LA Kings, Rob Blake Mutually Part Ways; New Search Begins
The Los Angeles Kings and general manager Rob Blake have mutually parted ways.
President Luc Robitaille will remain with the organization.
With this shocking announcement, the search for a new general manager will now start.
Blake was hired as an assistant general manager with the Kings before the 2013-14 season and was promoted to general manager in 2017, replacing Dean Lombardi. Before putting on a suit, Blake was regarded as the best defenseman in King’s history. He posted 161 goals and 333 assists for 494 points in 805 games with 1,231 penalty minutes.
While he did not light the world on fire as a general manager, he did bring in key pieces to the organization’s success. He brought in goaltender Darcy Kuemper, forwards Kevin Fiala, Andrei Kuzmenko, Phillip Danault, Warren Foegele, Viktor Arvidsson, and defensemen Joel Edmundson and Vladislav Gavrikov. He was also included in bringing in Quinton Byfield, Gabe Vilardi, and Mikey Anderson through the NHL Draft.
However, he did have his faults as well. The most criticized move was trading for forward Pierre-Luc Dubois. The move from game one was awful for the Kings. Not to mention the big contract and the load of players that were sent to the Winnipeg Jets in exchange. Blake was able to offload Dubois to the Washington Capitals in exchange for Kuemper, a move that paid off for both teams.
In eight seasons under Blake, the Kings made the playoffs five times but never advanced past the first round. They lost the past four seasons to the rival Edmonton Oilers in the first round.
Blake was also criticized for not making moves at the 2025 NHL trade deadline to shore up this roster in preparation for the meeting with the Oilers.
Blake made some progress in bringing in the names above to improve this team. However, Blake’s biggest fault was not making big moves to improve this team while the talent was out there. Maybe he was afraid to make such a big move after the Dubois fiasco, or maybe he did not want to put the team behind even more.
Whatever the excuse, he is no longer part of the organization.
The hunt for his replacement is already on, and we should expect to hear something about a hiring before the 2025 NHL Draft, which takes place on June 27 and June 28, 2025, in Los Angeles. Free agency is also coming up on July 1, 2025, so someone will need to be in place by these dates.
There is no indication where they may go, but maybe they should change how they deal with the roster and hire someone more aggressive in deals and trades.
The Kings are now on the clock.
PHOTO: Kirby Lee/Imagn Images
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