At a press conference held at Toyota Sports Center in El Segundo on Thursday morning, Jim Hiller was introduced by Los Angeles Kings general manager Rob Blake. The 30th head coach in Club history is Hiller.
At the press conference, both Blake and Hiller made succinct opening remarks before taking questions from the media for over 20 minutes. Questions about the Kings’ future playing philosophy, players and roster, opportunities for growth, player and team buy-in, why Hiller was the greatest choice for the job, the other Kings coaches, and a variety of other subjects were addressed by both Blake and Hiller, individually and together.
On July 19, 2022, Hiller, 55, joined the Kings as an assistant coach following eight seasons in the same capacity with the New York Islanders (2019–22), Toronto Maple Leafs (2015–19), and Detroit Red Wings (2014–15). Since Hiller joined the coaching staff, the Kings have tied for the fifth-most power-play goals in the NHL with 124. The team’s average power-play percentage, which stands at 24.0%, has placed sixth among all teams throughout that time. The Kings ranked fourth in the NHL with 68 power-play goals during Hiller’s rookie campaign. Their power-play percentage at the end of the season was 25.3%, good for a tie for second-best in team history with the 1979–80 team (26.8%).
Prior to being elevated to the role of interim head coach on February 2, 2024, Hiller served as the Kings’ assistant coach at the start of this season. In his head coaching debut against the Edmonton Oilers on February 10, Hiller started on the bench. He is the first head coach to do so since Phil Housley, the 18th head coach in league history (he was chosen by Buffalo with the sixth overall pick in 1982).
In 34 regular-season games, Hiller led the Kings to their third consecutive Stanley Cup Playoff berth. Hiller finished with a 21-12-1 record for 43 points and a.632 points percentage, which at the time was the 10th-best points percentage in the league. Under Hiller’s direction, the Kings were statistically the best home team from the All-Star Break until the end of the regular season. They accumulated a league-high 14 victories (14-3-1), 29 points, and a.806 points percentage in 18 games played at Crypto.com Arena.
As the regular season drew to a finish, the squad won nine of its last 10 home games. Among those victories were eight straight at home from March 11 to April 13, which was the team’s longest winning run at home since an eight-game (8-0-0) run from October 12 to November 13 in the 2010–11 campaign.