D.J. Smith will make his debut as the Kings’ interim coach Monday evening when they face the league-leading Colorado Avalanche at Crypto.com Arena after going 1-4-1 in their last six games.
Smith was appointed as interim coach Sunday to succeed the fired Jim Hiller, one day after the Kings ended a five-game losing streak with a 2-0 victory over the Calgary Flames.
“Couple of tough games going into the Olympic break and I was hoping that the time off and then the mini-training camp, that our team was able to respond,” Ken Holland, the Kings’ vice president and general manager, said Sunday.
“Tough couple of games coming out, especially the game against Edmonton on Thursday night. On Friday, I did lot of thought. I didn’t do it on Friday because Friday was an off day, the players weren’t here and we played at 4 on Saturday. I didn’t want just a new coach behind (the bench) and make the move going into a game,” he added.
The Kings (24-21-14) lost to Edmonton 8-1 at Crypto.com Arena, their widest loss of the season. They enter Monday’s play three points behind the Seattle Kraken (28-22-9) in the race for the Western Conference’s third and final wild-card playoff berth.
“At this point in the season, we believe a change in leadership is necessary to give our group the best opportunity to reach its potential and compete at the level we expect,” Holland said in a statement earlier Sunday.
“These decisions are never made lightly, but our responsibility is to position this team for success now and moving forward.”
Smith, 48, was in his second full season as the Kings’ associate coach. He joined the organization as an assistant coach Feb. 6, 2024, in connection with the appointment of Hiller, then an assistant coach, as interim coach, following the firing of Todd McLellan as coach.
Hiller was 93-58-24 in parts of three seasons as the Kings’ coach.
“I want to thank Jim Hiller for his dedication, professionalism, and the commitment he showed to our players and our team every day,” Holland said. “He is a respected coach and person, and we appreciate the work he’s done behind our bench,”
Smith was 131-154-32 in four full seasons and 26 games of a fifth season as coach of the Ottawa Senators from 2019-24, missing the playoffs each season. Smith also served as an assistant coach for the Toronto Maple Leafs from 2015-19, spending four seasons behind the bench alongside Hiller before being hired by Ottawa.
Prior to his NHL coaching career, the Windsor, Ontario native spent a decade coaching in the Ontario Hockey League.
Colorado (39-10-9) is 2-0-0 against the Kings this season. Tuesday’s game is the final regular-season matchup between the teams.
The 7:30 p.m. game will be televised by the FanDuel Sports Network.