Rob Blake is out after eight seasons as the Los Angeles Kings’ vice-president and general manager.
The Kings announced a mutual parting with Blake on Monday, four days after Los Angeles lost to Edmonton in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs for a fourth consecutive season.
Blake, a native of Simcoe, Ont., built a consistent regular-season winner with the Kings, but the team failed to win a playoff series during his tenure.
“Reaching this understanding wasn’t easy, and I appreciate Rob’s partnership in always working toward what is best for the Kings,” team president Luc Robitaille said in a statement. “Rob deserves a great deal of credit and respect for elevating us to where we are today. He has been an important part of the Kings and will always be appreciated for what he has meant to this franchise.”
Blake was a Hall of Fame defenceman during a playing career spent mostly with the Kings, although he won his only Stanley Cup title with the Colorado Avalanche. He retired in 2010 and joined the Kings’ front office during the 2013-14 season, Los Angeles’ second Stanley Cup championship campaign.
He replaced Dean Lombardi, who built the two championship-winning teams, as the Kings’ GM in April 2017. Blake led the Kings back to relevance, and they went 309-238-71 in his eight regular seasons.
But the Kings lost in the first round of the playoffs five times during his tenure, winning just eight total games in those five series. Los Angeles has been eliminated in each of the past four seasons at the hands of Connor McDavid’s club, unable to build a team capable of withstanding the Oilers’ offensive onslaught.
Los Angeles won the first two games of its series against Edmonton last month but then lost four in a row to crash out of the playoffs yet again amid growing fan discontent.
