Kings fire coach Jim Hiller as Los Angeles' playoff chances tumble out of Olympic break

The Los Angeles Kings have fired coach Jim Hiller, the team announced on Sunday. This move comes with the Kings in the thick of the Western Conference playoff race, just three points out of the final wild card spot with 23 games left to play.

D.J. Smith has been named interim coach.

Hiller spent parts of three seasons leading the Kings as he replaced Todd McLellan midway through the 2024 season. Hiller was promoted from interim to full-time coach the following offseason, and he pushed Los Angeles to a 93-58-24 record in 175 games.

In each of the Kings' two playoff appearances under Hiller, the team was eliminated by the Edmonton Oilers in the first round.

"I want to thank Jim Hiller for his dedication, professionalism, and the commitment he showed to our players and our team every day. He is a respected coach and person, and we appreciate the work he's done behind our bench," Kings general manager Ken Holland said in a statement. "At this point in the season, we believe a change in leadership is necessary to give our group the best opportunity to reach its potential and compete at the level we expect. These decisions are never made lightly, but our responsibility is to position this team for success now and moving forward."

The Kings entered the season with legitimate playoff aspirations, but they are now in jeopardy of being left out of the postseason after stumbling as NHL play resumed following the Olympic break. Los Angeles managed to beat the Calgary Flames on Saturday, but it surrendered a combined 14 goals to the Vegas Golden Knights and Edmonton Oilers in its first two games following the pause. For a team that prides itself on defense and goaltending, those were troubling results.

While the Kings played elite defense for most of Hiller's tenure, finding consistent offense was a recurring problem. Los Angeles ranks 29th in scoring this season, and it only generates expected goals at the 22nd-highest rate in the NHL, per Natural Stat Trick.

L.A. did try to solve its offensive woes when it acquired star winger Artemi Panarin from the New York Rangers right before the Olympic trade freeze kicked in on Feb. 4. Unfortunately for the Kings, that move was somewhat negated by winger Kevin Fiala suffering a season-ending leg injury while playing for Switzerland at the Olympics.

Smith will now try to squeeze more offense out of a team whose playoff chances sit at 35.0%, according to MoneyPuck. Smith does have coaching experience as he spent five seasons with the Ottawa Senators from 2019-24, and he guided the team to an overall record of 131-154-32 with no playoff appearances.