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Jim Hiller is the new Head Coach

ZBBM said:
That's what infuriates me. The speculation was a big fat failure.
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I actually see this as a positive. If all the usual suspects had no idea who they were actually going to hire, it means the leaks are closed up. I prefer that than the alternative where every Dreger is constantly leaking info before the Leafs ever do anything. Maybe they can operate without wild speculation before trades and signings in peace.
 
ZBBM said:
So in the span of two days we've had two head-scratching decisions out of our duo of managers.

All I can say is, if we had not won the lottery this place would look like abattoir.
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I dunno. I think the team was not as bad as they played last season. It was obvious they had checked out on Berube and it showed on the ice. So while a lot of people are doom and gloom, I think a few smart moves, and a progressive coach and this team can be fighting for a playoff spot. At that point it's a crap-shoot. You get a hot goalie for a month and you win some rounds.
 
ZBBM said:
So in the span of two days we've had two head-scratching decisions out of our duo of managers.

All I can say is, if we had not won the lottery this place would look like abattoir.
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I found the moves to be more interesting than head-scratching. I think there is upside to both moves made.
 
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Chris said:
I was kind of hoping to get a chance to see Tortorella coach William Nylander.
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Zee said:
I actually see this as a positive. If all the usual suspects had no idea who they were actually going to hire, it means the leaks are closed up. I prefer that than the alternative where every Dreger is constantly leaking info before the Leafs ever do anything. Maybe they can operate without wild speculation before trades and signings in peace.
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I was kidding, and I agree 100%.
 
rdowdall said:
I wonder if this means Rielly is staying?
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It might. During Hiller's last two seasons with the Leafs running its power play, Rielly was #2 on the Leafs with PP TOI

I've said it before. Rielly is still skating well. There are not many good UFA dmen. Leafs don't have many young assets to trade.
Getting a coach & system to revive Rielly would be the easiest way to help their D under those circumstances
Trying to trade him now would be sell low - they won't get much back.

Leafs PP last season was 15th (it was in the basement)
Hiller had Leafs PP top 2 in 2 of his last 3 seasons with Rielly.

TSN: Maple Leafs D Rielly hasn’t waived no-movement clause
www.tsn.ca

Maple Leafs D Rielly hasn’t waived no-movement clause

Toronto Maple Leafs veteran defenceman Morgan Rielly has not agreed to waive his no-movement clause, according to TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston.
www.tsn.ca www.tsn.ca
 
mr grieves said:
Really? It's the apparent 'why' of the moves that I find most elusive.
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PHI trade:
- clear goaltender pipeline (they’re were going to trade whichever one of Woll/Stolarz yielded a return) to make room for Hildeby/Akhtyamov
- clear cap room for potential re-tooling
- move net negative defense for puck moving potential (cheap, on the cusp bets)


Hiller:
- looking for a progressive, analytically inclined and collaborative coach
- evidence he can conform to a program instead of stubbornly sticking to his way (would’ve preferred to see what Hiller’d do carte blanche though)
- made a shit system actually pop as much as the roster allowed; for an offense first guy, he adjusted to defense-only surprisingly well
- gravy: knows the city and media, knows the organization, knows key players already
 
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Obviously if the return was surprisingly good, the team would be better with an upgraded blue line (including Rielly) but it really feels like the mentality is just do whatever to get rid of him. Even a new coach who maximizes Rielly's strength. Is he not more tradable next year (if the team knows Matthews won't extend) if he can get back to being a 50 point defensemen. If he's worse....well the talking head people see to want us to retain salary and get a hill of mouldy beans for him. So worst case we have a declining defensemen who rides out their contract while the team regresses for 2-3 years.
 
herman said:
PHI trade:
- clear goaltender pipeline (they’re were going to trade whichever one of Woll/Stolarz yielded a return) to make room for Hildeby/Akhtyamov
- clear cap room for potential re-tooling
- move net negative defense for puck moving potential (cheap, on the cusp bets)


Hiller:
- looking for a progressive, analytically inclined and collaborative coach
- evidence he can conform to a program instead of stubbornly sticking to his way
- made a shit system actually pop as much as the roster allowed
- gravy: knows the city and media, knows the organization, knows key players already
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" clear cap room for potential re-toolin"
That one smelled pretty badly to me

Benoit at $1.35M/yr vs RFA Andrae with arbitration hammer is roughly a cap sawoff
Ersson they're unlikely to re-sign so that isn't a cap problem

Who here thinks Woll wouldn't get picked up on waivers after a team effectively just traded a 3rd rounder for him?
I think that is very unlikely.



So their clear cap room claim strikes me as BS[/QUOTE]
 
cw said:
" clear cap room for potential re-toolin"
That one smelled pretty badly to me

Benoit at $1.35M/yr vs RFA Andrae with arbitration hammer is roughly a cap sawoff
Ersson they're unlikely to re-sign so that isn't a cap problem

Who here thinks Woll wouldn't get picked up on waivers after a team effectively just traded a 3rd rounder for him?
I think that is very unlikely.



So their clear cap room claim strikes me as BS
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Hildeby (841k)+Andrae (874k QO) isn't going to even remotely command Woll + Benoit numbers (~5M); Philadelphia yo-yo'd him so much he also has almost no arbitration case. Conservatively, that's 3M more room without making a hole in the roster, getting a better skater, and an additional trade chip/sweetener in the 3rd rder, for the price of 30ish games of whatever the drop off is between Woll to Hildeby (your mileage may vary).

Sure it's all marginal stuff, but they stack up in whatever direction they go.
 
Initial reaction is that of underwhelm, partially due to the fact that he wasn't on anybody's radar as a potential candidate when there were some other big names thrown around (Cassidy, Roy) and up and comers (Carle).

However, like the Chayka hiring, another guy who I wouldn't have pegged or wanted, I'll take a wait-and-see approach. We've had different variations over the last many years of management and coaching that at this point, just hope something eventually sticks. I'll give these guys a bit of leniency considering the team is in a weird spot right now. One of transition I'd say. They could either fall flat again and we may be moving on from Matthews and/or Nylander in the next year or two. Or they tidy things up a bit and make some shrewd moves to get this team back in playoff contention immediately, which is possible in today's NHL.

I say all that knowing that the Leafs will be drafting McKenna in just over a week, so they have the next face of the franchise for at least a decade coming in in short order. So whatever happens from here on out, things aren't all that bleak knowing we have a guy to build around in the next wave, whichever way things end up.
 
https://twitter.com/x/status/2067306713703752132

"Skating is the first chain in competing"

What convinced [Chayka] that Jim was the one?
"the layers of Jim's knowledge and experiences, his experience in the market, his knowledge of some of the players and the organization [...] created a lot of conviction he was the right person."

Chayka wants as little distance between the front office and the player personnel and Jim had the ability to communicate in a way that minimized this distance.
 
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