For all those who are disappointed with the Third consecutive exit for the Kings of the NHL playoffs in the first round, Rob Blakegeneral manager of the team, has a message: he feels your pain.
“Just a very difficult end to the season,” Blake said Monday in his first public comments since the Kings were eliminated from the postseason for the Edmonton Oilers last Wednesday. “A lot of disappointment, a lot of frustration, a lot of anger. I don’t think we played at the level we needed to be successful in the playoffs.”
As for what he plans to do about it, check back this summer. Because while Blake’s press conference was filled with frustration and disappointment, it was short on the specific steps he plans to take to make things right.
See more information: Analysis: What’s next for the Kings after another first-round exit from the NHL playoffs?
Which doesn’t mean he didn’t say anything. He said the team had no intention of purchasing the last seven years of the center Pierre-Luc Dubois‘Contract worth US$68 million. He also said that the fate of the interim coach Jim Hiller remained undetermined and that the long-term goaltending solution is “probably not in place on this team at this time.”
And while Blake has a strong core to build on – forward Anze Kopitar, Kevin Fiala, Adriano Kempe, Phillip Danault and Trevor Moore along with defensemen Drew Doughty and Mikey Anderson, who are all under contract for at least two more seasons – the Kings have seven players set to become unrestricted free agents, among them defenseman Matt Roy, forward Trevor Lewis and the goalkeepers Cam Talbot and David Rittich.
“We still believe this group has made progress in many different areas,” Blake said. “We have to find a way to make that translate into the playoffs.”
How long Blake, 54, a Hall of Fame defenseman whose No. 4 jersey hangs in the rafters of Crypto.com Arena, has to make that happen is uncertain. He is entering the final season of his contract as general manager, having taken the role in 2017, then signing a three-year extension as the contract was expiring. And although the Kings made the playoffs four times during Blake’s tenure, they did not advance beyond the first round.
It’s perhaps understandable that Blake has more questions than answers at this point, as the Kings were hoping to prepare for a second-round series with the Vancouver Canucks this week. Instead, they are preparing for next season.
Blake said he planned to spend much of the next few weeks talking to players and staff, including Hiller, who was tasked with leading the team to the playoffs when he replaced Todd McLellan in early February. He did, but whether that was enough for him to earn the full-time job, neither the general manager nor team president Luc Robitaille would say.
“Luc and I, a few members of the hockey team, will meet with him and discuss the exact changes he thinks would happen before we make a decision,” said Blake, who declined to say how long that process would take. .
One question that Blake admitted would certainly come up in these encounters with Hiller was the fate of the team’s 1-3-1 neutral zone trap. The Kings have had success with this system, which uses three players to clog the neutral zone and make it difficult for opponents to enter the offensive zone with control. But some players have complained that the style of play has become too stale and predictable.
“We need to have a deep discussion about this, for sure,” Blake said.
“When we talk a little about the systematic changes and the different things that can be incorporated, we have to understand why the game didn’t translate into the playoffs. The team was successful, reached the playoffs. But by no means is that good enough.”
See more information: For the third year in a row, the Kings’ season ended in Edmonton
Regarding Dubois who, not counting the COVID-interrupted 2020-21 season, had minimal goals (16) and assists (24) in his first season with the Kings, Blake said the solution lies with the team, not the player.
“We need to make it better,” Blake said. “He has performed consistently throughout his career and deviated from that this year. So it’s up to us as a team – coaches and management – to help him become more productive for us.”
As for the goaltending situation, the Kings only have one goaltender (Aaron Dell, a 35-year-old backup for the Ontario Reign) with any NHL experience in the entire organization. Blake, however, is excited about 23-year-old Erik Portillo, who has played well for the Kings’ AHL affiliate the Reign.
“We have no other long-term solution other than a young player who played very well in Ontario,” he said. “It takes time to get into that position.”
This story originally appeared on Los Angeles Times.
