Jim Hiller, Toronto Maple Leafs head coach
Jim Hiller, Toronto Maple Leafs head coach

After Friday’s practice, head coach Jim Hiller discussed his vision for the team’s style of play, Jack Roslovic’s opportunity alongside Auston Matthews, his early impressions of Gavin McKenna, the team’s defense pairings with Morgan Rielly skating alongside Emil Andrae, and more.

There has been talk about “unshackling” the offense a little bit as long as the players commit to playing defense. What is your vision for the team once it is up and running?

Hiller: I think the first thing you do is look at the team and the players on the team. There are some elite offensive forwards in particular, so I think we have to let them play to their strengths.

With that, there is a commitment to playing without the puck that everybody has to make. It doesn’t matter what your talent level is. But when you have the puck and you have that type of elite offense, we are going to give them some freedom and creativity to use those skills.

I hope we strike a balance. I hope we are a hard team to play against without the puck, but when we have it, I hope we see some of the dynamism that we have up front.

How difficult is it to teach the play without the puck at this level? Is it mostly instinctual at this point?

Hiller: No, I think there are different styles and systems for playing without the puck. I don’t know if any are better than the others. It is mostly a matter of how committed the players are to playing it.

We think the style we are going to play is a skating style. We think we skate well, so we think it fits our team. Let’s just see. Until we make that commitment, it is hard to win every night. You can’t outscore it.

But I have a really good feeling about the players. I think they have a bunch of optimism. I think they are excited about what we have done for a couple of days. I think it makes sense to them, and they are ready to embrace it.

Is there a specific message you will offer Gavin McKenna ahead of his NHL preseason debut, knowing how many expectations are on him?

Hiller: No, I am not going to say anything to him. He is going to talk to the guys. In the end, we, as coaches, are mentors, and we guide them. But we have plenty of guys who have been through this. It means way more coming from them, I think.

I am just going to tap him on the back, look him in the eye, shake his hand, and say, “Go enjoy the night.” There will be plenty of nights when we demand more than that, but I don’t think tomorrow night should be one of them.

You have given Jack Roslovic a great opportunity to start camp. What do you want to see from him on that line to keep his spot alongside Auston Matthews?

Hiller: You have to be a good two-way player. You are playing with Auston, so you have to create offense. But on the other side of it, if we are going to allow him a little more freedom and creativity to take some risks, try to make some plays, and hang onto the puck in the offensive zone, there are going to be times when you are the guy cleaning it up on the way back.

When you play with Auston, you have to be good both ways. That is the way I see it. You can’t just be a pure offensive player or just a checker. For me, that doesn’t work nearly as well. Jack and Matthew (Knies) both fit that bill. Now, let’s see where it goes.

Matthew Knies produced well despite playing hurt last season. He is now healthy and a little lighter. What are your early impressions of him? 

Hiller: I haven’t had a chance to talk to him too much yet. We talked coming into camp, and I have watched him for a couple of days. I am just going to let him be. He is going to play tomorrow, and I think I will have a better feel for how he is after tomorrow’s game. Practice is practice, but I really want to let that line play tomorrow night.

I will watch it closely. That is the line I am most interested in. We will watch them closely, watch some video together, and then I think I will have a better assessment.

Is it accurate to say Matthews wanted Roslovic on his line to start camp?

Hiller: No, I wouldn’t say that. I wouldn’t say that at all. Auston and I have talked about a lot of different combinations, and he is just open to anybody, really.

I just see him as really excited to play. He has the puck a lot. He is stopping on pucks, lifting sticks, and doing all the things that make him a special player.

It is early. He will play with whoever we give him, and let’s just see if we can find some chemistry with this. If we don’t, we will think of something else.

Do you know how much the goaltenders will play in the two preseason games?

Hiller: Well, they are going to play parts of both, I guess I would say. I don’t know exactly how that will roll out, but they will definitely play parts of both. We only have two games, so we are still finalizing exactly what it will look like.

I will save you the question: Bob will start at home tomorrow night. I don’t know how much of that game he will play, but he will start tomorrow.

What do you think a Morgan Rielly–Emil Andrae pairing could offer?

Hiller: I don’t know. That isn’t where we envisioned that.

Morgan didn’t skate with us yesterday. He skated with us today, so we just made it easy. We didn’t want to move things all over the place. I wouldn’t read too much into exactly where he is playing.

I think he played on the right side today, too, right? You can skip that one for now. We will give you plenty of other stuff as it goes on, but with that one, we just took one guy out and put one guy in.

Do you have an idea of what the final defense pairings will look like?

Hiller: We have an idea, but it probably isn’t exactly what you are seeing out there right now.

Matthews said he thought the McKenna–Tavares–Nylander line connected really well. What have you liked about their chemistry so far?

Hiller: If you asked John and Willy, they would probably both say they have been pretty impressed with Gavin so far. In just two days, he has found them with a lot of pucks. When you have three guys who can find each other and you are not relying on one guy — or maybe the second guy — the way I see it, those three guys are moving around pretty well.

That is really what we expect with Auston’s line, too, with Jack and Kniesy. They should be the same way, moving it and distributing it through all three of them.

But that line has done it really well for two days.

What kind of influence can Jake McCabe and Chris Tanev have on the rest of the defense corps?

Hiller: I think they are good examples. We talked about it. They are two shutdown defensemen, but I think other players have played some of those roles, too. I don’t see it as though they are sitting way above everybody and looking down on them.

I just see it as a D corps, and I see those two mixing pretty well together. They take a lot of pride in defending. They are probably defense-first types of defensemen, but you don’t want six defense-first defensemen, either. It is a bit of a mix, but we respect what they do.

With a young player like McKenna, is there any concern about him deferring too much to the veteran players? Or does he read the right situation with his hockey IQ?

Hiller: That is just it. I haven’t seen that at all. I haven’t seen him deferring at all.

You guys have talked to him plenty. He is just a nice young man. He has no airs about him. He’s confident in his own way. He is certainly not cocky, but when he gets on the ice, he knows how good he is.

I thought that might be a problem. You know you are a good player, but this is the NHL. He is not selfish. He just makes the right play when it needs to be played. Very impressive.

It is only two days into his professional career, but where do you see McKenna in three to five years?

Hiller: That is really difficult for me to say. I just think he is going to be a wonderful player. He is going to be a wonderful player long before three to five years. Let’s just see. It is hard for me to say. I just know he is going to be a great player.

Practice Lines – Sep. 18

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