Holland

Interim head coach D.J. Smith will be among the candidates for the Kings’ full-time job when general manager Ken Holland conducts his coaching search this month.

Smith took over March 1 when Holland fired Jim Hiller with the Kings at 24-21-14 and out of the playoff picture. The former Ottawa head coach rallied the Kings to an 11-6-6 finish to claim the last wild-card spot in the Western Conference, but the Kings were swept by the powerhouse Colorado Avalanche in their fifth consecutive first-round postseason exit.

“D.J. did a great job,” Holland said Friday. “The team responded to him, so he’s a candidate. … I don’t want to talk to 20 people. I’d like to talk to probably five to eight people, and then make a decision. Some with experience, some maybe assistants, and some who haven’t been a head coach.”

Holland will begin his coaching search next week, looking for a candidate who can get this team out of its first-round playoff exit rut. He reiterated his disinterest in a full-scale rebuild, but also hinted that the Kings might want to make adjustments to their longstanding defense-first philosophy.

The Kings have failed to advance beyond the first round in seven consecutive postseasons since winning the Stanley Cup in 2014, including six first-round exits since team president Luc Robitaille took ultimate charge of hockey operations in 2017. The current Kings had 15 fewer points than last season’s team.

“As I sit here today, I’m not happy,” Holland said. “Luc Robitaille isn’t happy. Our players aren’t happy. It was a disappointing season. Under .500 at home, 29th in the league in goals scored, squeaked into the playoffs, got swept up by a Presidents’ Trophy-winning team. So I’m not happy. We’ve got to make the team better.”

Holland, who replaced Rob Blake a year ago, identified the obvious reason the Kings weren’t a real Stanley Cup contender this season: Their long-standing offensive struggles. The Kings scored only 225 goals, fourth-worst in the NHL and 25 fewer than last season.

Holland attempted to address the problem by trading for Artemi Panarin before the Olympic break, but the high-scoring forward couldn’t make up for the Olympic injury loss of fellow high scorer Kevin Fiala. Holland revealed Fiala might have been ready to return from his broken leg if the Kings had advanced to the second round.

The Kings have prioritized defense for most of the past two decades, often playing a sticky, trapping style that doesn’t promote offensive creativity or attack. That’s tough to overcome against opponents that are more talented while equally committed to defense — such as the Avalanche, who allowed only five goals in their four-game sweep.

Defense won two Stanley Cups for the Kings, but Holland openly wondered whether the Kings need to think bigger.

“Are we too defensive-minded? I’ve got to sort that out,” Holland said. “You’ve got to be good defensively. … You can’t win four games 6-5 in the playoffs. But we’re 29th in the league in goals scored. We’ve got to find ways. Power play has got to be better. We’ve got to generate a little more attack from the back end.”

The Kings also had inept special teams, ranking 28th in the NHL on the power play and 30th in penalty-killing. The Kings were the league’s third-best team at five-on-five defense, but only seventh in total goals allowed thanks to its feckless special teams.

Holland’s coaching hire will have to fix those units without the help of two-time Selke Trophy-winning forward Anze Kopitar, who retired after a 20-year career with Los Angeles. The Kings will need a new captain to replace Kopitar in the dressing room and a high-usage center to take Kopitar’s minutes.

The Kings will be relying even more heavily on Quinton Byfield, the former No. 2 overall draft pick who has grown into a dependable two-way player with the potential to improve in a more open system.

“Obviously it’s going to be QB’s team up front,” Holland said. “Kopi [leaves] a massive hole. He’s the highest-scoring forward in the history of the franchise. He plays 200 feet. He’s big and he’s strong. He wins draws. In my opinion, he’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer. I don’t think we’re just going to be able to go out and find a way to replace him with one person, and I don’t expect it.”

The Kings still have ample veteran talent next to Byfield, Fiala and Panarin, including top scorer Adrian Kempe, emerging forward Alex Laferriere and promising defenseman Brandt Clarke. Holland claims he is eager to add talent across the lineup after he settles on a coach.

“We have lots of good players,” Holland said. “I’ve got to build a better team.”

Beacham writes for the Associated Press.

FLOWER power is all around me as I roll on the ground in a huge tulip field while my friend snaps away for social media.

You could be forgiven for thinking that I’m on a getaway in Holland with this rainbow of colours.

But this glorious spot that’s pretty in pink, white, purple, yellow and red is actually in West Sussex.

We’re visiting Tulleys Tulip Fest, near Crawley, which features 1.5million-plus bulbs in an eye-popping display.

Families stroll through the tulips with toddlers and couples walk dogs, soaking up the spring sunshine and gorgeous gardens.

There are prop bikes to pose on and a Ferris wheel for a view of the blooms from 33 metres up.

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Visitors aren’t afraid to lark around as they snap photos of the blooms again and again and I did my best to capture all of the 130-plus varieties on show.

Luckily my friend has brought her dog Penny, so we have another ‘model’ willing to go barking mad for pet-al pictures.

It’s easily one of the most wholesome days out I’ve had all year.

One of the best things about the fest is that it’s a family business.

The Beares have shown their love of tulips for more than four generations.

It’s all part of Tulleys’ wider collection of UK festivals, which also includes events in Hertfordshire and Warwickshire, all at full bloom until May.

I enhanced my experience by staying in a nearby hotel the night before the visit.

The five-star Alexander House & Utopia Spa in Turners Hill oozed luxury with delicious food and a giant bath in my room (there are plenty of spa treatments if you have time).

If you don’t have a car, a shuttle bus will get you from the village centre to the blooms in five minutes.

It’s easy to spend a good few hours at the festival and you can fuel up at the numerous food stalls, including one with delicious Dutch pancakes.

And if you want to add some colour to your home, there’s a flower-themed gift shop where I bagged some bulbs for my planter boxes.

Even better, I can return later this year for more fun at Tulleys’ pumpkin festival in October.

As I dusted off soil from my jeans and got ready to leave the floral feast, I caught a glimpse of a newly arrived visitor hitting the deck, twisting their body into a bizarre human pretzel just to get that perfect low-angle shot of a single red bloom.

I couldn’t help but grin.

This trip has reminded me that sometimes the best way to enjoy yourself is to tiptoe through the tulips, then roll around the flowers looking like an utter idiot.

ZENDAYA fuelled speculation she’s tied the knot with Tom Holland again tonight as she wore a gold wedding band to the Paris premiere of her new film The Drama.

She’s certainly lived up to the film’s name in recent weeks as the world clamours to know if she and fellow A-lister Tom, 29, are in fact man and wife.

White was once more her colour of choice tonight in the French capital as she posed with co-star Robert Pattinson, 39.

The pair recreated their goofy on-screen chemistry as they high-fived and smiled in front of the cameras and were suitably dressed for the occasion; the new film is about a couple unravelling on their wedding week.

Stunning Zendaya, 29, looked a Hollywood siren through and through with her short curls and glamorous jewellery. Robert was groom-like in his stylish black suit.

Her golden band was previously on show at the 19th annual Essence Black Women in Hollywood earlier this month.

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And Zendaya addressed speculation during a recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

The host asked the star if she was aware of AI photos circulating of her and Tom’s so-called ‘wedding’.

Zendaya replied: “Many people have been fooled by them.

“While I’ve been out and about in real life and people are like ‘oh my god your wedding photos are gorgeous’ and I was like ‘babe they’re AI’.

“They’re not real! They’re not real!”

Zendaya admitted that some loved ones had been fooled by them and also supposedly unhappy they were not invited.

The US actress wore a bridal-style gown at the Los Angeles premiere. In fact it was the same frock she wore to the Oscars in 2015.

She claimed that she only chose the strapless Vivienne Westwood number to promote the movie — and to relive her first appearance at the Academy Awards as a teenager.

Zendaya told interviewer Maura Higgins, 35, on the red carpet: “We just happened to be wearing white a lot.

“But I didn’t want that to be the only theme.

“And I know that the phrase is, ‘Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.’ So I started with something old.

“This is a dress that I wore when I was 18 years old to the Oscars actually — my very first Oscars.

“It was a very important moment for me in my life and my career but also for my family, for my folks.

“So that moment meant a lot for me so this felt like the right time to bring this one out of the archive.

“And also, it happened to be a wedding dress, so that worked out too.”

Zendaya has been dating her Spider-Man co-star Tom since 2021.

Her stylist Law Roach first started wedding rumours, claiming the couple had tied the knot in secret.

He said: “The wedding has already happened. You missed it.”

Zendaya and Tom Holland exchanged their vows in a luxurious ceremony off the Italian coast attended by previous “Spider-Man” duos Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone and Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst and officiated, obviously, by Robert Downey Jr.

At least that’s what one improbable image fantasized in a recent slew of AI-generated “wedding photos” circulating online.

“Tomdaya” (Tom + Zendaya) fans in recent weeks took it upon themselves to conjure up photos from the “Spider-Man” co-stars’ supposed nuptials, further stoking speculation that the betrothed stars, both 29, had said their vows. The phony wedding photos began making the rounds on social media after Law Roach, Zendaya’s longtime stylist, claimed earlier this month that “the wedding’s already happened.” Zendaya broke her silence on the photos and wedding rumors on Monday, telling late-night host Jimmy Kimmel that “many people have been fooled by them.”

The “Challengers” and “Dune” star, promoting her upcoming film “The Drama,” told Kimmel that the viral AI images caused people to approach her and congratulate her for the “gorgeous” ceremony and had even duped people in her close circles.

“Babe, they’re AI,” she recalled telling loved ones. “They’re not real.”

“Odyssey” co-stars Zendaya and Holland were first romantically linked in 2021, years after first sharing the screen in 2017’s “Spider-Man: Homecoming.” Zendaya memorably teased her engagement to the British actor at the 2025 Golden Globes, when she stepped out on the red carpet with a ring on that finger. At that awards show, when former Times columnist Amy Kaufman asked the actor if she was engaged, Zendaya flashed her ring, smiled coyly and shrugged her shoulders.

Earlier this year, eagle-eyed fans had their eyes on another ring. Tomdaya wedding rumors began gaining traction when Zendaya was spotted on Feb. 18 with a plain gold band on her left ring finger in place of her engagement diamond. Weeks after that, stylist Roach made his bold claim, one he danced away from at the 2026 Academy Awards on Sunday.

When the Hollywood Reporter asked Roach about his comment during the Oscars red carpet, he turned his attention elsewhere. “I think the weather’s really amazing today, it’s so sunny it’s a little warm but it’s beautiful,” he said.

During her late-night spot, Zendaya did not confirm or deny whether she and Holland had tied the knot but instead offered a video to “clear the confusion.” The video, a wedding scene from “The Drama,” shows Zendaya’s character posing alongside co-star Robert Pattinson’s, though his face is obscured by a picture of Holland.

“That was real footage,” she quipped. “That was real, I was there.”