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Former Kings, Avalanche, and Sharks defenseman Rob Blake joins NHL Hockey Operations staff

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When Rob Blake played in the NHL, he was one of the more feared defensemen on the ice. He’d find a way to make a perfect pass out of the zone just as much as he could make a crushing hit to end a scoring threat. His brand of smarts and gamesmanship that brought him success on the ice for 20 seasons now has a new home.

Today, the NHL announced that Blake will join the NHL’s Hockey Operations staff as a manager joining up with Colin Campbell, Mike Murphy, and Brendan Shanahan in that department. As we’ve seen with the changes in the NHL All-Star Game this year with Shanahan, it’s possible to jump in right away and produce instant results. Blake is looking forward to the opportunity to help grow the game.

“I am delighted to be joining the NHL’s Hockey Operations department and at having this opportunity to continue to have an impact upon the game that has been such a major part of my life. The chance to continue to enhance an already great on-ice product at the League level is especially intriguing after so many years spent focusing upon individual team success. And I am excited to be working with Colin Campbell, Mike Murphy, Brendan Shanahan and the entire Hockey Ops team.”

The bulk of what we see on a daily basis from the Hockey Operations department deals with either the war room in Toronto on goal reviews or on matters of discipline decisions for those that may or may not have run afoul of the law. Where Blake will make his mark in this manner will be with the competition committee as well as with the NHL’s Summer Research and Development Camp where they test out and see if certain tweaks to the rules can be applied successfully to the league.

Getting another former player, one who just recently got out of playing especially, will do wonders for that as he’ll have a better idea for what players are looking for and what they’d like to see. Growing and evolving the game is important for the NHL and getting Blake in there as another set of executive eyes helps. If he can do the sort of things that Shanahan’s been able to do in such a short time, the NHL will be better off for it.

Of course, with Blake now in the NHL front office we wonder if Kings GM Dean Lombardi will get to air his own grievances over that the way he did with Mike Murphy. After bolting Los Angeles for San Jose, Blake wasn’t exactly warmly received by fans in L.A. after that. Let the conspiracy theories commence!