LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Kings fired head coach Jim Shearer on Sunday after losing five of their last six games and falling out of contention for the playoffs.
DJ Smith was named the interim replacement for the remainder of the season in general manager Ken Holland’s first coaching change, having left Shearer on the bench when he took over the front office last May. Player development coach Matt Green will join Smith’s staff as an assistant.
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“I want to thank Jim Shearer for his dedication, professionalism and commitment he shows every day to our players and our team: he is a respected coach and person and we appreciate the work he does behind the bench,” Holland said. “At this point in the season, we believe a change in leadership is necessary to give our team the best opportunity to reach its potential and compete at the level we expect. These decisions are never made lightly, but it is our responsibility to position this team for success now and moving forward.”
Shearer is in just his second full season with the Kings, who looked lifeless in Thursday’s 8-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers. Fans kept chanting “Fire Hiller!” and the Oilers poured in the energy in the second and third quarters, leading to Los Angeles’ biggest loss of the season so far.
The night before, Los Angeles suffered an embarrassing 6-4 loss to shorthanded Vegas in its first game after the Olympic break, allowing five goals in the third period. Saturday’s 2-0 win over Calgary wasn’t enough to keep Shearer’s job.
Shearer led the Kings to a 93-58-24 record and two playoff appearances but never won a playoff series.
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The 56-year-old Hiller, a longtime NHL assistant coach, got his first chance to lead the team when the Kings promoted him in February 2024 to replace the fired Todd McClellan. He turned the season around and led the Kings to the playoffs, where they lost in the first round to Edmonton – just like they had in McClellan’s first two seasons.
Last year, Los Angeles tied the franchise record for wins (48) and points (105) in Shearer’s first full season, but they met the Oilers again in the first round — and Connor McDavid beat them again in six games.
Hiller upheld McClellan’s commitment to defense-first hockey as the Kings’ primary identity, even if it sometimes meant a boring play for fans.
The Netherlands solved their offensive woes by trading with the Rangers for high-scoring Artemi Panarin before halftime, but the Kings then lost their star forward Kevin Fiala for the season when he broke his leg while competing in the Olympics for Switzerland.
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With back-to-back losses after the break, Los Angeles fell three points behind Seattle, which had clinched the Western Conference’s final wild-card playoff spot.
“We didn’t feel good tonight,” Shearer said immediately after the 8-1 loss to Edmonton. “I don’t feel good standing here. Those guys didn’t feel good today, but we still have work to do.”
Smith served as the Ottawa Senators head coach from 2019 to 2023, leading the team through four non-playoff seasons before being fired 26 games into his fifth season. He joined the Kings when Hiller replaced McClellan.
He is the Kings’ fifth head coach since the 2017 firing of Darryl Sutter, who led Los Angeles to its only two Stanley Cup championships.
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The Kings haven’t won a playoff series since hoisting their second trophy in 2014, winning just nine games total amid six first-round exits.
Hiller is the second coach to be fired in the NHL this season. Columbus replaced Dean Evason with Rick Bowness in January.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL
