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NHL NHL Regular Season Would the Kings hire John Tortorella? Charles Le Claire / Imagn Images The firing of Jim Hiller as coach of the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday after three seasons may have been met with joy and relief by some fans, but those weren’t the feelings at the team’s headquarters. “We all know that this job is about wins and losses and it just wasn’t obviously going the right way, and I guess as an organization we needed — or felt we needed — a change, and unfortunately Jimmy took the worst of it, ” Kings captain Anže Kopitar said. “Again, it’s very unfortunate. Jimmy did a good job here in his time and brought us to the playoffs a couple times. Again very, very unfortunate. But again, it’s about wins and losses. ” Advertisement Kopitar, playing the final season of a Hall of Fame-worthy career, said Hiller “fell on the sword” for the Kings’ 24-22-14 record and their standing outside the playoff picture. Mikey Anderson was more blunt. “It sucks the way it went down, ” the Kings’ seventh-year defenseman said. “Having to get rid of Jim — he’s been great for us. He helped us. Again, last year, best (regular) season in franchise history. He’s done a lot, even before he was the head coach, with a lot of guys here. We’re thankful for him and what he did. And obviously, we didn’t perform good enough. But again, now, we move on. ” Interim coach D. J. Smith now has the reins for the final six weeks. If he’s able to work some magic and get the Kings into the postseason, he could give general manager Ken Holland a reason to remove the interim tag and keep him. Or Holland could fully break ties with coaches he inherited and go in his own direction. There could be some intriguing options to become the Kings’ next coach, and the interview process could begin soon after their April 16 regular-season finale. Here are 10 possibilities (listed in alphabetical order). There is a good chance that Berube’s stay with Toronto will end after two seasons. He wouldn’t be the first coach not to live up to expectations in the Center of the Hockey Universe, and he has a Stanley Cup championship from a mostly successful six-year run with St. Louis. Unless there is a significant shift in direction, the Kings figure to still have some key veterans on next season’s roster and an experienced, successful coach might get more buy-in. Stern looks from “Chief” alone command some level of respect. Outside of a Stanley Cup win, De Boer’s resume speaks for itself as the most accomplished among available candidates. The 57-year-old has taken two teams (New Jersey and San Jose) to the Cup Final and coached Dallas to conference-final appearances in all three of his seasons there. He is as proven as it gets but also tends to wear out his welcome over time. He is also eager to get back in the seat but can be choosy with where to land. L. A. was considered a possibility last winter but may not be his preferred destination. Advertisement Evason, 61, was fired by Columbus GM Don Waddell on Jan. 12 and replaced by Rick Bowness as the playoff-seeking Blue Jackets appeared to stagnate. Before that, the native of Flin Flon, Manitoba, coached Minnesota for parts of five seasons and took the Wild to the playoffs on three occasions and another qualifying-round spot in the COVID-19 postseason bubble. The Kings would fit into his pattern of coaching teams seeking to become playoff contenders or those looking to break through and win a series. Ferschweiler, 56, is the “college coach” on this list, but that would be limiting to the Western Michigan leader, who is currently guiding the defending NCAA champions. Ferschweiler was an assistant coach to Jeff Blashill in Detroit from 2015-19 while Holland ran the Red Wings. Following the Broncos’ NCAA win last April, Ferschweiler interviewed for the opening in Philadelphia. The Flyers landed their top target in Rick Tocchet, but Ferschweiler appears open to the NHL challenge. Never underestimate the power of who you know. Gallant and Holland go back decades, to when Gallant was a player and veteran leader with the Detroit Red Wings and Holland was running their amateur scouting while working his way up to the GM chair. Their paths have diverged but Gallant has been known to covet another NHL gig following his firing from the New York Rangers. The 62-year-old has had some health issues but he’s a players’ coach and no one forgets him pushing expansion Vegas to a miraculous Stanley Cup Final berth. Graham, 40, is a riser in the coaching community who’s in his first season as an assistant to Glen Gulutzan with the Dallas Stars. But the Calgary native spent five-plus seasons guiding their AHL club and got very far in the interview process to replace the fired De Boer in Dallas after Graham coach the Texas Stars to the Calder Cup semifinals. Dallas GM Jim Nill, a former trusty right-hand man to Holland in Detroit, opted to go with Gulutzan for a second run behind the Stars’ bench but could give his former boss a breakdown of Graham as a potential fit. Would the Kings really go with their new assistant, someone who is only days into his first coaching job at any level? Far-fetched as it seems, since he’s less than a decade removed from his playing days, Greene, 42, is immensely respected throughout the organization. The two-time Cup winner has remained with the organization as a scout and most recently worked in player development. He has played a key role in Brandt Clarke’s growth as an NHL defenseman. This stretch under Smith could, if nothing else, lay the groundwork for a coaching career. Advertisement There is precedent, in that Hiller himself was an interim coach who had the label removed after guiding the Kings into the 2024 playoffs. It is a long shot, because the Kings aren’t in the same place as they were two years ago, but Smith, 48, has NHL head coaching experience and could parlay it into keeping the gig if he were to lead them on a miraculous end-of-season run. But that depends on whether a Kings team that’s now dealing with injuries responds favorably to Smith and lifts its play several notches. What coaching candidate list wouldn’t be complete without Torts? He’s now 67 and back behind a studio desk, but you know he would trade TV work for one more job in a heartbeat. Philadelphia didn’t work out and, looking back, he might not have been best served to join a transitional Flyers team in the first place. But Tortorella still has a knack for squeezing results out of his available talent. Is he done? Maybe. Is he worth a phone call? Maybe. Stranger things have happened. After being let go by Edmonton in Nov. 2023, Woodcroft took time off amid head coaching pursuits before landing with Anaheim on Joel Quenneville’s staff. The 49-year-old runs the Ducks’ talented forward group and power play. Many figure it’s only a matter of time before Woodcroft gets another chance. Would the Ducks’ rivals try to poach him? That’s an interesting thought. Who fired Woodcroft in Edmonton? Holland. Who hired him in Edmonton? Holland. He had some success with the Oilers and there’s also a Red Wings tie-in from long ago. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle Eric Stephens is a staff writer for The Athletic NHL based in Southern California. Eric has been writing and talking about sports for newspapers and media outlets for more than 30 years. He has previously covered the NHL for The Orange County Register and Los Angeles Times. He is also an occasional contributor on NHL Network. Follow Eric on Twitter @icemancometh