There’s a familiar name stepping back into the NHL head coaching spotlight, this time in Southern California.
The Los Angeles Kings have hired former Ottawa Senators head coach D.J. Smith to take over their bench on an interim basis after the firing of Jim Hiller on Sunday. Hiller becomes the second coach to be fired this season after Columbus parted company with Dean Evason and gave the role to Rick Bowness back in January.
Interestingly, this season's two NHL coaching subs share something in common. They were both doomed to fail, taking over Ottawa Senators teams that were years away from being good.
Smith was hired by the Senators in 2019, just after they had traded away all their best players. Bowness took over the expansion Senators in 1992 at a time when expansion teams were still universally bad by design.
Smith coached four seasons for the Sens posting a record of 131-154-32, good for a points percentage of .464.
Prior to his time in Ottawa, Smith and Hiller were assistants together in Toronto under Mike Babcock. When Smith was fired by Ottawa in Dec. 2023, Smith took a job in LA as Hiller's assistant coach.
On Sunday, he took Hiller's job.
The Kings had just dropped five of six, including a massive beatdown at the hands of the Edmonton Oilers, and it sounds like that was probably the final straw.
"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," Kings GM Ken Holland told LA Kings Insider. "Tough couple of games coming out, especially the game against Edmonton on Thursday night.
"On Friday, I did a lot of thinking. I didn't do it on Friday because Friday was an off day, the players weren't here and we played at 4:00 on Saturday. I didn't want just a new coach behind [the bench] and make the move going into a game."
The Oilers game had to be particularly frustrating as the last thing anyone wants is to be pounded 8-1 by the team they used to run. Holland was GM of the Oilers from 2019-24.
During that same time period, Smith was in Ottawa, vainly trying to mould a young roster that was poorly insulated by fading veterans. GM Pierre Dorion was patient with Smith, almost to a fault, and never got the chance to fire him. Dorion lost his job a month before Smith got his walking papers.
Now in Los Angeles, the personable 48-year-old Smith now has a more veteran roster to work with, one that's built to win now, so it's hard to believe that his second NHL coaching chapter won't be more successful than the first.
Steve Warne The Hockey News
This article was first published by The Hockey News. More headlines here:
The Montreal Canadiens are a team to watch between now and the 2026 NHL trade deadline. With the Canadiens being one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, they should be looking to add to their roster ahead of the playoffs.
One area that the Canadiens could look to strengthen is their defensive depth. Bringing in another right-shot defenseman, in particular, could benefit the Canadiens.
When looking at trade candidates around the NHL who could be good fits for the Canadiens, Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy is an interesting option.
The Canadiens were recently linked to Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, so they at least are open to adding a big right-shot defenseman. With this, it would be understandable if a player like Murphy grabbed their attention. Like Ristolainen, Murphy is a solid defensive defenseman who could play on Montreal's bottom pairing if acquired. Murphy is also less expensive than Ristolainen, but signed for just the remainder of the season.
Murphy could be a nice addition to a Canadiens' blueline that would benefit by adding a bit more stability. In addition, Murphy could be a good mentor for the Canadiens' younger players, as he is a well-known leader.
Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see if the Canadiens look to bring in Murphy. On paper, there looks like there could be a good fit here.
PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 01: Bryan Rust #17 of the Pittsburgh Penguins celebrates his second period goal against the Vegas Golden Knights at PPG PAINTS Arena on March 1, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
Pregame
Same lineup for the Penguins again, Arturs Silovs gets back in the net.
Fun first period with free-flowing play and limited faceoffs. Vegas is the better team in the first 5-10 minutes, Pittsburgh then battles back and tips the scales as play moves along. Evgeni Malkin sets the tone with a huge hit on Tomas Hertl, then later helps build momentum with Egor Chinakhov with several scoring chances.
Back-and-forth play ambles along, Ben Kindel has two Golden Knights in front of him when he snaps a long-range shot. It catches Adin Hill a little off guard, 1-0 Pens.
The rest of the period slips away quickly, there are only eight faceoffs in the whole period. Shots are low too, 6-5 Pens.
Second period
Mitch Marner takes the first penalty of the game when he trips Erik Karlsson. The ensuing power play doesn’t get much going but does have a lot of zone time. That leads to Tommy Novak hitting Chinakhov with a pass soon after the penalty expired, Chinakhov displayed his lightning quick release to beat Hill to the far side. 2-0.
Egor Chinakhov has points in nine of his last 11 games (7G-3A).
