Why? It’s so vanilla.
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Maple Leafs fans react to Jim Hiller being hired as head coach
Photo credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images
Jun 18, 2026, 08:45 EDTUpdated: Jun 18, 2026, 08:30 EDT
On Wednesday, former Los Angeles Kings head coach Jim Hiller was unexpectedly announced as the new man in charge of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Hiller was previously an assistant coach for the Maple Leafs, having served as part of Mike Babcock’s coaching team from 2015-19. His return to Toronto comes as a bit of a surprise. Not only was he not reported as a finalist, but there was very little chatter surrounding his name throughout the month-long hiring process.
As you can imagine, fans in Toronto weren’t shy in voicing their opinion after the news was first reported by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on Wednesday morning. In general, it seemed like the initial reaction was that fans were underwhelmed with the choice, especially given the length of the process.
There weren't better options?
Some felt more strongly, and did not mince words. One user on X expression his frustration with the concept of bringing back a former assistant coach to lead the franchise in this new era.
I absolutely despise this on all accounts. You need a fresh look. Fresh thing. You don't need recycling coaches again. We've talked about this over and over and over again. I can't wait to hear kypreos take on this. I think this is awful bringing back old coaches brutal idea
One point of contention that frequently came up on Wednesday was Hiller’s playoff record. In two postseason campaigns with the Kings, the team twice fell in the first round to the Edmonton Oilers. Considering Toronto’s reputation of first-round exits, some questioned the choice. However, other Leafs fans came to Hiller’s defence.
If the team buys in to the system, they could be back in the playoffs. Don't put too much stock in the 3 first round playoff exits, they came at the hands of Edmonton in the 2 years that they went to the finals and Colorado this year.
Jim Hiller’s teams consistently ranked among the leagues elite in puck possession despite his best offensive player being Adrian Kempe and his 1C being a 35+ Kopitar, they lost in round 1 to: Connor McDavid, Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon I think we all need to relax here
In his 3 years as a head coach in LA Jim Hiller had a .600 winning percentage. Every season his team had great possession numbers, good xGF, great xGA, solid HDCF %, and a very good HDCA%. If I'm completely honest, I was surprised LA fired him because he wasn't the issue.
It’s worth noting that Hiller was fired in March of this year, ahead of the Kings’ postseason loss to the Colorado Avalanche.
No matter where you stand on the hiring, there’s one thing almost everyone can agree on: nobody in Toronto thought they’d be waking up to the news of Hiller’s hiring. With the surprise of the announcement, some fans poked fun at NHL insiders for not having Hiller on their radar. Maybe GM John Chayka has been more clever than we think at preventing leaks and leading reporters astray?
Take that, insiders
Give us your thoughts, what do you make of Hiller being named head coach?
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