Smith went 11-6-6 in 23 games, helping the Kings to their fifth straight berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Los Angeles was then swept by the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference First Round.
“First off, I will say D.J. did a great job,” Holland said. “… The team responded to him, so he’s a candidate.”
Smith, who will turn 49 on May 13, joined the Kings as an assistant coach on Feb. 6, 2024, after Hiller replaced Todd McLellan on an interim basis. Smith, who had been fired as coach of the Ottawa Senators on Dec. 18, 2023, after going 131-154-32 in five seasons without a playoff appearance, remained with Los Angeles after Hiller had the interim tag removed following the 2023-24 season.
Under Smith, the Kings did have an uptick in offense, averaging 3.09 goals per game in the final 23 regular-season games compared to 2.53 over their first 59. However, they scored just five goals in four games against the Avalanche.
Smith also failed to improve the penalty kill, which ranked last in the NHL (70.6 percent) in the regular season during his time in charge.
Overall, the Kings finished 29th in the League in scoring (2.68 goals per game), 28th on the power play (17.0 percent) and 30th on the penalty kill (74.6 percent).
“I can’t sit here and tell you that we’re going to be 29th in goals for, the 30th best penalty-killing, the 28th-best power play, and we’re going to be playing in the tournament (next season),” Holland said. “No chance.”
In spite of those struggles, Holland stood by his decision to keep Hiller as coach for as long as he did.
“I think you’ve got to give people, whether it’s players, whether it’s your coaches, you’ve got to give them as long as you can,” Holland said.
Holland joined the Kings on May 14, 2025, replacing Rob Blake with a mandate from team president Luc Robitaille of helping the team reach the next level. Los Angeles (35-27-20, 90 points) finished with 15 fewer points this season than in 2024-25, getting eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for the fifth straight season and seventh overall since winning the Stanley Cup in 2014.
Holland made it clear he has no intention of having the Kings go into a full rebuild.
“When you head into rebuild mode, it’s eight to 10 years to come out on the other side with no guarantees,” Holland said. “We have lots of good players. We’ve got to, I’ve got to build a better team.”
