After a terrible stretch of just three wins in 17 games dating back to Dec. 27 the Los Angeles Kings have relieved head coach Todd McLellan of his duties and named Jim Hiller as interim coach.

The writing was on the wall for this, as the team's struggles couldn't go unaddressed from management, even if their was still some internal belief in McLellan and his system.

The numbers showed a team that hadn't been as bad as their record showed, but that ultimately doesn't matter for a team with Stanley Cup ambitions.

For Hiller, this is a first crack at being an NHL head coach. Whether he gets the full-time job or not, I'm assuming not, Hiller is trusted with the short-term future of the Kings.

Hiller's done a fantastic job with the Kings' power play, taking them from one of the league's worst units two seasons ago to a high-functioning man advantage.

Trent Yawney will remain as an assistant coach.

Some people feared that Marco Sturm would be promoted from head coach of the Ontario Reign to the Kings' head coach, but that seems unlikely now

Many fans will look to the Edmonton Oilers run after firing Jay Woodcroft and will hope the Kings follow in their footsteps.

I'm not saying that's impossible, but I would preach caution in expecting a massive turnaround.

This team has problems outside of the coaching that haven't been fixed yet.

Of course, I still think this is the right move and I think the Kings will get better.

But don't plan the Cup parade quite yet.

One thing that will be interesting to keep an eye on is the system.

The 1-3-1 was an organizational plan and it will be interesting to see if they move away from it with a new coach.

There are several options to replace McLellan out there.

One of Craig Berube, Bruce Boudreau or Dean Evason is my first thought for who should take over.