weekend, he hinted at a confirmation of the Mayor’s Manor report on Monday that stepping down was “100% Blake’s decision,” as site publisher John Hoven said.

“Blakey and I had been talking about it for probably a year. He always said he wanted to wait to sign (a contract extension) and see,” Robitaille said. “We’re not getting into the details of our conversation, but it’s something that we talked about. He felt a certain way, I did, and we both agreed that this was better for the franchise.”

Robitaille provided a bit more clarity through vagueness when he was asked that given his overall positive if not glowing assessment of the team’s quality, roster, coaching, playing style, effort and even its management — he repeatedly lauded Blake’s moves from last offseason — if Blake would have returned if the Kings had not lost a fourth straight first-round playoff series to the Edmonton Oilers.

“I’m not sure. I’m not sure about that. We’ve had talks over the weekend with Blakey, that’ll remain private, but I’m not sure,” Robitaille said.

Robitaille said “we’re there, we were there last year,” and later specified that he meant that “there” meant they were one of 10 or so teams with realistic designs on winning the Stanley Cup. He pointed to St. Louis and Colorado as other teams that blew leads (though not four of them like the Kings did) in Game 7s and bowed out early. That conveniently ignored that both of those teams have captured the Stanley Cup (St. Louis in 2019 and Colorado in 2022) during the 11-year gap since the Kings last won a playoff series in any round. He also omitted that winning the Stanley Cup entails winning four rounds, a tough task for a squad struggling to win one.

“On July 1, if you look at your team and say ‘what can we add that can help us win the Stanley Cup?’ then you’re there,” Robitaille said. “We’ve been thinking that way for the last couple of years. We haven’t won the Cup. It’s not about beating one team or winning one round, it’s about winning the Stanley Cup.”

Regarding Hiller, of whom he said “I fully think this guy’s coming back for sure,” he offered the caveats that “it’s sports,” where anything can happen, and that the incoming GM would have his say.

He said he didn’t anticipate a change in large part because of the Kings’ 105-point regular season, which tied a franchise record. The Kings are 69-37-10 under Hiller, who took over in February 2024, and equaled a franchise best for wins (48) and broke the record for home wins (31) this season.

While it was among the very best campaigns in a history that dates to 1967, it was the sixth-highest point total in the NHL this year. Additionally, among the surviving “Expansion Six” franchises, the Kings’ two campaigns of 105 points lack sorely: Philadelphia has 12 seasons with 105 points or more, St. Louis has eight, Pittsburgh has six (as well as five championships) and the relocated Minnesota North Stars franchise has 10 since moving to Dallas in 1993.

Robitaille doesn’t sound like he’s close to hiring Blake’s replacement. He plans to examine multiple candidates, including Marc Bergevin, the former Montreal GM who was a senior adviser to Blake for the past 3 1/2 years.

The Associated Press contributed to this story