Since he made his Penguins debut on January 1, no one has more goals than him ‼️ pic.twitter.com/vPGSmyHtlV
A bit later, Avery Hayes hits Colton Sissons, pretty routine. Cole Reinhardt skates over and asks for a fight, Hayes is very willing to give it to him. They throw a few punches and then get tied up, nothing major. The Pens come out of that deal with a power play with Reinhardt picking up an extra minor. The power play scores quickly, Erik Karlsson throws a high shot to the net, the puck bounces around and Bryan Rust is the first on it. Rust flicks it by an out of sorts Hill. 3-0.
The Golden Knights get their first power play of the game, Kris Letang is sent off for tripping. The strong Pens PK takes care of it.
Pittsburgh then gets another power play, Vegas is caught with too many players on the ice. The Pens make quick work of it again, Karlsson finds Rickard Rakell who sweeps a puck in past Hill. 4-0.
— SportsNet Pittsburgh (@SNPittsburgh) March 1, 2026
The penalty-fest continues when Blake Lizotte gets called for reaching in and tripping Jack Eichel, another successful penalty kill.
The three-goal second period puts the Pens up a commanding 4-0 after 40 minutes, shots were 11-7 PIT in the middle frame.
Third period
The Knights start trying to get it into gear late but hit a road block when Reilly Smith trips Lizotte.
Hertl pays Malkin back from the first period with a massive open ice hit of his own.
Play continues on, Kindel drops a puck in the offensive zone for Justin Brazeau in support and skates to the net. Brazeau shoots from distance, Hill doesn’t pick up on it. 5-0.
Chinakhov is up to seven goals in his last nine games. Even when he doesn’t score, the threat of his shot and the possibility is there almost every shift. Really impressive to watch him operate these days, such a talent. He doesn’t need a lot of time or space to get a hard shot away.
The Bob Grove stat of the day: 2-7-3 in their last 12 home afternoon games and 0-4-2 in the last six Sunday home games. Games like this can be tricky with out of cycle starts and usually back-to-backs on a Sunday.
Very disjointed game from Vegas, made worse when Mark Stone left with an injury in the first period and didn’t return. Couldn’t have helped matters there, weird occurrence where Letang gave a little push on Stone’s upper arm. No twisting or huge force but something went awry.
Vegas played to type from the preview, they don’t give up a ton of shots but they don’t get a lot of saves. The Kindel shot was tricky but caught Hill back in his crease. The third goal Hill was also a bit out of position from the mayhem in front and Rust made him pay.
Unique way for Hayes to pitch in by getting in a fight that drew an extra penalty on the other guy. As it should have, there was nothing wrong with Hayes’s hit in the first place. Reinhardt, understandably, was looking to do something to provide a jolt to his team in that moment (down 2-0 and looking sleepy throughout) yet it backfired since the Pens scored quickly and turned it into a 3-0 game.
Big game from the special teams, the power play scored twice (plus scored a defacto PPG six seconds after one expired), the PK was 2/2. That’s the foundation for a winning recipe.
a
Good bounceback from the Pens for letting a point getaway yesterday, the party moves onto Boston on Tuesday night.
Concerns over whether the Buffalo Sabres would be able to recapture their winning momentum after the Olympic break have been put to the side, as the club swept all three games coming after the lengthy hiatus. The Sabres snuck by New Jersey and the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers with one goal wins, and punctuated the three-game sweep with a dominating 6-2 victory over the Atlantic Division-leading Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.
"We got off to a great start. Skated really well, moved the puck well, got support of the puck well. Coming out of the zone led a lot of good opportunities,"Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff said after the game. "We got around net-front where (we had a) tip goal and we a lot of great opportunities."
Buffalo surged out to a 5-0 lead in the second of back-to-back games in the Sunshine State, with Josh Norris leading the way with a pair of tallies, and got a strong 36-save performance from Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to move into sole possession of second place in the division, one point ahead of the Montreal Canadiens and just four points in back of the Lightning.
"When you look at opportunities, there's a lot of nights you get a lot of good opportunities, (that) you don't take advantage," Ruff said. "In Florida, we had a lot of good ones, the two-on-ones we gave, we didn't generate a lot (of chances), I thought today, we made some good plays, and then we put them in the back of the net, which, early on, really put (Tampa) in a bad place and they tried to press a little bit, and then we caught him, we got on the other side of them and created some even better opportunities."
