Los Angeles Kings GM Ken Holland revealed that the organization will be searching for the team's next head coach. With that, D.J. Smith will be a candidate.
Los Angeles Kings GM Ken Holland spoke to the media on Friday as part of his exit interview and addressed the popular question regarding the coaching situation.
D.J. Smith has been the interim head coach for the Kings ever since Jim Hiller was fired on March 1. Before that, he was an associate coach for Los Angeles and had been with the organization for parts of three seasons.
However, now that the campaign is officially over, Smith's "interim" tag is removed. Holland and the organization will have to make a decision regarding who's behind the team's bench next season.
In the presser, Holland made it clear that Smith is still a candidate to be named the head coach for next season. But the team will be searching for a new bench boss with a list of candidates that is already in the works.
Regarding that list, the Kings' GM said that the organization will interview "five to eight" coaching candidates, all of whom vary in terms of their experience.
As for Smith's experience, he's spent parts of six seasons as an NHL head coach. Aside from this past year, he was the bench boss of the Ottawa Senators for five years. In total, he's managed a total of 340 games from behind the bench in the NHL.
In 23 games with the Kings, Smith registered an 11-6- 6 record and helped push Los Angeles into the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Other coaches that could be available for an interview include Bruce Cassidy, Jay Woodcroft, Dean Evason, and several more. Also, there's a possibility that other coaches currently with another team become available between now and the beginning of next season.
If Holland and the Kings do elect to hire a new coach, this will be the franchise's fourth bench boss in about three years, including Smith, Hiller, and Todd McLellan, who is now with the Detroit Red Wings.
The next hire will also be the 29th coach in Kings history.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.