After Monday’s practice, Jim Hiller discussed the Maple Leafs’ offensive-zone play, his patience with the line combinations, Gavin McKenna’s adjustment to the NHL, and the emphasis on getting pucks and traffic to the net during practice.
What are you looking for from the McKenna-Tavares-Nylander line as they continue to gel here?
Hiller: I would say this: Not just that line, but all the lines. Some have done it a little bit better than others, but that line probably could do it better than they have, and we worked on that in practice today: Just a little closer together in the O-zone, winning our battles, having three guys close, and bringing some pucks to the dirty areas a little quicker. I think that’ll be a focus for not just them, but everybody.
Kirill and Auston have been among the best shot creators in the league through the first three games, but they have just a goal each. Do you see a disparity between shot creation and finishing, or is that just random variation?
Hiller: I think that’s just the way it goes sometimes. Those are really good looks. Some have been crossbars and posts and stuff on top of that. Those are just really good looks. Those will start to go. If you create those types of Grade-A chances, they’re going to go.
At the beginning of the season, you brought up patience when asked what kind of coach you are. Previous regimes might have changed these lines by now. What message does sticking with them send to the players?
Hiller: I would say it’s a question for the players. I hope it just lets them know that… Listen, the record right now is not exactly where we want it to be, but I think we could’ve won all three games if things had gone a different way. Let’s just work on our process.
We feel like we’ve spent a lot of time focusing on some different things without the puck, and we wanted to get that done first. I think we’ve been pretty good that way. Today was a larger emphasis on some offense. Maybe we’ve pushed that to the side a little bit. We got it it in there today and had a good practice, so let’s see it translate.
You can only be patient for so long, but we’ll stick with it for now.
Is there any temptation to change things based on what Easton Cowan has been providing on both sides of the puck? Have you thought about moving him up at all?
Hiller: We have those discussions, not just with Easton, but with all players. Can we do this better? Are there better combinations based on what we’ve seen so far? If we do this… This is always the second question, right? The one question is easy: “Hey, let’s just do this.” But what does that do? There are always unintended consequences.
Those are the things that you have to have a really good discussion on and get different points and counterpoints, just to make sure you’re not trying to fix one thing and hurt another.
Gavin McKenna loves to put up points as an offensive player. What’s your sense of how he’s handling the start of the season?
Hiller: I think he’s handling it well. I thought last game was his best game. He had a really good practice.
I think his favourite time is power-play time. Boy, when he gets the puck there, it’s like—you guys notice that, too, yeah? It’s like, “Okay, finally, a little time and space, and I get to do my thing.” You can just see how incredibly talented he is.
But the practice was about five-on-five play, O-zone, being quick, supporting, and getting into the harder areas. Again, our whole team needs to do that better.
How do you think McKenna is handling the spotlight?
Hiller: I think he’s doing really well. He’s young, and he just seems unflappable to me. I’m sure he wishes he had more right now. Of course, that’s obvious. But I haven’t seen it affect him. When I talk to him, he’s got a smile on his face, and he walks around here the same as he did two months ago and two weeks ago. I think that’s a really important quality for him.
Other than wanting a couple more points out of the first three games, how have you liked the team’s play defensively?
Hiller: A couple of points more, yeah. I’ve liked us except for the third period, of course, against Ottawa. I didn’t like that period. That’s really the only one that I didn’t really like. I don’t know why. We had to ask a question. That was our biggest question: What was that third? The first was a saw-off. In the second, we played very well. The third was not our best.
Outside of that, there aren’t a lot of odd-man rushes coming. That’s the first thing. In the D-zone, we’re getting better.
How can McKenna work around not being as physically strong right now as we know he will be one day?
Hiller: He’s just going to have to understand when he can turn back, and when he’ll have to just put the puck in and have maybe one of his linemates get it for him if he’s in a tough spot. Those are just things that every player — 18 or 22, their first time in the league — has to work through and figure out. He’ll figure them out as quickly as anybody else because he just has that hockey sense.
It’s not a situation where we can tell him, “Hey, in this moment, in that moment.” He’ll feel it. He’ll feel it, and he’ll get it done.
It was a pretty intense end to practice with that game you were playing. What were you looking to get out of it?
Hiller: You saw there were lots of pucks going to the net and lots of traffic at the net. We’re just trying to be a little bit more direct. I think the guys liked it in the end. It’s the first time we’ve done that one.