Questions of whether the Sabres will make the playoffs are beginning to fade, as the club is seven points ahead of the Washington Capitals (who are in ninth place in the Eastern Conference standings). The unknown with five days remaining before the NHL trade deadline is whether GM Jarmo Kekalainen will take the opportunity to add to the roster before 3 pm Friday.
The Sabres do not have their second-round pick in 2026, due to the swap with Ottawa for Norris, but have extra picks in the middle rounds, all their picks in 2027, and a bevy of prospects in the organization. Youngsters like Isak Rosen and Devon Levi are blocked within the organization’s depth chart. Both will lose their waiver exemption next season, so they could be pieces that Kekalainen uses to bring back a significant return. Using some of their draft capital could bring back a depth rental in a key area, and there are indicators that the Sabres are looking to add a veteran right-handed blueliner, with Michael Kesselring having health issues all season and veteran Conor Timmins currently on injured reserve recovering from a broken leg.
Regardless of where anyone fell on the spectrum of belief that the Kings would be this mediocre after being the second seed in the Pacific Division last season and having the best record at home, we could all agree that their most realistic path to at least making it to the playoffs would be on the defensive side of the ice.
With the recent blowout loss to the Edmont Oilers, an 8-1 loss on their home floor, the Kings decided to take action and fire head coach Jim Hiller, the team announced on Sunday.
We have relieved Jim Hiller of his duties and named D.J. Smith interim head coach for the remainder of the season, Kings Vice President and General Manager Ken Holland announced.
In addition, Kings player development coach Matt Greene will join Smith as an assistant coach.… pic.twitter.com/3MCzFfNF41
The biggest question will be whether the defense improves under new interim coach DJ Smith, who will take the job for the remainder of the season, the team announced. We will soon find out whether the problem was all on Hiller or if some blame lies with the Kings' defensive lapses, unstable goaltending, and inconsistent offense.
Under Hiller, even though the numbers say he had the Kings 12th in defense, right in the middle of the pack, you wouldn't think that when you actually watch them play on ice.
The fact of the matter is, the last two games in which they gave up 14 goals combined were the defining factor in Hiller being fired, and now it will be interesting to see where the defense goes and adjusts with Smith promoted as the interim head coach.
The two losses out of the Olympic break, the Kings gave up more than double the goals they're giving up on average, 14 goals combined in the back-to-back games against the Edmonton Oilers and Vegas Golden Knights. That's not a good sign, especially against the two best teams in their division that they're trying to overtake.
The one defensive stat that you can look at and be happy as a Kings fan is the goals against average. Los Angeles is giving up 2.91 goals against per game and is ranked in the top 10, so that's good news, but their recent skid coming out of the Olympic break has been the total opposite of that stat.
Sure, they've had some moments where, in overtime, the defense has shown up, or in late-game situations, they've come back, forced it into overtime, and won the game, but it hasn't been sustainable.
But, when the captain of your defense is an aging 36-year-old who clearly isn't the same player he once was on defense a few years ago, that's a problem, especially in the playoffs and later on in games when fatigue hits you.
It's not just the defensive line, though; it's also Darcy Kuemper, who has pretty much been unplayable recently at the goaltender position, and that's very hard to say, given how great he was last season and some parts of this season.
But that's the truth: mostly because of injuries, he hasn't been the same player since coming back. But it is what it is; he hasn't performed up to expectations, and the backup goaltender, Anton Forsberg, has been the better player overall. Just tonight, the Kings won a shutout over the Calgary Flames with Forsberg in the crease for Los Angeles.
Sure, they traded for Artemi Panarin, who will certainly help boost their offense, as they're also a very bad offensive team, sitting 29th out of the 32 teams in the NHL, only scoring 2.60 goals per game and 0.48 on power play goals, which is also an issue, given how many talented offensive players Los Angeles has.
The results on offense also just haven't been consistent, and there's no excuse for that because this is a very talented team from a scoring standpoint. On paper, when you look at it, from Artemi Panarin, Quinton Byfield, Kevin Fiala, Alex Laferriere, etc, a lot of these guys are playing very well, but the offense sometimes isn't present when needed to make a spark.
But the defense, Los Angeles won't go anywhere if they don't improve their defense. It could be making a trade to get help up front because acquiring forwards isn't going to change a thing; it's the defense that remains a problem.
This team is known for its strong defense. Over the last few years, Los Angeles has been at least a top-5 or top-10 team on defense because of the grit and grind we know the silver and white has.
