Kings assistant coach Mark Hardy, who is facing charge of fourth-degree sexual abuse, has resigned from the team.
A brief statement from the team said, “Mark Hardy last night resigned from his position on the Kings’ coaching staff. We have no further comment on this matter. The search for a new Kings assistant coach will begin immediately.”
Incidentally — and completely unrelated — as of late last month, assistant coaches Jamie Kompon and Bill Ranford also had not yet been signed for the 2010-11 season. That might have changed by now, but I don’t believe it has changed.
Good luck Harpo! I wish you the best. Sad situation for all involved
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just my opinion Reply:
June 12th, 2010 at 1:40 pm
@tornado12,
Same sentiments from me.
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Will all the Kompon haters get their wish???
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Goring 19 Reply:
June 12th, 2010 at 12:23 pm
@Dayman, yep. For me, even though our PP was in the top ten, I honestly felt we could have been in the top 3 but I think even so we’re so good we’ll still get there.
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Jamie Van Boxpon, it’s time you go, and take your mindless powerplay scheme with you.
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Seattle757 Reply:
June 12th, 2010 at 11:56 am
@Nyck,
“Mindless powerplay scheme”? The Kings were 7 overall with a 20.8 efficiency! The stats don’t lie.
As for Hardy, I wish him and his family the best.
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Michael J. Reply:
June 13th, 2010 at 3:07 pm
@Seattle757,
Lets not forget that that 20.8% on the pp was managed with only three of four highly skilled players.
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DrHockey Reply:
June 12th, 2010 at 12:04 pm
@Nyck, which mindless powerplay scheme? The one that was seventh in the league during the regular season or the one that kept us in the playoffs as long as we were?
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Tmik Reply:
June 12th, 2010 at 3:28 pm
@DrHockey,
I Think maybe he means the mindless scheme that, despite our paltry 6 games, Still has us at the Best PP% in the playoffs
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Nyck Reply:
June 12th, 2010 at 3:46 pm
@DrHockey, Oh, you mean the one that capitalized off Vancouver’s absolutely atrocious penalty killing, and Luongo not being able to stop the moon? It SHOULD have been that effective against a team that couldn’t stop taking penalties, NOR kill them. As far as the “as long as we were”, we got bounced out in the first round.
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Nyuck, how’d you like the Kings PP in the playoffs?
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Nyck Reply:
June 12th, 2010 at 3:50 pm
@BCB, it was much improved since the regular season, but until we play a team as amazingly undisciplined as Vancouver, it won’t do us much good. I think people are mistaking Vancouver’s discipline issues, with the overall effectiveness of our PP; they gave us chances upon chances upon chances, all while Luongo’s game was somewhere else. You guys think it’s a good idea to have two stationary D-men for the point shot, great, but I’m going to disagree.
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John Stevens, anyone??
Better luck to ya, Harpo!
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LBlocal Reply:
June 12th, 2010 at 12:11 pm
May I add, that if Jamie Kompon’s contract isn’t renewed, Rick Tocchet’s name will be on a short list of candidates.
The Philly connection lives, believe it!
ps.. GOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLL USA just tied it!
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jpuckster Reply:
June 12th, 2010 at 5:37 pm
@LBlocal,
omg was labarbara in goal for england
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What happened to Fukufigi? Reply:
June 13th, 2010 at 8:05 am
No it was Cloutier in net, he can’t stop a beach ball, remember.
Odie should be considered as an assistant coach.
Let the Kompost pile up somewhere else and keep Ranford.
Still, it’s sad to see an incident like this blow up to this point; but, it could be the best for the team to avoid further distraction. Good luck Harpo, and you will be missed.
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I believe Blake is available..
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poe Reply:
June 12th, 2010 at 12:44 pm
@Darrell, Bite your tongue!!! The very thought makes me want to regurgitate!! I hope never to see him again. If he is hired by the Kings, I will cancel my season tickets
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just my opinion Reply:
June 12th, 2010 at 1:45 pm
@poe,
Exactly, couldn’t have said it better.
I hope Lombardi remembers how bringing him back once blew up in his face. I like the previous comment about O’Donnell being considered. He already knows a the team’s defensemen and has helped lead them already. Why bring in an outsider?
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Darrell Reply:
June 12th, 2010 at 5:28 pm
@just my opinion, I think Blake could really help Jack Johnson at this point.. Maybe Nelson Emerson can get him an interview!
rick Reply:
June 12th, 2010 at 8:33 pm
@poe, Really??? Where are your seats?
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OD for assistant coach!
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Mattias Norstrom is coaching in Sweeden, and might be a candidate.
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I’m available for the job! How difficult could it be?
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Haha yeah i’m sure he left “voluntarily”, more like probably a forced resignation. Bye bye, next time you get drunk, don’t be a F*** up!
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Lucky#20 Reply:
June 13th, 2010 at 8:21 am
@USCG,
Classy!
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USCG Reply:
June 13th, 2010 at 9:46 pm
@Lucky#20, really? that’s what you have to say to me? i’m glad you got your one word about my class out. BTW next time someone that’s close to you gets into a problem like this one, I hope you handle it with class buddy.
