LA Kings Shockingly Cut Ties With GM Rob Blake

For four straight seasons, the Los Angeles Kings have been beaten by the Edmonton Oilers in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and given the disappointment of their fans, there's no surprise that changes are coming.

Now, that change has come swiftly, with Elliotte Friedman reporting on Monday morning that the team and General Manager Rob Blake have mutually agreed to part ways after another disappointing end to their season.

After serving as the Assistant GM for three years, the Kings promoted Blake to the full-time General Manager role in 2017, but since that point, the Kings are yet to win a Stanley Cup Playoffs series, and given the impressive core that they've got, that's simply not good enough.

2024/25 was the final straw, with the team blowing a 2-0 series lead against the rival Oilers to fall 4-2 in the series, as they also blew several third period leads that would have their fan base incensed after another poor exit from the post-season.

Sure, the young names on the team took strides during Blake's tenure, with Quinton Byfield, Brandt Clarke and others set up as long-term pieces for the team, but given their decade of playoff failures, this was just a matter of time.

This appears to be the right move for the Kings organization, and if they can find the right replacement, this is a team that's ready to quickly get back into contention, but for now, they've got plenty of questions to answer heading into the off-season, especially with Jim Hiller, who many believe will be next to be pushed out the door.