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Kings continue overhaul, move Futa to assistant GM

2012 NHL Entry Draft - Round One

PITTSBURGH, PA - JUNE 22: Mike Futa of the Los Angeles Kings attends Round One of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft at Consol Energy Center on June 22, 2012 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

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The massive restructuring in Los Angeles continues.

On Wednesday, the Kings announced that longtime front office man Mike Futa has been named assistant GM, moving him from his previous role of VP of hockey ops and director of player personnel.

“Mike has made tremendous contributions to our hockey club over the years and he will be one of several people we are going to internally lean on,” GM Rob Blake said in a release. “He and his department have enjoyed success here both with the NHL Draft and the Ontario Hockey League in particular, and we look forward to additional success in the immediate future.”

Retaining Futa is an important move.

A well-respected executive, Futa has been tied to a number of vacancies across the league over the last few years. Buffalo asked to interview him for the GM gig that eventually went to Tim Murray, and there were rumblings Toronto was interested in bringing him aboard following its managerial overhaul two years ago.

Futa will now play a prominent role in Los Angeles’ new look hockey operations department. Gone are ex-GM Dean Lombardi, head coach Darryl Sutter and one of Sutter’s assistants, Davis Payne.

In are Blake (GM and VP of hockey ops) and Luc Robitaille (club president).

The club has yet to make a decision on the future of assistant coach John Stevens, who’s been behind the bench since the ’10-11 campaign.

Related: Kings will explore ‘different philosophies’ to help scoring woes