Kings fire Dean Lombardi and Darryl Sutter, name Rob Blake new GM
Big news out of Hollywood, as the Los Angeles Kings are officially turning the club over to a couple of franchise greats.
The club announced the firing of general manager and president Dean Lombardi and head coach Darryl Sutter on Monday, after another disappointing season that sees the Kings miss the playoffs for the second time in three years.
Former Kings defenseman Rob Blake, 47, has been named the team's new GM and vice president, while Kings Hall of Famer Luc Robitaille, 51, has been promoted to team president.
(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
Blake will take over the day-to-day operations of the hockey club, while Robitaille - who spent the last 10 years as the Kings' president of business operations - will oversee all hockey and business operations.
Dan Beckerman, the president and CEO of AEG, the parent company of the Kings, announced the moves, calling the shuffling "an extremely difficult decision."
Lombardi, hired in 2006, was the fourth-longest-tenured GM in the NHL, and leaves as the architect of two Stanley Cup-winning teams, in 2012 and 2014. Sutter was behind the bench for both.
Only 58, Sutter took over partway through the 2011-12 season, leading the Kings to their first Stanley Cup. He departs with a 225-147-53 record in six seasons, the most wins by a head coach in Kings history, and is one of only 15 coaches to win over 600 regular-season games in his career.
Sutter was under contract through 2018-19 at $3 million a season, according to Cap Friendly. He was forced to run his team out there this season without his No. 1 goalie, Jonathan Quick, for most of the campaign due to a groin injury, but thanks to Peter Budaj and strong team defense, the Kings finished sixth in the league in goals against, allowing only 2.5 per game. The club also had the league's fifth-best penalty kill at 84.5 percent.
There's more: Los Angeles was the NHL's top possession team this season, its Corsi coming in at 54.98 percent. That the Kings always have the puck has been a trademark of Sutter's Los Angeles teams.
| Season | Possession Rate | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2016-17 | 54.98% | 1 |
| 2015-16 | 56.37% | 1 |
| 2014-15 | 55.35% | 1 |
| 2013-14 | 56.8% | 1 |
| 2012-13 | 56.34% | 1 |
(Data courtesy: Puckalytics)
While the Kings often have the puck, lately they couldn't do much with it, and that ultimately cost Sutter and Lombardi their jobs.