At times, it's there, especially when Los Angeles jumps up to big leads and both their defense and offense are clicking, but then in the second and third period specifically, all that crumbles down, and it's either an overtime loss or a regulation loss.
Individually, while things have not always been perfect, just see the end of the team's loss against the Edmonton Oilers and Vegas Golden Knights, both games have been about the defense evaporating, and to some point, the offense.
Panarin is the only player on the Kings who's in the top 50 of any category on offense. The 34-year-old forward is currently no. 24 in points this season with 60; no other Kings player is in the top 50 in either category on offense.
It just shows that even though on paper, this roster has some solid forwards and depth, no one is playing at the elite level like Panarin is, who the Kings should be lucky that they acquired.
It's pretty clear that the biggest issues are a lack of defense, inconsistent offense, and coaching. It seems like every game, fans are calling to fire Jim Hiller, even after wins, just to get in a fresh voice out there on the bench.
Questionable rotations and guys not getting enough minutes on ice who deserve them, like Taylor Ward, who, since being recalled from the Ontario Reign, has been a solid forward playing in his limited minutes, with two goals, two assists, and four points.
The team, at this point, is pretty clear about what they are and what they're trying to do: build to win now, rather than rebuild for future draft capital and young players. But the worst situation to be in sports is being a mediocre team that's always in the middle, and that's exactly what the Kings are, good enough to make the playoffs but destined to go home in the first round.
In a season where it will be Anze Kopitar's last with the silver and white after announcing retirement early in the season, it sucks to see the Kings wasting another season of being a legitimate contender and even a playoff team under Kopitar.
Whatever decisions are made, though, need to happen now. Coming out of the Olympic break is a massive sprint to the finish line, where the playoffs are the ultimate goal. Injuries have not allowed the team to get the footing that it would have liked, but the race does not stop, so you can get your bearings.
The Kings don't have time to linger or falter on ideas. If there's a trade out there that can help the team specifically on defense, Los Angeles has to pull the trigger right now. Because if they don’t, they’ll have a very long offseason to consider where they went wrong…again.
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After spending the entire season out due to injury, the Vancouver Canucks have announced that Guillaume Brisebois has been placed on waivers in preparation for assignment to the AHL. If he clears waivers, Brisebois will report to the Abbotsford Canucks.
Brisebois took part in Vancouver's training camp back in September, but was soon ruled out of play after undergoing surgery to repair a lower-body injury. As a result, he has yet to make his season debut this season.
As one of the longest-tenured members of the Canucks organization, having been drafted 66th overall in the 2015 NHL Draft, Brisebois has been a staple in Vancouver's D-core depth. He played in three NHL games during the 2024-25 season and won the Calder Cup with Abbotsford during their playoff run back in June.
Brisebois' return will give Abbotsford a massive boost on their blueline. Through the 2025-26 season, the AHL Canucks have been forced to shift their defensive pairings around due to injury issues and NHL call-ups.
Abbotsford plays later today at 12:00 pm PT, but will return to the Rogers Forum for a six-game home stand directly after.
Jan 3, 2025; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks defenseman Guillaume Brisebois (55) handles the puck against the Nashville Predators in the first period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.
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The Los Angeles Kings have fired head coach Jim Hiller, the team announced on Sunday, March 1. In an effort to salvage their playoff hopes in Anze Kopitar's final season, the Kings will look elsewhere for leadership.
"I want to thank Jim Hiller for his dedication, professionalism, and the commitment he showed to our players and our team every day," Kings general manager Ken Holland said in a statement. "He is a respected coach and person, and we appreciate the work he’s done behind our bench."
Holland named DJ Smith interim head coach through the remainder of the season. Smith, who is in his second full season as associate coach, was previously the head coach of the Ottawa Senators from 2019-2023. He was also an assistant coach alongside Hiller in Toronto from 2015-2019.
Kings player development coach Matt Greene will serve as an assistant coach under Smith.
"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. "These decisions are never made lightly, but our responsibility is to position this team for success now and moving forward.”
The Kings (24-21-14) currently sit three points out of a playoff spot. They lost their last three games going into the Olympic break and their first two games coming out of it, culminating in an 8-1 loss at home to the Edmonton Oilers that led fans at Crypto.com Arena to break out into "Fire Hiller" chants.
Hiller took over for Todd McClellan in February 2024 as an interim and led the Kings to a 21-12-1 finish to the season that ended in a first-round playoff loss to the Oilers in six games. He was named permanent head coach that May.
