3 early predictions for Kings offseason after Oilers series loss

The broken record that fans of the Los Angeles Kings everywhere thought would finally stop playing continues to drone on and on, much to their chagrin. For the fourth consecutive season, the Kings were eliminated in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Edmonton Oilers.

Despite enjoying home ice advantage for what was the first time over the Oilers and winning the first two games, Edmonton swept the Kings the rest of the way after the insertion of goaltender Calvin Pickard between the pipes. While not completely lights out, Pickard played well enough to propel his club to four straight victories. As a result, he helped clinch a berth in the Western Conference Semi-Final against the Vegas Golden Knights.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles is once again left wondering what went wrong and how to fix it. The Kings have already announced a significant change to the organization with the mutual departure of general manager and former longtime defenseman Rob Blake. He had been in place for eight seasons and led the club to five playoff spots. However, they never advanced past the opening round.

While the search is underway for Blake’s replacement, there are other moves to the roster that could be considered during the offseason.

The Kings will keep Jim Hiller as head coach despite fan objection

Kings head coach Jim Hiller, who was named the interim head coach last year before earning the full-time job, has guided the team to consecutive playoff berths but has yet to get them over the hump of being able to beat the Oilers in the opening round.

His decision to have the team collapse into a defensive shell in the third period of the fateful Game 4 that resulted in two goals to knot the score at 3-3 was blasted all over social media, with many fans believing that loss was essentially the final nail in his professional coffin.

However, Kings president of hockey operations Luc Robitaille voiced strong support for Hiller despite the team’s latest postseason meltdown via ESPN.

“Your general manager, you want to give him the freedom, you don’t want to lock up a new person that’s coming in, but the record of what Jimmy has done this year is really, really good,” Robitaille said at the Kings’ training complex. “It would be really hard for any GM to say, ‘Well, this guy shouldn’t come back.’ He’s been really good. I think Jimmy’s a great coach, and I fully think that this guy is coming back, for sure.”

Contract talks begin with Adrian Kempe for a long-term extension