Breaking: Kings fired head coach Jim Hiller.

The Los Angeles Kings have officially made a coaching change.

On Sunday, National Hockey League insider Elliotte Friedman broke the news that the Kings have fired now former head coach Jim Hiller. Hiller was behind the bench of the Kings for 5 seasons, starting as an assistant coach before taking over as head coach during the 2023-24 NHL regular season.

Hiller made the playoffs in every season as head coach but failed to get past the first round, and the Kings are currently trending outside of the playoff bubble looking in.

The Kings currently have 62 points on the season with 59 games under their belts, putting them 3 back of the Seattle Kraken for the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. It seems likely that general manager Ken Holland felt his team desperately needed a change if they were going to close that gap and make a push for the playoffs in the final stretch of the regular season.

It's also worth noting that Holland did not hire Hiller himself and will not get the chance to hire his own head coach for the job.

Friedman has also announced that former NHL head coach DJ Smith will take over head coaching duties following Hiller's firing, with Smith having previously served as an associate coach under Hiller this season.