Key Takeaways from Luc Robitaille’s End-Of-Season Media Availability

Kings President Luc Robitaille addressed the media today on a variety of different topics.

Following yesterday’s announcement that the Kings and Rob Blake had decided to mutually part ways following the 2024-25 season, Robitaille addressed the decision during today’s availability, noting that it was a true mutual decision, based upon conversations between he and Blake.

Robitaille declined to share the specifics of private conversations between he and Blake but he indicated that discussions between him and Blake have really been ongoing since around December.

“Blakey and I, we met on over the weekend and we took a couple days to go over the season and go over everything with what happened in the playoffs and so forth,” Robitaille said today. “You go into every detail as much as possible. I think at one point we both realized and agreed that it was time to probably bring a new voice just to get us to that next level.”

It was certainly a tough one for Robitaille, considering the history that he and Blake have, with Robitaille calling Blake a man with “more integrity than anyone I’ve ever known.” But with Blake on board and agreeing that a split was the right decision for both parties, things unfolded as they did.

For the Kings, it leaves a massive hole atop the team’s hockey operations department.

It’s May 6 and the Kings don’t have a general manager. Naturally, there is some “urgency” to fill that position but it doesn’t sound like the Kings will announce someone tomorrow, with Robitaille highlighting how important this hire is for the future of the organization. I’d hope that they wouldn’t rush anything. This is a really important hire and the organization needs to work through several different avenues and leave no stone unturned. That process will include, per Robitaille, candidates both external and internal from the current Kings management team. As it should be. This is an important hire, designed to help elevate the club from a playoff team to a contender. You would think that type of job, with several NHL regulars in their 20’s, would be very appealing to a number of different candidates.

“We’re not going to close any doors on anything but we’ve got to get the best person to help us get to the next level,” Robitaille said. “That’s what’s more important for me right now. It’s not fair to say, you know, we’re going to go one way or the other. We’ve just got to get the right person, the best person for this organization at this time.”

Robitaille will lead the hiring process from the Kings side, along with help from those around him, as he disclosed today. He shared that the search for a new General Manager is now two days underway, with the organization already working through candidates as of yesterday. Robitaille shared that he will make the ultimate decision on the team’s next general manager.

As for the futures of others on the Kings staff, no definitive decisions have been made today.

Regarding Jim Hiller, he said yesterday that is proceeding as if he will be the team’s Head Coach next season. Robitaille said that the ultimate decision on Hiller will be made in conjunction with the team’s new General Manager. Hiller is currently under contract and is the team’s head coach today. When a new GM is selected, a final decision will be made on that position, along with the rest of the coaching staff, though Robitaille noted he believes it is unlikely that new individual would choose to move on, although it was not 100 percent.

“I think Jimmy answered that question, you never know in sports, I don’t see that happening, but your general manager, you want to give [that person] the freedom, you don’t want to lock up a new person that’s coming in, but the record of what Jimmy’s done this year is really, really good,” Robitaille said. “That’d be really hard for any GM to say, well, this guy should come back. He’s been really good. I think Jimmy’s a great coach and I fully think that this guy’s coming back, for sure.”

Regarding others within the hockey operations staff, Robitaille was specifically asked about Nelson Emerson and Glen Murray, who Robitaille confirmed are both under contract. Select current executives will likely be interviewed for the vacant General Manager role, to be determined at a later date.

On Marc Bergevin, a senior advisor to Blake, Robitaille described the relationship as being between Bergevin and Blake directly.

“Marc had the relationship between him and Blakey, where they worked together,” Robitaille said of Bergevin. “I know in the room he’s really good hockey mind and they work closely together. He traveled a lot when it came down to [trade deadline]. We have a full scouting system, these guys are really talented and he added to what they were doing as a group, and he was really he’s been really good for our team.”

Much of this process was, obviously, necessitated by the team’s failure to get out of the first round of the playoffs for the fourth year running. All four defeats have come at the hands of the same team. As the team’s President, while Blake and Hiller bear the more direct responsibility, Robitaille oversees both positions.

What the Kings need is to take the next step. Robitaille acknowledged today that recent results have not been good enough to meet the organization’s objectives. When the Kings entered into the early stages of their retooling plan, the ultimate goal wasn’t just to return to the postseason. It was grander. And while 2022 and 2023 represented progress forward in the plan, not taking that progress and advancing past the first round in either 2024 or 2025 represents a stagnation in that plan. With Anze Kopitar entering what could be his final season and Drew Doughty now 35-years-old, the Kings are running out of windows with those two players involved as core members of the team, with younger players needing to take steps forward to enhance the team’s fortunes long term. The tear down and rebuild into a playoff team went as scheduled. Getting over that next hump has not come, though, which has created a team stuck as a solid playoff team that has yet to show it can be more.

“We’re in good shape, I really mean it, I think the moves that Rob did and the group did last summer really changed our team and got more of an edge and so forth, but that being said, it’s not enough,” Robitaille added. “We’re going to have to figure out exactly what needs to be tweaked to get this team to the next level.”

Additional Quick Hitters –
– Robitaille highlighted that the Kings will not necessarily need to wait for a new general manager to potentially sign any unrestricted free agents. He and Assistant General Manager Nelson Emerson met with half the team today during exit meetings, including defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov and forward Andrei Kuzmenko, with forward Tanner Jeannot to come tomorrow along with the second half of the group. He said that he encouraged those players and their representation to reach out immediately to continue negotiations.

– Robitaille said that he and forward Anze Kopitar have not yet held any discussions on what Kopitar’s future might be after the 2025-26 season, which is the last on Kopitar’s current contract.

– As for the salary cap rising, Robitaille said that the Kings will not spend recklessly, but he seemed to commit to spending as much money as needed to build a contending team.

“If you want to win in this league, usually you spend to the cap, but it’s not about spending to the cap, it’s about being wise, doing the right decisions and so forth. We’re not just going to throw money just to throw money, you’ve got to do it right, but we’re in this. This team is committed, yeah.”

– Robitaille added that the New York Islanders have not reached out to him regarding Bergevin for any potential management openings. Bergevin has been linked to that opening via the media in New York. Bergevin is a two-time finalist for the NHL’s General Manager of the Year in Montreal so it would be unsurprising to see Bergevin in the mix for openings around the league at that level.

– Regarding his own role, Robitaille said today that the general manager makes the final call on all hockey operations decisions, including trades, signings and roster moves. He and others participate in the collaborative process, but Blake made final calls when he was in the position, as the next candidate will as well.

Full video is embedded above for full transparency. Didn’t pull every single quote from nearly 30 minutes of interview, but the entire video is there for those who want to watch and form their own takeaways and opinions.