All signs point to this NHL coach being the next to be fired

A fresh report pushed that noise into the open, with Pagnotta saying he does not expect Smith to be back next year as head coach. That changes the tone around the club right away.

This is not just outside chatter tied to one bad night. Once a coaching question lands this late in the season, every lineup call, every bench decision, and every cold stretch gets viewed through that lens.

Los Angeles are 29-26-18 with 76 points, sitting fourth in the Pacific Division. That is not a secure spot, and it leaves very little room for a soft finish.

The pressure gets sharper when you look around them. Edmonton have 85 points, Vegas have 82, and San Jose sit just behind Los Angeles at 75. The Kings are stuck in the middle, and that is where coaching heat usually starts.

That is why this report lands hard. Smith is not being judged only on wins and losses now. He is being judged on whether this group still looks like it is moving somewhere.

There is another layer here. Los Angeles were in action against St. Louis on Wednesday night, which means the bench was already under a live spotlight when this talk started to move.

For veterans like Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe, that kind of noise matters even when nobody says it out loud. The room can block out plenty, but it never misses a report that targets the coach.

It also puts every usage call under a microscope. Top-six deployment, blue-line pairings, late-game trust, and special teams decisions suddenly feel less like routine adjustments and more like a staff trying to hold ground.

That matters because the Kings do not have the cushion of a division leader. They are chasing teams above them, and they have Seattle and San Jose close enough to turn every week into a standings swing.

If Los Angeles respond with a strong push, Smith gets something real to point to. If they drift, this report is going to follow the team the rest of the way.

And that is the real consequence here. The Kings are no longer playing only for points. They are skating with the future of their bench hanging over them.

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