Kings Axe Coach Crawford, Hockey in LA Still Lackluster

With one season left in his contract, the Kings announced that they fired coach Marc Crawford. "We appreciate Marc's commitment the two seasons he has been here," Dean Lombardi, the team's president and general manager, said in a statement. "However, we believe that in evaluating where we are at and, more importantly, where we are going as an organization, we feel this coaching change was the right decision to make," he said. "We wish Marc the best in his future endeavors."

In a press conference, Lombardi was a bit more relaxed with his explanation. "In the end it just comes down to fit. It's just a gut call on fit." Was it a gut call that got him hired?

The past two seasons have been losers with the Kings finishing with the fewest points in the Western Conference this last season, putting them at second to last in the league.

A replacement for Crawford has not been named yet and next week at the NHL entry draft in Ottawa, the Kings pick second.

Photo by AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File