Kings Shake It Up After Sliding Down

Dean Lombardi will be introduced as the Kings’ new general manager, perhaps as soon as Friday, replacing Dave Taylor, who was part of an extensive housecleaning Tuesday.

Taylor, who was the team’s general manager for nine years, and other key management personnel were fired, the day after the Kings completed a disappointing season. Lombardi, a former general manager for the San Jose Sharks, has been hired to take over, multiple league sources said.

“We appreciate the job that Dave has done and the loyalty he has shown this organization,” said Tim Leiweke, president of AEG, the Kings’ parent company. But he added that “it is no secret that from the beginning of the season we expected to make the playoffs and make a run at the [Stanley] Cup.”

Bill O’Flaherty, the director of player personnel, was also fired, while assistant general manager Kevin Gilmore will be reassigned within AEG. Interim head Coach John Torchetti, assistant coaches Mark Hardy and Ray Bennett and goaltending consultant Andy Nowicki also were fired.

In addition, Leiweke said that he would no longer be the team’s chief executive, though he will continue to represent the Kings as governor at NHL meetings.

“It’s safe to say that ownership is angry today,” Leiweke said. “We need to do something to be a successful team.”

Leiweke also accepted some blame, saying that AEG “has been too distracted or too patient or too loyal, or maybe it was a combination of all three.”

More changes are expected when Lombardi takes over the team.

The Sharks qualified for the playoffs five times, advancing to the Western Conference semifinals twice, while Lombardi was general manager. In 2003, the team missed the playoffs after having won the Pacific Division the season before.

The Boston Bruins and New York Islanders, two teams that also are looking for a general manager, had also interviewed Lombardi, most recently a scout with the Philadelphia Flyers. That was one of the reasons Leiweke began the interview process before the season ended -- meeting with Lombardi on Friday. While not revealing names, Leiweke said he has talked with three potential candidates, and maintained Tuesday that he has not made anyone an offer.

“We didn’t want one of the teams in Canada or on the East Coast to get their candidate before we got ours,” Leiweke said.

Taylor, who has one year left on his contract, and O’Flaherty will be asked to remain with the team in another capacity. The Kings will make good on their promise to Torchetti, who replaced Andy Murray on March 21, that he would be given an interview for the head coach job, Leiweke said.

There was a difference of opinion about the timing of events. Leiweke said that he informed Taylor that he was going to be fired three weeks ago so he wouldn’t hear through hockey channels that the team was talking to possible successors. Taylor said he went to Leiweke on April 6 after hearing about it just that way.

“We were playing San Jose that day and we were two points out of the playoffs,” Taylor said.

But Leiweke said just making the playoffs would not have altered his decision.

“If we went all the way and won the Stanley Cup, then we would have taken a step back,” Leiweke said. “If we had made the playoffs and lost in the first round, it would not have changed the direction we were headed.”

The moves come a day after the Kings completed a free fall from second place in the Western Conference on Jan. 6 to 10th place at the end of the season.

The Kings, who have missed the playoffs for three consecutive seasons, unraveled down the stretch, losing 11 of 15 games before being eliminated from the playoff race.

Injuries and inconsistency had an effect, but Leiweke also cited “locker-room dissension” as a problem and Taylor said “we had players who were concerned about playing time and how many points they got.”

An emotional Taylor, a popular King player for 17 seasons, made a staunch defense of his time as general manager. He pointed out that the teams’ “infrastructure being better today,” with the Kings owning an American Hockey League franchise instead of sharing an affiliate, as they did when he was hired. The Kings made the playoffs four of the first five seasons Taylor was in charge.

“When I came in as general manager, the team was coming off a 67-point season, we were playing at the Forum in front of an average of 12,297 fans,” Taylor said. “Nine years later, we have averaged 85 points [per season], we play in Staples Center and attendance and revenues are up.”

But, he added, “we certainly never progressed to the point where we brought the Stanley Cup to Los Angeles.”

That, in the end, seemed a crucial point.

“In 40 years, this franchise hasn’t won anything,” Leiweke said. “In the last 10 seasons, we have won one playoff series.”

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THE LOMBARDI FILE

* Dean Lombardi was general manager of the San Jose Sharks from 1996 to 2003.

* He led San Jose to a NHL-record-tying six consecutive seasons of improved point totals.

* The Sharks won their first Pacific Division in 2001-02 with a franchise-record 99 points (44-27-8-3).

* Lombardi was fired a season later after the Sharks went 26-33-6-7 and has most recently worked as a scout for the Philadelphia Flyers.