got to believe in the plan. We’re trying to make a few tweaks to the roster. Part of this has got to be internal growth, some of the players that are here that are 21, 22, 23, we need them to take a step. It can’t all be about free agency or this big mega trade. It’s a little bit here, it’s a little bit there, it’s a little bit here, it’s a little bit there. I watched it in Detroit and I watched it in Edmonton, and certainly, that’s what we hope to accomplish here.”

Personally, I’m excited to see what Holland can do.

He wasn’t sharing a ton of specifics about the vision for improving the club but seemed pretty confident in his path forward. We’d all probably like some more detail on certain areas, but he’s been here one day and this isn’t a major surgery. It’s carefully thought out next steps. There will be external acquisitions between now and opening night and there will need to be steps forward from certain players who are already within the organization. I felt pretty confident in what he was saying and confident that he has a vision for the team going forward, which is the more important of the two. See where things go from here, with the offseason formally in full swing.