After a weekend when Kings advisor Marc Bergevin’s name was prominent in whispers around the Islanders GM job, the spotlight shifts to the person Bergevin reported to in Los Angeles.

Indeed, the instant reaction upon Rob Blake’s ouster as general manager of the Kings, announced Monday as a mutual agreement, was to wonder how soon Islanders operating partner John Collins might reach out to set up a conversation.

It would be overkill to call Blake the favorite to be general manager or president of hockey operations with the Islanders — it’s unclear, for starters, whether Blake wants another front office job immediately — but his presence on the market does mean that the club would be derelict in its duty if it did not at least speak to Blake and sound out his interest.

The Hall of Fame defenseman, who notably won the 2002 Stanley Cup alongside Patrick Roy with the Avalanche, had been in the Kings front office since 2013 and had been general manager since 2017.

While the Kings failed to get past the first round of the playoffs under his tutelage, with four straight losses to Edmonton canceling out four straight seasons of 99 points or more in the regular season, Blake’s successful rebuild after their Cup-winning core stalled out should catch Collins’ eye.

That has allowed Los Angeles to squeeze another window of contention out of franchise legends Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty, and the maneuvering Blake pulled off to develop a suffocating defensive team that was nearly unbeatable on home ice this season is not at all far from what the Islanders should be trying to do.

Blake’s history with Roy is also a plus. If the two can work together, it might allow the Islanders to give it another go with Roy behind the bench and avoid a coaching search this offseason.

There are blemishes on Blake’s record, most notably a spotted record of trades that includes the disastrous acquisition of Pierre-Luc Dubois. He did, at least, quickly cut the cord when it became apparent Dubois was not a fit in Los Angeles, and maximized the return by netting Darcy Kuemper — a Vezina Trophy finalist this season.

The Kings’ failure to get past Edmonton in the playoffs despite consistent regular-season success is another question to answer. Then again, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl do not reside in the Metropolitan Division.

Regardless of Blake’s candidacy for the job, the Kings’ move on Monday also has the effect of increasing the urgency on the Islanders to make a hire.

Up until now, the Isles have been the only game in town for anyone who wants to become a GM or president. Now there is another job open — and one in a bigger market than Long Island, with a team more equipped to immediately win.

That adds another dynamic for the Islanders, particularly with regard to Bergevin, who has worked for the Kings for the past three seasons and will likely be a candidate there.

AHL Bridgeport assistant coaches Matt MacDonald and Pascal Rhéaume were both let go, The Post has learned, with their contracts not being renewed. For the time being, Rick Kowalsky is still in place as the head coach, though that could change when a new general manager is hired.

Governor Kathy Hochul sent NHL commissioner Gary Bettman an open letter on Monday expressing disappointment over the league’s replacement of the 2026 All-Star Weekend at UBS Arena with an Olympic kickoff event to be determined.

“This decision overlooks the efforts by New York State and sends the wrong message to every public entity that has supported the NHL,” Hochul wrote. “Therefore, we request that the NHL revisit the matter immediately. Given that Long Island’s 2026 NHL All-Star Weekend has been canceled, the NHL should bring a hockey event with equal or greater economic activity and cultural value to the region in 2027.”

With the Avalanche losing Game 7 to Dallas over the weekend, the terms of the Brock Nelson deal are now complete. The first-round pick the Islanders receive from Colorado will be in 2026, since the Avalanche’s 2025 first-round pick — which was top 10 protected in a prior trade with the Flyers — conveyed in that deal with Philadelphia. The conditional 2028 third-round pick does not convey since Colorado did not win the Stanley Cup.