Kings, GM Blake agree to part ways

The Los Angeles Kings and general manager Rob Blake have mutually agreed to part ways, the team announced Monday.

Blake held the role since 2017 after being promoted from assistant GM. The Kings were recently eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Edmonton Oilers for the fourth consecutive year.

Los Angeles held a 2-0 series lead, but Edmonton won the next four contests. The Kings' postseason disappointment followed a tie of the franchise record for points with 105 in the regular season.

The Kings will begin their search for a new GM immediately. The New York Islanders are the only other team with a vacancy at the position.

Los Angeles made the playoffs in Blake's first year at the helm but was swept in the first round. The club failed to qualify the next three campaigns and then began its current run of futility against the Oilers in 2022.

The Kings haven't won a playoff series since capturing the Stanley Cup in 2014.

Blake had four different head coaches during his tenure. Some of his defining moves as Kings GM include acquiring Pierre-Luc Dubois and flipping him after one underwhelming season, trading Brock Faber for Kevin Fiala, and drafting Quinton Byfield second overall in 2020.