In his first full season, Hiller coached the Kings to 48 wins and 105 points, a franchise best. They met the Oilers again in the first round and held a 2-0 lead after the first two games at Crypto.com Arena, but fizzled out and lost the series in six games. It was the Kings' fourth consecutive first-round loss to the Oilers, who advanced to their second straight Stanley Cup Final.
Hiller came under fire for his decision-making during that series, but team president Luc Robitaille and Holland stuck by him.
In December, Holland again voiced his support for Hiller amid the team's struggles.
"I expect him to be here the rest of the season," he told reporters.
No rest for the victors, as the Islanders return to Long Island to host the Florida Panthers after winning in Columbus last night. The Panthers are rested and might even be a little healthier, having lost at home to the Sabres on Friday night.
The two-time defending champs are 30-26-3 on the season and sit eight points behind the second wild card spot. Atlantic teams occupy both of those spots right now, so that’s really the only avenue they have to make a big climb back into it. If they miss the playoffs, they certainly wouldn’t be the first Cup champ to do so, but they’d have a little more grace considering how much hockey they’ve played and how many key injuries they’ve had for much of the season.
Amid that backdrop is the status of Sergei Bobrovsky, who’s having another mid-career-level Bobrovsky season rather than anything close to his Columbus and Panthers Cup-run peaks. His top-dollar contract certainly carried him through some highs and lows, so the Panthers are right not to want to rush into a premium extension for a guy who will be 38.
The Isles won’t concern themselves with any of that, of course. They’ll just want to have a better performance than the last two games, where they found ways to pull off 4-3 OT wins despite some shoddy play.
Dmitry Kulikov might return for the Panthers tonight; he hasn’t played since the second game of the season. [NHL]
The Skinny: Ilya Sorokin remains unbeaten in regulation against Columbus, and the Isles are 7-2-0 in their last nine games… The Isles improve to 14-2-3 when tied after two periods; the 14 wins lead the NHL. [Isles]
Gross: The OT win over the Blue Jackets is an example of the desperation the Isles will need to carry through to a playoff spot. [Newsday]
Sears: The Isles’ OT success has been the difference between playoff position and playoff chasing. [Post]
Patrick Roy, who has been burned on multiple goalie interference challenges this season, said he wouldn’t have issued the challenge the Blue Jackets did on the J-G Pageau goal last night:
#Isles Patrick Roy said, had it been him, he would not have challenged for interference on Pageau goal because contact came outside the crease. "If it's not in the crease, I don't know if I would challenge anything right now in the league."
The Kings have fired coach Jim Hiller, who was once an Isles assistant, replacing him with DJ Smith, who gets the interim tag for the remainder of this season. [NHL]
The “embarrassing” losses continue to pile up for the Leafs, who lost at home to Ottawa. [Sportsnet]
Elias Pettersson’s slump hits a new low. [Sportsnet]
Evgeni Malkin will wait till after the season to engage in his latest round of contract drama with the Penguins. [TSN]
Adam Henrique has a no-trade clause and no intention of waiving it in Edmonton. [TSN]
There's not a thing wrong with any of that, but a generation ago, you'd rarely see those cities/towns appear on an NHL roster, much less attached to its five best players.
There was a time when top scorers seemed to come almost exclusively from Canada. Even smaller Canadian cities, towns, and villages were pumping out more NHL talent than entire hockey-playing countries.
So how did we get here? As others have done before, you can probably trace a straight line back to one trade. The trade.
When Wayne Gretzky was sent to the Los Angeles Kings in 1988, it wasn't just a trade away from Edmonton. It was a trade from Canada. But whether anyone knew it at the time or not, it's now crystal clear that it planted the seeds for the incredible growth we've seen in the league and the sport over the past four decades.
Hockey moved into Hollywood, celebrities filled the rink-side seats, and kids in California, who had never seen an ODR much less skated on one, suddenly had the game's greatest superstar right in their backyard. It was cool to be a hockey fan in places that hadn't cared about the sport before. Like, at all.
And from there, the league blossomed.
Within five years of the Gretzky deal, the NHL had taken up residence in San Jose, Tampa Bay, Florida, and Anaheim. When Gary Bettman became commissioner in 1993, he leaned even further into the belief that NHL hockey could now thrive anywhere in North America, thanks to the Gretzky effect.
And it has.
