According to multiple NHL sources, Ken Holland, who won four Stanley Cups as an executive with the Detroit Red Wings, will become the next general manager of the Los Angeles Kings. The news confirms a previous report.
Holland, a Hockey Hall of Fame member as a builder since 2020, replaces Rob Blake, whose contract as Kings general manager and vice president of hockey operations was not renewed after a fourth consecutive first-round playoff elimination.
An official announcement is expected at the end of this week.
Holland, 69, was executive vice president and general manager of the Red Wings from 1997 to 2019, a period in which the team won four Stanley Cups. In 2019, he was promoted to senior vice president, allowing Steve Yzerman to take over as general manager.
That promotion only lasted a month, as Holland left the team to become general manager and president of hockey operations for the Edmonton Oilers.
With stars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, the team reached the conference finals in 2022 and 2024, losing in the seventh game of the Stanley Cup Final last year with a roster built by Holland. Among his key acquisitions were forward Zach Hyman, defensemen Mattias Ekholm and Philip Broberg. The Oilers made the playoffs in all five of Holland’s seasons at the helm.
Holland’s five-year contract with the Oilers expired on July 1. Edmonton finally hired former Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman to replace him. Since then, Holland has been working as a consultant for the NHL’s hockey operations department.
Sources indicated that Holland had been considering a position on the New York Islanders’ board, either as team president, general manager, or both. Marc Bergevin, former general manager of the Montreal Canadiens and senior advisor to the Kings, who many believed could be their next general manager, is on the list of candidates for the Islanders’ vacancies.
Kings president Luc Robitaille played for the Holland Red Wings from 2001 to 2003, winning his only Stanley Cup as a player in 2002. He will now reunite with Holland, who will take over a Kings team that features key players from the Stanley Cup victories in 2012 and 2014 (Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty), scorers at their peak (Adrian Kempe and Kevin Fiala), young rising players (Quinton Byfield and Brandt Clarke) and goaltender Darcy Kuemper, who was a finalist for the Vezina Trophy this season.
However, Los Angeles has failed to advance past the first round of the playoffs since 2014. The Kings have lost four straight first-round series to the Oilers, Holland’s former team, including their six-game defeat this postseason.
Holland will now determine the future of Jim Hiller, who completed his first full season as the Kings’ head coach after serving on an interim basis during part of the 2023-24 season. Hiller was an assistant coach with the Red Wings for one season (2014-15) during Holland’s time in Detroit.
