Los Angeles Kings head coach Jim Hiller, front right, talks to players on the bench during the second period of an NHL preseason game against the Utah Hockey Club on Sept. 23 in Salt Lake City. (AP file photo)

LOS ANGELES — Rob Blake is out after eight seasons as the Los Angeles Kings’ vice president and general manager.

And that makes the future uncertain for the team’s head coach, Northern Michigan University alumnus Jim Hiller.

The Kings announced a mutual parting with Blake on Monday, four days after Los Angeles lost to Edmonton in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. Blake was working on a three-year contract extension that concludes this summer.

Blake built a consistent regular-season winner with the Kings, but the team failed to win a playoff series during his tenure. Los Angeles tied its franchise records this season with 48 victories and 105 points while finishing second in the Pacific Division, but the Oilers eliminated the Kings yet again, this time in six games.

“Reaching this understanding wasn’t easy, and I appreciate Rob’s partnership in always working toward what is best for the Kings,” team president Luc Robitaille said in a statement. “Rob deserves a great deal of credit and respect for elevating us to where we are today. He has been an important part of the Kings and will always be appreciated for what he has meant to this franchise.”

Blake was a Hall of Fame defenseman during a playing career spent mostly with the Kings, although he won his only Stanley Cup title with the Colorado Avalanche. Blake, whose No. 4 is retired in the rafters of the Kings’ downtown arena, retired in 2010 and joined the Kings’ front office during the 2013-14 season, Los Angeles’ second Stanley Cup championship campaign.

He replaced Dean Lombardi, who built the two championship-winning teams, as the Kings’ GM in April 2017. Blake led the Kings back to relevance after a three-year playoff absence, and they went 309-238-71 in his eight seasons despite failing to win a division title.

But the Kings lost in the first round of the playoffs five times during Blake’s tenure, winning just eight total games in those five series. Los Angeles has exited in each of the past four seasons at the hands of Connor McDavid’s club, unable to withstand the Oilers’ offensive onslaught.

Los Angeles won the first two games of its series against Edmonton last month, but then lost four in a row to crash out of the playoffs yet again amid growing fan discontent.

Blake fired head coach Todd McLellan and promoted an assistant, Hiller, in February 2024 during a difficult stretch. Hiller led the Kings to two standout regular-season finishes, but no postseason advancement.

Hiller played for NMU’s only national championship team in 1991, when the Wildcats’ defeated Boston University 8-7 in triple-overtime in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Moments after Blake’s departure was announced, Hiller said he hadn’t spoken to Robitaille about his future.

“I’ll be talking with Luc at some point, I’m sure, but I do understand whenever there’s change like that, significant change, there’s usually more,” said Hiller, who is 69-37-10 in 1 1/2 seasons in his first NHL head coaching job.

The Kings’ next general manager will have several significant decisions to make beyond Hiller’s fate, but the two veteran pillars of the team’s roster from the championship years could remain in place.

Kopitar said Monday he will return in the fall for his 20th season with the club, while 17-year veteran defenseman Drew Doughty has two years left on a high-priced contract after missing much of the current campaign while recovering from a preseason injury.

Blake repeatedly took big swings to acquire top-end talent during his tenure, trying anything in his power to build a championship roster. He had big hits and big misses.

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AP freelancer writer Dan Greenspan in El Segundo, California, contributed to this report.

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