Los Angeles Kings Closer to Winning Than the New York Islanders
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet joined Scott Laughlin and Gord Stellick on Sirius XM NHL Network Radio Morning Skate and was asked why Ken Holland chose to go to the Los Angeles Kings.
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
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Scott Laughlin: “Hey, Friedge, we were talking just a little bit earlier about Ken Holland, the incoming General Manager. We are all led to believe that, as early as tomorrow (Thursday), I guess it is at a news conference, he’ll be introduced. How did they come to this Los Angeles, and like I had, I had heard as well, maybe it was from you, maybe it was from somebody else, that Rob Blake leaving the Los Angeles Kings was a lot of his doing. Like they just felt like they got as far as they could. It was time for a change, and he kind of moved on from that position.
So tell us about Ken Holland ultimately being the choice for the Kings. Because I’m connecting the dots, and I said to El Gordo in the last hour, I mean, Ken Holland must have a history with Jim Hiller already in place going back to their time in Detroit, when Hiller was an assistant on Mike Babcock’s coaching staff. But tell us about the Kings and how they arrived at Ken Holland.”
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Elliotte Friedman: “Well, first of all, I don’t know I would say it was 100 percent Rob Blake’s choice, but I think it was a lot of over the last year, they had gone to him at least once, and it sounds like twice, with the possibility of an extension. And he kind of put it off, indicating he wasn’t sure that he wanted to come back. He just wanted to see how the season played out. But I think it was their intention to bring him back.
And then when they lost that series to Edmonton again, I think that the Kings kind of got to a point where they were like, ‘You know what? You haven’t signed, it’s fine, we’ll just like to go in a different direction.’ So I think that’s the way that one played out.
So Ken Holland had an interview with the Islanders. He was there for a few days, and he thought about it, but then he met with the Kings, and I think that appealed to him more. And there were two reasons. One is geography. Ken Holland’s a West Coast guy, which is easier for him and his family.
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And two, I think the Kings are closer to winning. The Islanders is going to be a bigger job. It’s going to be a longer job. And this one to me, I thought it’s going to be a short-term deal, and the Kings want to win now. And I think that appeals to Holland more. So that’s why I think things ended up where they did.”
NHLRumors.com Note: As first reported by Rod Pedersen, Ken Holland becoming the next GM for the Los Angeles Kings was happening even though he had other options. The Kings are in win-now mode, and their moves this season clearly show that they want to bring the Stanley Cup back to Los Angeles.
On Tuesday, Friedman mentioned on his NHL Network hit that Ken Holland signed a five-year deal with the Edmonton Oilers, and he reiterated again that he does not believe it is a long-term thing. He does not expect it to be that long in Los Angeles. In addition, he heard the Kings had a list of internal candidates and from other people around the league, and this could be set up for Los Angeles to have a succession plan from Holland to another person, as he is only there in the short term.
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