Former Los Angeles Kings GM talks about his tenure, as well as seeking a new role in the league or with the NHL in the near future.
For the first time in 12 years, Rob Blake isn’t a part of the Los Angeles Kings’ front office or the organization in any fashion.
In early May of last season, following the Kings’ elimination by the Edmonton Oilers in the first round of the playoffs, Blake and the team mutually agreed to part ways.
“Something had to change, right?” Blake told Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. “You just can’t get to a point where you lose four years in the first round, and probably that it was to the same team also affected it.”
Since then, Los Angeles hired former Oilers GM Ken Holland to take Blake’s place.
However, despite Blake being out of a job, the 55-year-old would love to make a return to the league at some point in the future.
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“I want to stay in the game as much as possible,” Blake said. “There will be a time, hopefully soon, when that takes place. I enjoy the game. I enjoy being around, whether it’s the players or the management staff and just the whole daily grind of the NHL.”
Whether that’s a role with another team when an opening position becomes available, or even with the league. Former Toronto Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan took the route of becoming a member of the NHL’s hockey operations department.
Blake was the GM of the Kings for eight seasons. He oversaw a rebuild that took Los Angeles from being a bottom-feeder to a regular playoff contender.
He drafted the likes of Quinton Byfield, Brandt Clarke and Alex Laferriere, who are now key pieces to the Kings’ current roster. Not to mention exciting prospects in Liam Greentree and Carter George.
Looking back, Blake said he doesn’t have any regrets from his time in charge of the Kings.
“I wouldn’t say regrets,” he said. “Obviously, I wish that there’s different decisions along the way. But they’re never going to be perfect, right? You’ve got to go through them all. But no regrets whatsoever.”
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