The Toronto Maple Leafs are reportedly close to hiring Jim Hiller as their new head coach, the team confirmed Wednesday.

Hiller was previously an assistant coach on Mike Babcock’s staff with the Maple Leafs between 2015 and 2019, so he’s already familiar with Auston Matthews and William Nylander. He was previously an assistant coach with the New York Islanders before taking a job as an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Kings on Todd McClellan’s staff in 2024. He was named Kings head coach in May of 2024 before being fired by the Kings midway through the 2025-26 season.

The hiring of Hiller is a shocking one, and an interesting one at best. His name wasn’t ever mentioned as a possibility among the many reports of people interviewing for the job, and wasn’t among the reported group of finalists that included the likes of Jay Woodcroft, Patrick Roy, and Joe Pavelski.

Overall, his record as a head coach is 93-58-14. His best season as a bench boss came in 2024-25 when he led the Kings to a second-place finish in the Pacific Division before the eventual Stanley Cup finalist Edmonton Oilers defeated them in the first round.

Needless to say, the stakes have never been higher for the current bench boss, and they’re even higher for John Chayka and Keith Pelley. With Auston Matthews two years away from an expiring deal and Gavin McKenna (or one of the other projected top picks) set to join the team next season, it will be interesting to see how Hiller deploys this team in contrast to how Craig Berube ran them for the past three years.

The Maple Leafs will go into the 2026 NHL Draft with a head coach in place. There’s no word as of right now who will be joining Hiller on the bench as assistant coaches.