Jim Hiller is the new Head Coach
- Thread starter herman
- Start date
herman
Well-known member
He did create some epic PP units for the 2016-2019 teams, so there's that. Existing relationship with Matthews, Nylander, Tavares, and Rielly, and many Leafs staff.
Some analysis of his LAK tenure, which for an offensively-inclined coach, was a bit curious
hockeyroyalty.com
Hiller was executing the system/playstyle directive from GM Rob Blake; he will be doing the same thing here with whatever Chayka/Sundin are trying to establish.
I'm curious to see who the assistants are (please not DJ)
Some analysis of his LAK tenure, which for an offensively-inclined coach, was a bit curious
LA Kings: Has Jim Hiller fixed LA's structure?
Defense wins championships? The LA Kings and Jim Hiller seem to think so. A look into the Kings under their interim bench boss.
hockeyroyalty.com
Hiller was executing the system/playstyle directive from GM Rob Blake; he will be doing the same thing here with whatever Chayka/Sundin are trying to establish.
I'm curious to see who the assistants are (please not DJ)
Last edited:
Well, it's not Patrick Roy.
herman
Well-known member
Per the links above, he was working within the already established LAK identity (Stutter/McLellan built). The Leafs are more of a blank slate at this point and that playstyle is likely going to be driven by the key roster players. Leafs unlikely to have to face Edmonton in the playoffs anyway
mr grieves
Well-known member
Feels budget conscious. Like the GM hire…
Bender
Well-known member
Just doing a little more digging, I don't think he's necessarily Berube-esque. I do think familiarity played into this a lot - the players probably already like him, and apparently Chayka also tried to hire him in Arizona at one point. I like that he excels in really getting PP numbers up wherever he goes without sacrificing a ton defensively, so there's aspects to like, I just don't know if he has as much upside as Chayka is hoping. Can we get an all-star team of assistants as well? Then I'll feel better about this.Per the links above, he was working within the already established LAK identity (Stutter/McLellan built). The Leafs are more of a blank slate at this point and that playstyle is likely going to be driven by the key roster players. Leafs unlikely to have to face Edmonton in the playoffs anyway
Bender
Well-known member
That actually is something sneaky interesting. All these names, all this speculation and Hiller who was on nobody's radar got the job. I really wonder how much the Leafs are throwing reporters off the scent.
dappleganger
Well-known member
Hiller has a pretty decent winning percentage as Head Coach. Like Herman mentioned, was a Leafs assistant coach from 2015-2019 so the Leafs core know him, possibly like him?
Not a terrible hire.
Not a terrible hire.
bustaheims
Well-known member
Well, this was certainly not on anyone's radar...
He's an interesting choice. Not sure I like it, but I don't hate it the way I would have with some of the other names that were out there.
He's an interesting choice. Not sure I like it, but I don't hate it the way I would have with some of the other names that were out there.
mr grieves
Well-known member
Could be clever comms strategy and op sec, could be they keep going off the board because the jobs they’re offering aren’t appealing to candidates who are on everyone’s radar.
herman
Well-known member
This is getting quite funny
www.nytimes.com
Chayka, former analytics company founder and restauranteur, hires restauranteur Judd Brackett, and now hires former analytics company guy Jim Hiller.
How Jim Hiller has brought special teams success and an analytical eye to the Leafs bench
Practice had just ended when Maple Leafs assistant coach Jim Hiller grabbed an iPad and went right to James van Riemsdyk’s dressing room stall. Hiller wanted to review a sequence of plays that resulted in an excellent scoring chance in a game earlier in the week. While breaking it down, he...
www.nytimes.com
Chayka, former analytics company founder and restauranteur, hires restauranteur Judd Brackett, and now hires former analytics company guy Jim Hiller.
Well that's unexpected. My initial gut reaction wasn't great. I really liked some of those LA teams, and even said at one point Rob Blake would have been an interesting GM target if we were going the more traditional route for that choice. I generally put their losses on Hiller to a degree but they were also going up against that two-headed dragon every year.
The good is: Matthews presumably has a good relationship with him from his time here as an assistant. Statistically those Kings teams put up very good (regular season) results. By all accounts Hiller is a proponent of analytics so there should at least be some synergy between the coach and front office when it comes to roster moves.
The bad: He's not Jay Woodcroft. I don't know if he'll really get the most offensively out of the big guys, although this is of course a differently built team than LA. He's not really the type of coach I'd expect when it comes to trying to build up a long-term program here ala Cooper/Bednar/Brind'Amour although we'll see. He might hire D.J. Smith as an assistant (save us Babcock!).
The good is: Matthews presumably has a good relationship with him from his time here as an assistant. Statistically those Kings teams put up very good (regular season) results. By all accounts Hiller is a proponent of analytics so there should at least be some synergy between the coach and front office when it comes to roster moves.
The bad: He's not Jay Woodcroft. I don't know if he'll really get the most offensively out of the big guys, although this is of course a differently built team than LA. He's not really the type of coach I'd expect when it comes to trying to build up a long-term program here ala Cooper/Bednar/Brind'Amour although we'll see. He might hire D.J. Smith as an assistant (save us Babcock!).
L K
Well-known member
While my first reaction was not thrilled. I will say, this year is going to be a "prove it to me" season. I'm letting this team be an open book. We all know this is either going to be the early start of a long rebuild or we get to see the team bounce back and watch a competitive team again.
I'm going to retract my "Berube 2.0" opinion. It felt like that watching the Kings play but I think the the puck possession metrics paint at least a different story. Hopefully this is something that plays out.
I am kind of glad that the signing did come out of nowhere though. It really shows to me that the organization is capable of keeping the leaks to a minimum.
I'm going to retract my "Berube 2.0" opinion. It felt like that watching the Kings play but I think the the puck possession metrics paint at least a different story. Hopefully this is something that plays out.
I am kind of glad that the signing did come out of nowhere though. It really shows to me that the organization is capable of keeping the leaks to a minimum.