On the eve of the 2026 NHL Draft, head coach Jim Hiller discussed his first week on the job, his relationship with John Chayka, his meeting with Auston Matthews, and the addition of Darren Raddysh to the team’s blue line.
Jim Hiller’s Opening Statement
Hiller: I guess I have done this once already in some respects, but I just wanted to say again that this is the Toronto Maple Leafs, and it is an honour. I don’t take this job lightly at all. I know the history; I mentioned Cliff (Fletcher) in my last comments. Walking through the city, the energy in the city right now, with the soccer and driving in here late at night after getting on the plane, the city is lit up. It sent chills down my spine, to be honest. I am so excited to be back.
I watched the team from afar over the last seven years. I am excited to be back in charge. There are so many people I know already here. I have been walking through the Ford Performance Center, and every time I turn a corner, there is someone I recognize. It is a bro hug. Back into the gym, I have Lou Rojas already lining me up. “We’ve got to get on the rower. We’ve got a competition.”
This is a really easy transition for me in that sense. It really, really makes the job easier to have those key people in place and have those relationships with that support staff, never mind some of the players I’ve met already.
I just think it is an extremely exciting time for us. John mentioned the Marlies. Tomorrow night, we will be at the draft. We have Darren Raddysh, who we’ve signed and added to the team. There is so much good, positive energy. It is just wonderful to be a part of.
I said it last week: To me, the most important thing I can do with this team is help build the spirit of the team. As we build the spirit of the team, we will continue to build the spirit of Leafs Nation. For all of that support, we thank you in advance, and we look forward to September, when we can stop talking and put everything into action.
Q&A: Jim Hiller on Raddysh, Chayka, Matthews & more
What has the process been like over the last week or 10 days as you’ve re-familiarized yourself with a place you’ve known previously?
Hiller: It has just been really exciting. I mentioned some of the stuff that has happened even in the last week — the Marlies, Raddysh, and now getting excited for the draft. It just feels like there is a lot of positive momentum.
I know I mentioned it, but it really struck me, driving into the city and the lights. We didn’t land until about 11:30 at night, so the Gardiner wasn’t busy. This is one of the meccas of hockey.
How is the family feeling about moving to Toronto?
Hiller: Excited. My boys, my daughter, and I had some friends here who we knew from when they were in high school —everyone is really excited. I know [my wife] was out looking and found a place maybe two minutes from where we used to live back in the day. It is just a lot of positive momentum. We look forward to carrying that through the rest of the summer.
This will be your second head coaching job in the NHL. How will the first experience make you a better coach this time around?
Hiller: It helped me a lot. We had a really great year in my first year when I had the team completely. This year, it wasn’t as good. You just reflect on it. What was different? What could you have done differently? You just take those experiences with you going forward. I have, and there are a couple of things I maybe should’ve done differently. I’ll discuss those with our new coaching staff.
You get better. You want the players to get better. The coaches have to get better. We all have to get better. When everyone understands we are in it together, you can grow that spirit or process a little quicker. That is what I look forward to.
As you reflect on your time as an assistant with the Leafs, what did you learn about how to handle the lights in Toronto?
Hiller: What I learned is — what a great place to be part of the Toronto Maple Leafs. What a city. What a fan base. What energy. The people. It is just big-time. It is.
With that comes some added pressures and some extra questions and all of that kind of stuff, but we are in the game because we are competitive, competitive people. If you’re a competitive person, what a great place to be competitive in.
We will get held accountable — that is part of being competitive — but if you are going to do it, there is no better place to do it.
What have you learned about John Chayka through the process of the interviews and now entering the job as head coach?
Hiller: Well, John and I knew each other a little bit from before. I got closer to him through this process, but he was exactly like I remembered, and as you guys know. Very sharp. Very organized.
Interesting for both of us: I kind of put up a bit of a roster of maybe we could add this guy, or a vision for the team, and right from that moment, John and I were pretty aligned right away. He told me he had a lot of similar thoughts to the ones I had.
That really was probably an important moment for us in the process of the interview. I think we see the ice the same way. He is going to get the job done. I know that. I just know that about him. He is impressive.
What went through your mind when you heard about the Darren Raddysh news?
Hiller: It was something that, even through the interview process, we talked about. This is a player who was highly coveted. There is not a really deep free agent market. For us to be able to land him makes the coach better immediately.
Have you had any conversations with Auston Matthews, William Nylander, or the player leadership since you were announced as coach?
Hiller: Yeah, I have. I won’t go into everybody, and I have been playing phone tag with a lot of guys, but Auston and I, in particular, had a great conversation.
Even when I left, there were times when I was in Arizona that Auston and I would get together and have lunch — just to BS and keep in touch. It hasn’t been seven years since we communicated. I’ve always kind of seen him after games and have tried to keep those relationships with some of those guys I knew.
I am really fond of those guys. They’re great players. I am looking forward to getting on the bench and coaching them again.
What is your sense of where Matthews’ game stands? He is coming off a couple of years in which his production hasn’t been what it was earlier in his career when he won the Rocket Richard trophies. How do you help him get back to that?
Hiller: There are a lot of things there.
One thing — Auston was always a really dangerous player on the power play. I don’t think they’ve been as dangerous recently. I think that is one area.
Of course, there is five-on-five, and him being completely healthy, and those types of things. But I hope and envision we can get our power play going a little bit more. For the top guys, when they get some good momentum on the power play, it generally spreads out to the five-on-five game. That will be a real focus.
It’s been described as a strength of yours: your communication and relationship-building. That seems to be who you are, but how have you been able to use that on the professional side of your career?
Hiller: Clearly, it is probably a strength, but I don’t “use” it. It is just kind of who I am. In this business — which is a people business, with hockey at its baseline — it helps. You have to communicate, but beyond that, you have to connect. Once people feel comfortable, they can talk to you and have a good conversation with you. You can probably steer the conversations and try to get on the same page hockey-wise. Before that, it is just about connecting on a personal level.
You were here in the early days with the core players here. They’ve had a lot of different coaches now and been here for a lot of different faces in terms of player personnel. Why hasn’t the core been able to get over the hump?
Hiller: I don’t know. Again, I haven’t been here. I don’t really have a strong opinion on that.
It is really difficult to do. I will say that, first off. But my time here, we kind of ascended fairly quickly. We had two great series with Boston that went to Game 7s. A bounce here or a bounce there, and maybe the whole story is different. But we didn’t get it done, and now you have to live with the results.
I am just looking here today. I am not going to worry about that. I wasn’t part of that. I am just going to go forward.
You’ve mentioned the spirit of the team. What is it about the team’s spirit that needs to be built or fixed?
Hiller: Every team, as they start a new year, starts down here with their spirit. It is different for every team every year. We will be having the same conversation next year. We will have to rebuild the spirit and grow it stronger. Some years, it happens, and some years, it doesn’t get quite there.
I don’t mean anything negative by it. I just believe it is my most important job: to build the spirit as strong as it can be, try to help push it along, and if it grows strong enough, I know we will have a great season. And then we will start all over again.
How is your coaching style different than Craig Berube’s?
Hiller: I don’t know. I know Craig is a great coach and a heck of a guy. I don’t know if we have different styles in any way. I am just going to be me and do what I have done. It has worked pretty well for me. I think our teams compete and try to reach their potential. We will try to do the same here.
What do you know about Gavin McKenna?
Hiller: I don’t know much. I haven’t really followed the amateurs at all. Since I have taken the job, I have watched a little bit of the pros because of some of the discussions John has had me involved with. But I really don’t have an opinion on any of the amateur players at all.
