The Toronto Maple Leafs made a number of major changes this offseason to their organization, including their coaching staff, with the hiring of Jim Hiller and the departure of Craig Berube.
Over the course of the 2025-26 season, it was very obvious that Berube was no longer the voice the Maple Leafs needed behind the bench. Just one year after the winning the Atlantic Division, the Maple Leafs were the worst team in the division and finished 28th in the NHL. While Berube is a strong coach with a Stanley Cup resume, he seemingly didn’t fit the way the Maple Leafs players had played when they were successful throughout the regular season during the early stages of the Auston Matthews era.
Jim Hiller Was Not the Expected Hire
When the newly appointed general manager John Chayka hired Jim Hiller to take over behind the bench, the Maple Leafs received a lot of backlash. Other strong candidates on the board were discussed in the media, such as Joe Pavelski, Bruce Cassidy, and John Tortorella; however, Hiller, who wasn’t reported as a frontrunner, ended up with the job. Hiller has a background with the Maple Leafs, as he previously served as the team’s assistant coach from 2015 to 2019 alongside Mike Babcock.
Since then, Hiller joined the New York Islanders as an assistant coach from 2019-22, before becoming the Los Angeles Kings head coach in 2024 for two seasons. Over that time with the Kings, Hiller finished with a 93-58-24 record for a .600 win percentage. When you look at the current Maple Leafs roster, he is entering at a very different stage from when he left the organization.
Over time, the Maple Leafs have been known for playing a fast, offensive brand of hockey; however, for the past two seasons, that was not the case. Hiller now understands that this is the way the Maple Leafs have succeeded and will be the way they will do so moving forward. They have a lot of high-end talent that benefits from playing with the puck, while pushing the puck to the offensive zone, rather than the dump-and-chase system Berube had installed.
Jim Hiller Understands the Style of Play the Maple Leafs Need to Play
Hiller explained this to the media, while also understanding the importance of their play without the puck. “There’s a commitment to play without the puck that everybody has to make,” Hiller said. “It doesn’t matter what your talent level is. But when you have the puck, and you have that type of elite offence, we’re going to give them some freedom and creativity to use those skills. So I hope we strike a balance. I hope we’re hard to play against without the puck. But I hope when we have it, we see some of that dynamism that we do have.”
William Nylander is a player who can certainly benefit from this style of play. The Swedish native was most effective in this system during the 2023-24 season; Nylander registered 98 goals, including 40 goals while Sheldon Keefe was the Maple Leafs head coach, who played a similar style of play. Nylander also has familiarity with Hiller and what he expects as a coach, which could make the transition easier during the early stages of the campaign.
Time will tell when the Maple Leafs open their 2026-27 season against the Montreal Canadiens on September 29th.
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