In any event, with names like Patrick Roy, Joe Pavelski, Peter Laviolette (since hired by the Los Angeles Kings) and Jay Woodcroft having been mentioned as candidates in the past month, Hiller’s name never came up in the media. Not until Wednesday morning.
Hence the surprise among fans, media, even those in the hockey world, when the announcement did come.
“When my phone went off this morning with the news, I was caught off guard,” Barry Trotz told NHL.com late Wednesday afternoon. “But, really, the more I thought about it, I wasn’t really caught off guard.”
Indeed, the more Trotz thought about the hiring that shocked a lot of people, the more it made sense to him.
Trotz, an adviser with the Nashville Predators, was coach of the New York Islanders when Hiller was one of his assistants from 2019-2022. In that time, Trotz experienced many of the traits that he thinks will serve Hiller well in Toronto.
“He’s a progressive thinker, a bit more into analytics, a good power-play coach,” Trotz said. “And he’s a good communicator with an outstanding ability to connect with players, which is such a key to coaching these days.
“Late in the day we as a staff would have regular hot stove sessions about the entire League. He wasn’t afraid to bring things up and look at things in a different direction. Like I said, progressive thinker.”
Trotz said the experience Hiller had as coach of the Kings, who went 93-58-24 during the regular season from 2023-24 to 2025-26 under his watch, will help during the long run.
“Progressive thinkers learn from mistakes,” Trotz said. “They have more success with their second, third teams. They just do.
“Having coached Matthews and Nylander before, I think that’s going to help too.”
The fact that Hiller has worked with both will be a plus. In his final three seasons with the Maple Leafs, when he was an assistant in charge of the power play, Toronto finished in the top 10 with the man-advantage, with both Nylander and Matthews featuring prominently.
Another point in Hiller’s favor: The Kings finished tied with the Washington Capitals for seventh in goals against this season (238), while the Maple Leafs ended up 31st (295). Tightening up defensively is a definite priority for Toronto.
Finally, he knows what it’s like to nurture a No. 1 draft pick like the Maple Leafs will have next week, having been part of Matthews’ development a decade ago.
Still, there are more questions than answers surrounding his hiring. It wasn’t the expected splash, to be sure. And you can make sure he’ll hear about it if the team gets off to a slow start, much to Kathy’s chagrin.
“I said to my wife, and not trying to oversimplify, but before and after games, you talk to the media,” he said. “And whether there are three microphones or 15 microphones, three cameras or 15 cameras, you’ve got to answer the same questions. So yeah, it’s bigger, more volume of media, no question, but I think the way you approach it, your relationships, your honesty … it doesn’t change.
“I know it’s a big job and it’s a big market but it’s not something I think that I’m personally going to have to change much to deal with.”
In making such an unexpected hiring, Chayka is banking on it.
