Los Angeles Kings make decision on head coach

The Kings have removed the interim tag from head coach Jim Hiller and signed him to a multi-year contract extension, ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reports Wednesday. He was widely expected to land the vacancy after Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said Monday that he was the “overwhelming favorite” to take over behind the bench full-time.

Hiller assumed head coaching duties coming out of the All-Star break after Todd McLellan was fired following a January skid that jeopardized their playoff positioning. He stabilized their slide, posting a 21-12-1 record behind the bench in the season's final few months as they finished third in the Pacific Division.

While there was a fair amount of speculation the Kings would go for an external hire after a third straight first-round loss to the Oilers, it never turned into full-on rumor status. No notable candidates were linked to L.A.’s vacancy, and Hiller spoke with the rest of the Kings’ hockey operations department during their end-of-season press availability.

Hiller, 55, assumes the head coach title for the first time in a decade. His only professional coaching experience has been in assistant roles, although he was the bench boss of the Western Hockey League’s Chilliwack Bruins and Tri-City Americans from 2006 to 2014. He joined the Kings as an assistant on McLellan’s staff ahead of the 2022-23 season after being let go by the Islanders.

However, Wednesday isn’t the end of the Kings’ coaching decisions this offseason. They still need to add an assistant to replace Trent Yawney, with whom they mutually parted ways last week.