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Good Luck Harpo…
Bad situation but the right move for Harpo to resign.
Resign Kompon the guy is money!
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I vote for McSorley !!!
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5 4 Fighting Reply:
June 12th, 2010 at 4:02 pm
@tron,
I second that motion! Bring on Marty!
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Good luck Harpo!
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Sorry to see Hardy go but I don’t think there was anything else he could do.Best foer the team to put this behind them,although we really don’t know what happened.Hope to see Odie get the job,if he wants it
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Good luck Harpo. Get the help & get better.
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I’m really dismayed about this whole circumstance.
The resignation of course needed to happen to minimize the distraction to the Kings organization. And it’s probably best to do it like this, on the weekend during the lull period after the SC playoffs and before the draft.
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Dominick Reply:
June 12th, 2010 at 5:40 pm
@Pumpernicholl,
Agreed,the political timing of the announcement is perfect.Moving on quietly will assure no distractions for the team.
How ever it works out for you Harpo,Thank you for your years of service to this organization,and the fans.
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Such a shame, the whole thing. It’s good for all involved just to move on.
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A graceful way out. I’m betting the Kings simply approached him with a choice given the circumstances. I wish nothing but the best for Harpo and his family. Hopefully this all gets worked out to a misunderstanding, but it doesn’t look good. Tough to read about.
I’m still waiting for my Kompon interview. If I don’t get it, guess he has to leave since I won’t have his position to weigh in on.
Blake – no.
OD – Maybe.
Stevens – Yes.
Matti – Maybe.
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Ahem… RICK TOCCHET
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Hitchcock
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How about Larry Robinson . Would he even be interested.
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Blake – NO
OD – YES
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First off, I truly hope this is all a big misunderstanding for Mark Hardy and somehow he’ll come out of it unscathed. It sounds like a nasty situation and one I wouldn’t want to find myself in.
Beyond that, it doesn’t surprise me to hear he “resigned”. Seems more to me this is a “suggested resignation” by the Kings, and if he didn’t they’d do it for him. The Kings are trying to get a bigger footprint in the LA sports market right now since they’re an up and coming team and they certainly don’t need bad press, even if it’s really got nothing to do with them.
Best of luck to Harpo. Now let’s see how the Kings move on.
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Generally, Tocchet is the stench that follows a Gretzky arrival. Don’t be surprised if it’s our Manchester coach.
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DougS Reply:
June 12th, 2010 at 7:16 pm
@Bobby Scribe,
Indeed, Tocchet would not thrill me, either.
Morris would make sense. He seems to have done well as an AHL coach, and I’m sure the Kings are wary of being Bruce Boudreau-d again.
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Good Luck, Harpo.
Every Good Wish to you and your family and Friends.
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hire Blake and OD to replace Harpo and Kompon, keep Ranford
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Why is everybody feeling sorry for Mark Hardy? He was charged with 4th degree sexual harrassment for god sakes! He not only deserves to be fired from the Kings but he also deserves to go to jail. I was a Hardy fan but his actions are disgusting and inexcusable.
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TripleCrown Reply:
June 13th, 2010 at 5:57 pm
@INEXCUSABLE!, Whatever happened to “innocent until proven guilty”? While it’s easy to jump to conclusions, I’m reserving judgement until a judge says otherwise. We’ve all done stupid things while drinking, most of us just get lucky and don’t get hurt or caught. Coach Hardy has been a big part of Kings history, let’s not dismiss all of that before the facts come out.
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Gregg Reply:
June 14th, 2010 at 7:14 am
@TripleCrown,
Stupid things while drinking? Judas preist, this is his daughter making the accusations! What’s the excuse – “um, i got drunk, passed out and woke up on top of my daughter” Sorry, but Hardy is dead to me.
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bonvivant1 Reply:
June 13th, 2010 at 9:01 pm
@INEXCUSABLE!, What part of puritanical America do you come from?
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Good luck Mark…
As for the AC… I vote for Wayne Gretzky!!!
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USCG Reply:
June 14th, 2010 at 11:25 am
@KingNewfie, I dunno about that. I lost a lot of respect for Gretzky after he basically disappeared from Phoenix while withholding his intentions well into training camp. Great players rarely make great coaches.
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I don’t know about you guys but I think that Ranford’s position next season is going to be the most critical. If we end up with Quick being pushed by JB all season (ideal) it’s going to take a seriously good goalie coach to keep both of them on top of their own games at the same time as not turning everything into an ego battle. We know JB listened to Hextall when he went down and grew up a bit, but the closer he gets to #1 the harder it will be not to openly press for it.
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Jamie Tampon needs to go…….
Ranford…. well, don’t really know how much
he is contributing to the goalies, but he seems good.
We need a brand new start with 2 new assistant coaches, like some really hard nose NHL veterans or former head coaches to demand hard nose playing and not settle for less, like TM is doing….. to many players are sliding.
TM needs some support and help.
Sorry to see Hardy go, but what yah gonna do…
The Future Kings GM Hath Spoken
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