Ken Holland, who won four Stanley Cups as an executive with the Detroit Red Wings, is expected to become the next general manager of the Los Angeles Kings, multiple NHL sources told ESPN on Monday night, confirming a report.
Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder in 2020, Holland replaces Rob Blake, the Kings’ general manager and vice president of hockey operations whose contract was not renewed after a fourth straight first-round playoff exit.
An announcement is expected later this week. Rod Pedersen, host of “The Rod Pedersen Show,” first reported the news.
Holland, 69, was the executive vice president and general manager of the Red Wings from 1997 through 2019, winning four Stanley Cups for the franchise. He was bumped upstairs in 2019 to senior vice president, clearing the way for Steve Yzerman to become the team’s general manager.
That promotion lasted only a month, as Holland left to take over the Edmonton Oilers as general manager and president of hockey operations. Powered by stars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, the team made the conference finals in 2022 and 2024, losing in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final last year with a roster Holland constructed. Among his key acquisitions were forward Zach Hyman (free agent) and defensemen Mattias Ekholm (via trade with Nashville) and Philip Broberg (drafted No. 8 in 2019). The Oilers made the playoffs in all five seasons of Holland’s tenure.
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Holland’s five-year contract with the Oilers expired on July 1. Edmonton eventually hired former Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman to replace him. Since then, Holland had been working as a consultant to the NHL’s hockey operations department.
Sources told ESPN that Holland had been considering a front office role with the New York Islanders, either as team president, general manager or both. Former Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin, a senior adviser for the Kings who many believed might be their next general manager, is in the mix for the Islanders’ openings.
Kings president Luc Robitaille played for Holland’s Red Wings in 2001-03, winning his only Stanley Cup as a player in ’02. He will now reconnect with Holland, who will take over a Kings roster that features holdovers from their Stanley Cup wins in 2012 and 2014 (Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty), scorers in their prime (Adrian Kempe and Kevin Fiala), young players on the rise (Quinton Byfield and Brandt Clarke) and goalie Darcy Kuemper, who was a finalist for the Vezina Trophy this season.
But 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 fate of Jim Hiller, who finished his first full season as Kings head coach after serving on an interim basis for part of 2023-24. Hiller was an assistant coach with the Red Wings for one season (2014-15) during Holland’s time in Detroit.
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