Jim Hiller addressed the media before Saturday’s preseason opener against the Montreal Canadiens, discussing what he wants to see from his team in the first exhibition matchup, Chris Tanev getting up to speed, and Gavin McKenna’s role on the PP/the early construction of the power-play units.
What are you going to be looking for most from the team tonight?
Hiller: Well, there are all kinds of things that are important in a game, but we’ve tried to emphasize a couple of things. I won’t get into them here, but we’ve tried to emphasize a couple of things that we really want to see and try to do well early. Those are the things I’ll look for.
I talked about it in my original press conference: the easy one is to skate. That is what I’m looking to see, and I’ve said it to everybody. If you say, “Hey, the Leafs are skating,” you know that we’re doing some of the right things. What it looks like within that might be a little bit more detail-oriented, but skating. I’ll give you that as far as the number-one thing I want to see.
Chris Tanev hasn’t played in a while. How do you feel he has looked so far in camp, and how valuable will these preseason games be for him?
Hiller: That first practice was a pretty tough practice. There was a lot of skating, twisting and turning, and contact. He and I talked after that, and he said he felt great in the practice.
The thing that has impressed me—we all know what a great defensive player he is—I thought he had really good puck touches for a guy who hasn’t had to play a lot of hockey over the last year or so. His puck skills were really good.
I think that was a good sign to me that he is feeling good and ready to go.
What do you like about Jack Roslovic with the top power-play unit?
Hiller: I think the right shot. He gets a little bit of an advantage there by being the right shot. In a perfect world, you’re set up that way on your power play. You have the middle, a lefty-righty at the bottom, and you have your flanks set up.
That doesn’t mean that is the only way you can run a successful power play, but when you’re asking why he is getting that early opportunity there, I think the handedness helps him out.
Leafs special teams work at skate
Toronto game groupPP1
Raddysh, Matthews, Tavares, Nylander, RoslovicPP2
Andrae, McKenna, Knies, Groulx, Koblar @TSN_Sports— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) September 19, 2026
What is your belief when it comes to using two balanced power-play units versus one top unit that takes most of the time?
Hiller: I’ve done it both ways with lots of different teams. I guess I would probably say we’ve had success both ways, and we’ve had not much success both ways. To answer the question, there is no exact formula where you say, “This is the one that works.” I think it is, in large part, just how far along some of your players are and how many power-play players you have on your team.
The other thing you have to evaluate is: Do we have some really elite power-play players on our team who form just one group?
Those are the things we’re talking about right now. Clearly, we do have some guys who have been elite power-play players, and it might not make sense for them to play only equal time as some of the other players.
You have talked about the importance of skating. How much can improving in that area impact a defensive game that needs to take a few steps forward?
Hiller: I hope it has the biggest impact on that. I really do. I think if you’re moving, if you’re tracking back, if you’re supporting, and you’re really working your way back and skating, that makes everything else a lot easier. The rest of the details—“How am I going to sort this out? Who has this guy?”—if people are moving, it makes that much easier.
That would be the defensive impact we’re looking for that would have the largest effect.
What conversations did you have about potentially putting Gavin McKenna on the top power-play unit because of his vision? Is it a case of not wanting to give a rookie that responsibility yet?
Hiller: I just think, probably for him and us, just get out there and play. We don’t want to put extra pressure on him. If you asked him, he would probably say, “I want to play 22 minutes. I want the first power play.” That is exactly what he should say.
For us, we just want to get him started in the NHL, see what it feels like, and then there will be a chance over time—whether that is one game, two, 10, or 20—where his role will increase in different areas.
We just have a lot of good players, so fortunately, he doesn’t have to start there.
Montreal went through a similar process with Ivan Demidov and Lane Hutson, gifted players who slowly increased their roles on the power play. Are there things you want to see from McKenna before handing him those minutes and responsibilities?
Hiller: There are a couple of things.
Again, I am just looking forward to seeing him play his first NHL exhibition game, and then we’ll see what that looks like. He has looked great in practice, but let’s just see what it looks like for everybody. We might say, “Hey, man, he has fewer deficiencies than we even thought. He adjusted right to this.” Then the plan can change from there.
But again, the second point is that we have a lot of really good players on the team—a lot of offensive players who have played important roles and have had great careers. Anytime you do one thing, you adjust something else. You have to take all of that into account.
You have a lot of great shooters on the top unit. With Darren Raddysh and what he can bring at the point, what is the key to maximizing that weapon on the power play?
Hiller: Until the opposing team wants to take him away, I think he just keeps pounding away. I would suspect somebody is going to try to take him away. They did it in Tampa over time, too. They had to take him away, and then that frees somebody else up. That is just the way it works. It is five versus four. Once you take one threat away, that usually opens something else up.
We’ll just see. Maybe they’ll take him away right from the start. Who knows? We’ll be ready to adjust.
Could one player who benefits from that be Auston Matthews? His shot arguably hasn’t been utilized as much on the power play as it could have been in recent years.
Hiller: I think it does. I’ve been on both sides of it. Anytime there is somebody at the top with an extremely hard, accurate shot, that becomes a focus, and the other players become less of a focus.
We know we’ve got some other players who can shoot it extremely well, too. I think it is going to create opportunities for somebody else. Right now, Willy is on the other side. Willy has a great shot as well. You’re going to have to pick your poison a little bit.