League revenues are at record levels, player salaries continue to skyrocket, the salary cap keeps climbing (moving to $113.5 million in 2027-28), and the world is taking notice.
Meanwhile, international tournaments are always a battle for Canada. We're still the best at hockey, but losing isn't just a once-in-a-while thing anymore. Collectively, the rest of the world wins just as much as Canada now, and after the American sweep in Milan, who knows what the future holds?
But the full measure of hockey’s growth isn’t found just at international events. It’s found in NHL dressing rooms.
Admittedly, I'm taking liberties with the Sens' birthplaces as a jumping off point. The Sens top five scorers, Tim Stutzle, Drake Batherson, Jake Sanderson, Dylan Cozens, and Brady Tkachuk hail from non-traditional markets for various reasons, and they didn't all grow up exactly where they were born. Batherson, Sanderson, and Tkachuk had dads who were pros and ended up elsewhere.
But Tkachuk grew up in St. Louis, which wasn't always the minor hockey hotbed it's become, and Batherson spent his early minor hockey in Germany.
Speaking of which, Stutzle is also a fine example of the game's growth, that a player so fast and skilled developed completely in Germany. He never played in the CHL and made a last second decision to play pro at home instead of the University of New Hampshire. It's a feather in the cap of Germany's developmental model and the level of passion for the game that now exists there.
Markets that once felt experimental have become established. Kids in Germany or Arizona (or wherever) have grown up with both an interest and opportunity that simply didn’t exist before.
The Senators’ top five scorers aren’t a gimmick or a trivia answer. They’re just a reflection of hockey's growth and its ever-growing worldwide popularity. And if you’re wondering how we got here, you can still trace that line back to 1988, when Gretzky's arrival woke up America.
The dominoes just fell from there.
Steve Warne The Hockey News
This article was first published by The Hockey News. More headlines here:
PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 11: Erik Karlsson #65 of the Pittsburgh Penguins skates against Tomas Hertl #48 of the Vegas Golden Knights at PPG PAINTS Arena on March 11, 2025 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
Kings coach Jim Hiller gestures during a loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Dec. 29. (David Zalubowski / Associated Press)
The Kings fired coach Jim Hiller on Sunday amid ongoing struggles that have put the team's playoff hopes in a perilous spot.
The Kings named associate coach D.J. Smith the interim head coach for the remainder of the season. Smith was the Ottawa Senators' head coach for four and a half seasons from 2019 to 2023. He went 131-154-32 in Ottawa before being fired in December 2023.
Kings player development coach Matt Greene will serve as an assistant coach under Smith, the team said.
"I want to thank Jim Hiller for his dedication, professionalism, and the commitment he showed to our players and our team every day. He is a respected coach and person, and we appreciate the work he’s done behind our bench," Kings general manager Ken Holland said in a statement. "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. These decisions are never made lightly, but our responsibility is to position this team for success now and moving forward.”
After leading the Kings to a franchise-best 48 wins and 105 points in his first full season as coach, Hiller failed to replicate that success with a team that has appeared unorganized and undisciplined for much of the season. Hiller went 93-58-24 for a Kings franchise that hasn't won a playoff series since winning the Stanley Cup in 2014.
A roster constructed by Holland and his predecessor, Rob Blake, has struggled to score. The Kings are hopeful the acquisition of Artemi Panarin from the New York Rangers will jump-start their offense, but with Quinton Byfield struggling (13 goals, 33 points) and Kevin Fiala out for the remainder of the season, the Kings remain one of the NHL's most goal-starved teams. They rank 29th in average goals per game (2.53).
The Kings were expected to do better in captain Anze Kopitar's final campaign, but they are in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time in five seasons. Coming off the Olympic break, the Kings dropped their first two games, including an 8-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday that prompted chants of "Fire Hiller" from fans at Crypto.com Arena.
Former Ottawa Senators coach D.J. Smith is taking over as the Kings' interim head coach for the remainder of the season. (Chris Seward / Associated Press)
“We’ve just got to flat-out perform better," Kopitar told reporters after practice Sunday. "It wasn’t good enough. It wasn’t consistent enough. We’re looking for a jolt here and a spark to get our game together.”
Speaking to reporters Sunday, Holland said the Kings' struggles on defense in losses to Seattle and Vegas before the Olympic break, coupled with the losses to Vegas and Edmonton last week convinced him Friday he needed to fire Hiller. Holland said he "tried to wait as long I could."
Through 59 games, the Kings (24-21-14) are three points outside the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference heading into Monday's game against the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche.
The Kings have one of the NHL's easier schedules over their final 23 games. They play the last-place Vancouver Canucks three times, and 14 of their 22 games after Monday are against teams currently not in a playoff spot. That said, most of those teams will be playing with more desperation as they look to make the playoffs — and some could look a lot different after Friday's trade deadline.
The teams met in a playoff rematch last spring, but after the Kings won the first two games at home, Hiller made a number of costly decisions in the two games in Edmonton, both of which his team lost, and the Oilers went on to eliminate the Kings in the first round for a fourth straight season.
Kings president Luc Robitaille expressed confidence in Hiller after the playoff setback, and Holland retained Hiller after he was hired as general manager.
In December, Holland gave his coach another vote of support.
“I expect him to be here the rest of the season,” he said.
The Florida Panthers could close the gap on a playoff spot to six points with a victory over New York today.
My Panthers vs. Islanders predictions expect the back-to-back Stanley Cup champions to get a big two points against a team playing without its star netminder.
Let’s dive deeper into my NHL picks for Sunday, March 1.
Panthers vs Islanders prediction
Panthers vs Islanders best bet: Panthers moneyline (-145)
The Florida Panthers have been much better since Matthew Tkachuk joined the lineup, ranking 5th in expected goal share (54.84%) over 12 games.
They are consistently controlling the run of play and generating more chances than they give up. That trend should continue against the New York Islanders, who slot 21st in xGF% over the same period.
Ilya Sorokin won’t be available to start after getting the nod Saturday, which means the Islanders can’t rely on elite goaltending to level the playing field. That’ll make it difficult for them to beat the Panthers.
Panthers vs Islanders same-game parlay
Sam Reinhart hasn’t scored in a season-long six consecutive games. He’s found the back of the net in six of his last seven against the Islanders, though, and won’t have to deal with Ilya Sorokin. This is a good spot to get back on track.
Matthew Tkachuk facilitates a ton of offense at 5-on-5 and shares the ice with Reinhart on the power play, where getting him the puck in shooting position is the top priority.
The Florida Panthers have hit the Moneyline in 13 of their last 20 away games (+4.35 Units / 19% ROI). Find more NHL betting trends for Panthers vs. Islanders.
How to watch Panthers vs Islanders
Location
UBS Arena, Elmont, NY
Date
Sunday, March 1, 2026
Tip-off
6:30 p.m. ET
TV
ESPN
Panthers vs Islanders latest injuries
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The name Tye Kartye may sound like an anagram to you but it sounds like a part of the – you should excuse the expression to me – part of the grand Rangers tool to me.
Here's why:
In 1946, Conn Smythe's fifth place Maple Leafs needed a rebuild and one of the rookies he imported was an unknown left winger Vic Lynn out of Saskatoon.
Teamed with rookie of the year right wing Howie Meeker and young center Ted Kennedy, they comprised a new "Kid Line,"
I see Kartye as the new "Kid Line" with maybe a reformed Matt Rempe rounded it out, Listen up to what The Maven's Seattle Super-Savant, Glenn Dreyfuss, has to say about it:
Tye Kartye burned brightly to start his Seattle Kraken career, but by this season, it had faded to embers. The 24-year-old 4th line forward, placed on waivers Thursday, was claimed by the New York Rangers Friday morning.
No Kraken fan will forget Kartye’s impact during the first round of the 2023 playoffs against the defending champion Colorado Avalanche. Kartye was called up from AHL Coachella Valley as an injury replacement and scored his first NHL goal. He was also a physical wrecking ball with fierce hits that continued into the 2nd round series against the Dallas Stars. Improbably, he scored two more times, giving him three NHL goals before ever playing a regular season game.
That’s Kartye Hockey, Baby
With the Kraken’s Firebirds farm team in 2022-23, he had scored 28 goals and 57 points in 72 games. Tye rose from undrafted 4th liner in the AHL to that league’s rookie of the year .
The Kartye Party continued in Seattle during the 2023-24 season. He played 77 games, scoring 11 goals. But from there, the offensive production dried up. In 63 games last season, he scored six goals. He was on the same pace this season with three goals in 40 games. Recently, more often than not, he was a healthy scratch.
