<p>The Los Angeles Kings made news on Friday morning when they announced the firing of head coach Todd McLellan. </p>



<p>“This was not an easy decision,” said Kings GM Rob Blake. “We felt the change was necessary at this time.”</p>


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Los Angeles Kings fire head coach Todd McLellan <a href="https://t.co/bzZFyVH5yj">https://t.co/bzZFyVH5yj</a></p>
<p>— Daily Faceoff (@DailyFaceoff) <a href="https://twitter.com/DailyFaceoff/status/1753472246218461276?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 2, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
<p> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>



<p>Assistant coach Jim Hiller will serve as interim coach for the remainder of the season.</p>



<p>McLellan was in his fifth season as Los Angeles’ coach, where he had a record of 141-115-34. He took the team to the post-season in 2021-22 and 2022-23, but were eliminated in the first round each time by the Edmonton Oilers, McLellan’s former team.</p>



<p>On Friday’s episode of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3m0cCZyTlV8">Daily Faceoff LIVE</a>, Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk – live from Toronto, Ont., for All-Star Weekend – discuss the Kings’ coaching change, and whether it will be the right decision in the short and long term. </p><div class="injected-ad injected-video" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="0" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="158"></div>



<p><strong>Tyler Yaremchuk</strong>: This is a Kings team that started the season looking like a wagon, but they began to hit the skids. Is this a fair reaction in your mind? </p>



<p><strong>Frank Seravalli</strong>: I think this is an overreaction, but I think it indicates the kind of pressure the Kings and their front office are feeling after those back-to-back first-round exits. They needed to take a step further this season, and they made a seismic trade for Pierre-Luc Dubois trade last summer which hasn’t worked out. </p>



<p>They made some big bets on their goaltending, and it started out well for Cam Talbot but he’s fallen back to Earth in the last quarter of a season. Then they hit a rut where they suddenly couldn’t score, either, and you’re thinking with all this talent, how is this team going to find a way out of it? I just don’t know if they believed they could with McLellan. </p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="1" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="158"></div>



<p>I think in the long run this is going to be a mistake. I think McLellan is a top-five coach in the NHL, but this team needs to turn it around. Missing the playoffs, which they’re on the fringe of now as a Wild Card team, is simply not an option.</p>



<p>You can watch the rest of the segment and the full episode here…</p>


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