Kings player throws coaching and management staff under the bus following wasted season

It should go without saying that it's been a wasted season for the Los Angeles Kings. The perennial Stanley Cup contenders not only missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but they finished 30th of 31 NHL teams... ouch.

Things went bad for the Kings almost from the start of the season and it didn't take long for general manager Rob Blake to pull the plug on head coach John Stevens, firing him just 13 games into the season. Former Vancouver Canucks head coach Willie Desjardins took over on an interim-basis, but he failed to make much of a positive impact. In fact, Blake blames himself for putting Desjardins and the team in such a tough spot.

“I put Willie in a tough spot," blake said to The Athletic's Lisa Dillman. "I’m not sure if there was a lot… When I look at it now, was he able to have success in that? Probably not."

So, while Blake is taking most of the blame himself, he was also quick to point out that the team's players just weren't prepared to do the things needed to win.

“He came in on a team that I wasn’t sure was ready to buy in, to play hard enough to win again. So I made a (coaching) change early. I saw (concerns) through camp. I felt it through camp. It wasn’t something that just crept in.”

Blake's players see things differently though, at least according to forward Tyler Toffoli who said,“We needed to be better in all aspects of the game. You guys saw our practices sometimes. It was kind of pathetic a lot of the time, which is frustrating."

“Looking back now, I wish I could have done more or we all could have done more obviously. But that’s just the way it is.”

Kings superstar Drew Doughty didn't mince words either:

“I don’t know if a weight was lifted off my shoulders. I’m still pissed off I’m going to have to watch playoff hockey without us in it. This season is never going to be erased from my mind, no matter how hard I try. It was a terrible season.

“It’s a relief it’s over, in a way, because it was so hard mentally and physically. I’ve never had to go through something like this. As one of the leaders, I take a lot of responsibility for it. I wish I could have done better to get us out of it.”

Double ouch. Pretty safe to say that Blake has his work cut out for him this offseason.