Coach Lane Lambert decided the 4th line chemistry worked better with Ryan Winterton, Jacob Melanson and Ben Meyers in the mix, so Kartye was placed on waivers. To return to the AHL Firebirds, he needed to go unclaimed by all 31 other NHL clubs. However, the Rangers, who have been a dumpster fire this year and will not make the playoffs, decided they could use the physicality and grit Kartye brings. Interestingly, to make room for Kartye, the Blueshirts demoted 2021 1st round pick Brennan Othman to the AHL.
Here in Seattle, the coaching staff knew what they had in Kartye, and decided the re-constituted 4th line was giving the Kraken more of a spark. Tye was the odd man out. Remember, Winterton and Meyers were just signed to new deals that will keep them part of the Kraken organization through the 27-28 season. Melanson, who will be a restricted free agent at year’s end, isn’t going anywhere, either.
Tye finishes his Kraken career with 180 games played, 20 goals and 21 assists, to go along with 101 penalty minutes. Kartye has one year remaining on a two-year deal with an annual cap hit of $1.25 million.
The Rangers likely will be trade deadline sellers, and will need warm bodies to finish out the season. The real question is where Kartye lands, if he lands, in the off-season.
Philadelphia Flyers forward Owen Tippett has come up as a trade candidate this season. Due to this and the 2026 NHL trade deadline rapidly approaching, let's look at three potential landing spots for the Flyers winger if he is officially made available.
Boston Bruins
The Bruins have been connected to Tippett this season, and it makes sense when noting that they need another skilled winger in their top six. With this, they are certainly one of the teams to watch when it comes to Tippett. If the Bruins acquired him, he could fit perfectly on their second line with Casey Mittelstadt and Pavel Zacha.
Buffalo Sabres
The Sabres have a strong chance of snapping their 14-year playoff drought this season and should be aggressive at the deadline. They could use another forward on the right side of 30, so it would make sense if they made a push for Tippett. He would give them another impactful forward for their top nine, which would be a great thing for a Sabres club on the rise.
Vancouver Canucks
The Canucks are another club that have been linked to Tippett in the past. While they are rebuilding, Tippett could still be a strong addition to their roster. With Tippett still being just 27 years old and being locked up until 2031-32, he could be a good long-term fit on the Canucks if they landed him.
It’s been three years now. Three long seasons during which Jayden Struble and Arber Xhekaj have battled for the role of sixth defenseman with the Montreal Canadiens. During that span, the former has played 152 games, and the latter 165. During the 2023-24 season, Xhekaj had season-ending shoulder surgery, but since it occurred in April, it cost him only four games.
Needless to say, the Habs have a big enough sample size to know what both are made of, their strength and their weaknesses, but whichever one of the two is dressed seems to make little difference to Martin St-Louis. This past week, Xhekaj played against the New York Islanders while Struble took on the Washington Capitals. The former saw 11:58 of ice time, all at even strength; the latter saw 11:08 of action and sat through special teams, even when Mike Matheson was in the box killing a penalty, St-Louis preferring to send out Lane Hutson to kill the penalty.
Xhekaj landed three hits against the Islanders, while Struble landed one against the Caps. The free agent signing was held off the scoresheet and only has two points in 51 games. The Northeastern alumnus registered an assist on Cole Caufield’s second goal of the game and has nine points, all assists, in 40 games.
The 6-foot-4 and 240-pound blueliner has 104 penalty minutes and leads the team in hits with 138. The 6-foot and 207-pound rearguard has 36 penalty minutes and is sixth on the team in hits with 74.
In other words, Xhekaj brings more physicality, and Struble brings more offence to the table. While Xhekaj averages 11:21 in ice time this season, and Struble averages 13:59, he has lost a lot of ice time of late, which is slowly but surely driving his average down, and can only lead to one conclusion: the bench boss doesn’t really trust either.
While spreading the workload between five defensemen in the regular season can be done, it gets trickier in the playoffs, where you can end up playing much longer games with continuous overtime. If you overwork your top guys, you risk wearing them out, and tired players become less effective; it’s human nature.
If the Canadiens are calling around the NHL and enquiring about the asking price for various defensemen, such as Rasmus Ristolainen, that’s probably why, but there are no perfect defensemen. Especially when it comes to depth, bottom-pairing blueliners, you eventually must learn to live with the consequences of their shortcomings, and given how playoff hockey is played, St-Louis would do well to learn to cope with Xhekaj’s defensive shortcomings. Of course, they might be easier to cope with if goaltending improved. Even if the Habs’ brass goes out and gets a depth defenseman on the trade market, they won’t play like top-pairing defensemen.
