Confirmed with Link: Leafs Hire Jim Hiller as Head Coach

[BobClarkesfrontteeth]

And the tank will be well underway by then.

Trading Woll was a tank move too.

We aren’t win now

but this is what you wanted. Trade everyone and tank. Now that it is happening you are upset?

 

[CapspaceKiller]

What you mean people have no idea to who he is? He was our assistant coach for 3 years

But none the less to your point, I agree. He has gained a lot of experience since, managed a very lackluster aging talented LA kings

I would have rather still someone a bit younger and more in touch with today's players.

See, that's a fair criticism and I was actually hoping for the same. I wanted a younger coach to build a program with our young GM and our young #1 pick, but Hiller's fine. The last 3 coaches were either big names or coaches we knew a lot about and they all failed. Lets go with a bit of the unknown.

 

[HamiltonNHL]

I am not following this, wasn’t he fired cause Kings couldn’t move past 1st with him….

31 teams lose every year.

 

[TheTotalPackage]

All things considered, seems like a random and weird hire.

 

[Rare Jewel]

Well, if you said a former assistant was coming back, the smart money would've been on Malhotra

This is certainly out of the blue.

I'll always remember that ludicrously good PP they had in the first quarter or so of JT's first season here, and Babcock put a lot of that down to Hiller

 

[Martin Skoula]

Honestly mostly interested in the money on this, if there wasn’t anyone you want to commit a 5+ year program building deal to, a vanilla guy who already knows the market signed to a short cheap deal while you wait for one of your top picks to shake loose is preferable to giving Lavi or Cassidy big enough money that you can’t fire them at the first sign of losing the room.

 

[The Masters]

Reading up on him, sounds like he can coach both sides of the puck. Players coach. Big on analytics.

 

[Phion Keneuf]

Absolutely insane if we hired him because Matthews and Nylander like him

 

[HamiltonNHL]

but this is what you wanted. Trade everyone and tank. Now that it is happening you are upset?

I’m not upset.
The Window is closed.
A great Winger doesn’t open it.

So yes, I want a full rebuild. That does not start until Matthews is traded before July 15 this year

 

[CtrlAltDel]

The reactions did not disappoint!

 

[Menzinger]

It's an odd/unexpected hire considering the team apparently interviewed 50 candidates...

Willing to give him a shot, in the grand scheme of things I doubt few (myself included) are all that familiar with his systems. Being an assistant still means you're following orders from the HC, and LA's roster has had issues so it's hard to gauge what he's going to do here.

A bit of a "not great, not terrible" situation

 

[BoBfromAulon]

Well, if you said a former assistant was coming back, the smart money would've been on Malhotra

This is certainly out of the blue.

I'll always remember that ludicrously good PP they had in the first quarter or so of JT's first season here, and Babcock put a lot of that down to Hiller

Music to my ears with Mckenna on the PP

 

[Metroid]

Truthfully, the Leafs could bring in Scotty Bowman, and it would still be a shitfest.

He's too old, do not want.

 

[LeafsOHLRangers98]

Need to get away from that horrid 1-3-1 at all costs. It's fine to flip into once and a while if the situation calls for it but if I see it with 19:35 left in the 1st period I'm going to lose it.

 

[BobClarkesfrontteeth]

We finally found out what head coach will be the lowest paid Head Coach in the league next year. Rogers making sure they save a buck. I will say this now. The Leafs will be at least 10 million under the cap too. Rogers will run this thing like Ballard did in the late 70's early 80's. Dirt cheap.

 

[Morgs]

I hope Lalonde stays. The PK was the only good thing about this team last season.

The Leafs had arguably the worst PK based on unblocked shots against and chances against per 60 minutes. The reason it was rated "good" was because it was the only place our goalies were amazing having top-5 sv% short handed. Is it a player thing? Probably. But I don't keep a coach that put up league worst numbers in the two most important stats when judging a penalty kills future success.

 

[Punch Drunk Loov]

Jim Hiller was the goalie with the matte black mask right?

 

[Kalaish26]

I don't know if I should be impressed that it was a hire that came out of nowhere, or disappointed at who we hired

 

[francis246]

I am not following this, wasn’t he fired cause Kings couldn’t move past 1st with him….

I mean he lost to the oilers. Edmontons special teams numbers were crazy against LA

 

[Tak7]

Kings fans hated him, couldn't wait to get rid of him, and found his style of play the perfect cure for insomnia. What a disappointing hire.

Sundin.
Chayka.
Hiller.

....yeah I'm totally and completely underwhelmed.

 

[SprDaVE]

I'll be curious to see what happens with the rest of the staff. Do they try to bring in Pavelski and/or Giordano? Lalonde and Sullivan probably are ok in the roles they had?

Does Hiller try to bring in DJ Smith again?

 

[The Iceman]

Who?

I seriously dont know

Such a bland retread hire.. I'd take Hiller over the likes of Roy + Eakins, but his 1-3-1 style of hockey isn't going to work here in Toronto..

RETREAD.....everyone stop with the retread reference.

He coached in the league.....yup

was an assistant for 10 seasons and HC for 2 full seasons.

If your criteria for the job was rookie only good luck, and if you think a coach is better because he has never been hired as a HC by another organization I do not know what to tell you.

 

[HamiltonNHL]

I hope Lalonde stays. The PK was the only good thing about this team last season.

Was it ?

Why would our weak D and sketchy G be good on the PK ?

 

[BobClarkesfrontteeth]

I’m not upset.
The Window is closed.
A great Winger doesn’t open it.

So yes, I want a full rebuild. That does not start until Matthews is traded before July 15 this year

They trade him next year at the earliest. They get the new coach bump and some new players this year to finish in a wild card spot or really close to it to not give Boston a top 10 pick. Then they start the selling.

 

[Twine Tickler]

I'm very interested to hear the reasoning on this one.

It's wholly unexciting, but I've been around long enough to know that excitement doesn't equal success. I won't write it off until it's proven it doesn't work.

100%

Lets see how it pans out before we start shitting all over it