| Advertisement |
The Los Angeles Kings on Monday fired coach Darryl Sutter and general manager Dean Lombardi, who helped guide the franchise to its only two Stanley Cup championships. Luc Robitaille was named the club president, and fellow former Kings standout and Hockey Hall of Famer Rob Blake was tabbed as the vice president and general manager.
Advertisement
Los Angeles, which won the Stanley Cup in both 2012 and 2014, missed the playoffs for the second time in three years after posting a 39-35-8 mark this season.
Dan Beckerman, president and CEO of AEG, the Kings' parent company, made the announcement on Monday.
"This was an extremely difficult decision and was made with an enormous amount of consideration for what we have accomplished in our past," Beckerman said in a statement. "But the present and future of our organization is the highest priority."
Sutter replaced Terry Murray in December 2011 and guided Los Angeles to a 25-13-11 mark and an eighth-place finish in the Western Conference. The Kings hit their stride in the playoffs, beating the New Jersey Devils to become the first eighth-seeded team to capture the Stanley Cup.
Los Angeles advanced to the Western Conference final the following year before winning three consecutive Game 7s in 2014 and ousting the New York Rangers in five games in the Stanley Cup final.
Lombardi, who was hired by Los Angeles on April 21, 2006, recorded the most wins (425) by a general manager in franchise history.
Robitaille is the Kings' all-time leader in goals (557) and a former captain. He posted 1,394 points (668 goals, 726 assists) in his decorated career, winning a Stanley Cup with the Detroit Red Wings while also having his jersey retired by Los Angeles in 2007.
Blake, who was also a former Kings captain, becomes the ninth general manager in team history. He spent 14 of his 20 seasons as a player with Los Angeles, recording 777 points (240 goals, 537 assists) and capturing a Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 2001.
"This restructuring of the front-office will establish a single leader of the organization that will provide a unified vision, focus and alignment between the team side and the business side," Beckerman said in a statement. "It mirrors the same structure we recently implemented with the (Major League Soccer's) LA Galaxy and it will not only enable the integration of these two sides of the club into a single organization but will bring symmetry between the Kings and Galaxy."
