Sportnet’s Elliotte Friedman, who has built a 30-year career in hockey on getting things right, is indicating that the Los Angeles Kings are very close to naming Ken Holland as their new general manager.
We will see where things progress over the next few days, but all indications are that the LA Kings are closing in on Ken Holland as their next GM
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) May 13, 2025
After team president Luc Robitaille announced on May 6th that he and former GM Rob Blake had mutually agreed to go in a different direction, many initially speculated that a change would come from within. Ex-Montreal GM and Kings senior advisor Marc Bergevin was thought to have an inside track but after Robitaille mentioned the success that the Detroit Red Wings had enjoyed over the years during his media availability, speculation began to turn toward Ken Holland, architect of Detroit’s three Stanley Cup wins between 1998 and 2008.
Under Holland, the Red Wings put together a 25-year postseason streak, behind only Chicago (28) and Boston (29) and became a model franchise for over two decades. During his tenure at the helm in the Motor City, the Red Wings won the President’s Trophy four times and were a Cup contender virtually every season.
Holland, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2020, left Detroit in 2019 to take over GM duties in Edmonton, where several number one overall picks in succession had failed to move the needle for the Oilers. Holland added key pieces like Mattias Ekholm, Zach Hyman, and Evander Kane to the dynamic duo of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, culminating in a Western Conference Finals appearance in 2022 and a Stanley Cup Finals appearance in 2024. Failing into a 3-0 hole against the Florida Panthers, the Oilers picked themselves off the deck to force a Game 7, but couldn’t come all the way back, losing 2-1 in the last game of the season.
The desire for the Kings to add someone with Holland’s pedigree is understandable. If Robitaille truly believes that the Kings are just a few tweaks away from winning it all, Holland could be just the guy to make the necessary moves to bring a third Cup to Los Angeles. For a franchise whose longest playoff streak is just nine seasons and has never won the President’s Trophy, let alone four of them, bringing in an executive of Holland’s caliber seems, at least on paper, to be a big upgrade.
Although they have been bounced in the first round for the last four seasons, Holland will inherit a pretty solid team. The Kings set a franchise record with 31 wins on home ice last year and tied a regular season best with 105 points. They even led the Oilers 2-0 in the first round series this year and outplayed the Oilers for much of Games 3 and 4 before inexplicably falling apart.
Could Holland’s familiarity with the nemesis Edmonton Oilers be a factor in the Kings’ desire to hand him the keys? Any nugget of insider information that could possibly help LA get the Edmonton monkey off their back would surely be welcome but that alone probably doesn’t get Holland the job. Besides, after four straight playoff series, the Kings already know pretty much everything there is to know about the Oilers.
Except how to beat them.
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