New Leafs coach Hiller says team style will be one ‘players are excited to play’
The Toronto Maple Leafs stole significant headline real estate on Wednesday when they announced that their long head coaching search had come to an end with the hiring of Jim Hiller as the 41st coach in franchise history.
Hiller was most recently the head coach of the Los Angeles Kings, where he posted a 93-58-24 record across two-plus seasons, losing in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2024 and 2025 before being dismissed earlier last season.
One key area of interest for Leafs fans following a tenure of less-than-thrilling hockey under previous head coach Craig Berube was the style any new coach would have them playing.
In his first remarks since being announced as the new coach in Toronto, Hiller addressed his plans, or lack thereof, for what sort of systems he expects to have the team running.
“I think there are, I would call them relatively subtle, different tactics or systems throughout the league,” Hiller explained. “They’re mostly pretty subtle. I think there’s a pretty standard template across the league that all coaches play with, and I don’t necessarily believe that one is better than the other… Job one is to be able to get the team to play and thrive and to be excited about playing whatever style and system there is.”
Asked Leafs head coach Jim Hiller about his 1-3-1 system with the Kings and how his tactics may differ from Craig Berube:
In Hiller’s one full season as the head coach in Los Angeles, the Kings were 14th in the league in goals scored and 12th in high-danger chances generated. While the team’s goalscoring dried up at crucial times, Hiller did not have offensive talent like Auston Matthews and William Nylander at his disposal.
“I don’t think I could tell you exactly what system we’re going to play at this point,” Hiller said. “We’re early. We’re going to have lots of discussions, but we’ll have a style of play I think that the players well be excited to play, and I think that’s the most important.”
Despite the top-end talent on the roster, the Leafs finished the 2025-26 campaign as the No. 16 team in the league in goals and No. 27 in high-danger chances.
If Hiller can unlock the production of his two top stars and create an environment conducive to production for presumptive first overall pick Gavin McKenna, he could engineer a major turnaround and a return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs in Toronto.