Los Angeles Kings fire head coach Jim Hiller

[p]Miller's firing comes after the team's 2-0 win over the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/calgary-flames/EZekktRt/"]Calgary Flames[/a] on Saturday. The team is currently 24-21-14 (62 points), sitting three points behind the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/seattle-kraken/MibYQ5nU/"]Seattle Kraken[/a] (65) for the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.[/p][p]Hiller, 56, made his NHL coaching debut with the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/los-angeles-kings/CIDo8i2o/"]Kings[/a] during the 2023-2024 season after taking over for former head coach Todd McLellan, who was fired 48 games into the season. He led them to playoff births the past two seasons, even finishing in second place in the Pacific Division last season, ultimately losing in the first round in each of them. [/p][p]Hiller now leaves the Kings with a career record of 93-58-24 as their head coach[/p][embed guid="b5991731-b6b8-4478-826a-12fdff143665" url="https://x.com/LAKings/status/2028158282930803042?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]As for his replacement, Smith joined the Kings in 2024 as an associate coach. He was the former head coach of the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/ottawa-senators/noTCHmWM/"]Ottawa Senators[/a] for five seasons (2019-2023) without making a single playoff appearance. [/p][p]The Senators never won more than 39 games with Smith as their head coach. [/p][p]He'll be making his first appearance as the Kings' new head coach when they take on the No. 1 team in the NHL at the moment in the Colorado Avalanche on Monday.[/p]