The Toronto Maple Leafs are now going to be led by head coach Jim Hillar, who previously served as an assistant coach under Mike Babcock behind their bench and has spent the last few seasons with the Los Angeles Kings.
Hiller was brought back to the organization by new Maple Leafs general manager John Chayka as part of a massive overhaul of the front office and the coaching staff; Hiller is now the head coach and is joined by assistant coaches Daniel Alfredsson, Brad Werenka, and John Gruden.
The hope is that they’ll be able to unlock some of the offensive firepower the club still boasts despite entering their second season without the services of Mitch Marner, and this could mean a change for Auston Matthews.
NHL Insider Thinks Toronto Maple Leafs Captain Auston Matthews Is Heading For A Big Change
According to NHL Insider Chris Johnston, Jim Hiller has a chance to unlock Matthews’ offense after two seasons of subpar output under Craig Berube.
“I forecast that Jim Hiller is going to probably change his usage a little bit and find opportunities where Auston’s offensive gifts maybe are accentuated more than was the case under Craig Berube,” Johnston said. “I think that’s entirely possible.”
“Perhaps a renewed look from the coaching staff in terms of how he’s used and what offensive situations he’s given,” Johnston continued. “Leafs power play improves. All these things, I think, lead you back to a world where he’s among the better offensive players in the game, as he has been multiple seasons in the past.”
He concluded by saying that Toronto’s chances of returning to the Stanley Cup Playoffs will largely hinge not only on what newcomers Sergei Bobrovsky and Gavin McKenna can bring to the club, but how Matthews performs.
“So much of this season, we’re going to focus on the new guys, we’re gonna wonder how the Sergei Bobrovsky experiment is going to work, what can Gavin McKenna bring as the first overall pick?” he said. “But, to me, a lot of what happens this year will be measured by what version of Auston Matthews is back.”
After scoring a career-best 69 goals in the 2023-24 NHL season, Matthews has been limited to 33 and 27 goals scored in each of the last two seasons, respectively. He’s also missed a combined 37 games.
Auston Matthews Is Excited For Toronto’s Future
According to Hiller, who is already well familiar with Matthews from his earlier days with Toronto, the Team USA gold medal-winning forward
“Yeah, he sure is (excited),” Hiller said during his introductory press conference. “There’s been times since I’ve been away that anytime I’ve been in Scottsdale, Auston and I have connected and grabbed a lunch or something like that, so we’ve stayed in touch over the years even though I wasn’t with the team. We had a great conversation the other day and I can tell you he is extremely excited.”
Hiller, Matthews, and the Maple Leafs will open Training Camp later this month and play their first exhibition game against the divisional rival Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Sept. 19.
NHL Insider Predicts Major Change For Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews