Maple Leafs hire Jim Hiller to be new head coachKristen ShiltonJun 17, 2026, 09:41 AM ETClose
- Kristen Shilton is a national NHL reporter for ESPN.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have hired Jim Hiller as their new head coach, the team revealed Wednesday.
This will be the 57-year-old Hiller’s second stint with the Leafs after working as an assistant with the club from 2015-19. It also is his second NHL head coaching job following three seasons with the Los Angeles Kings from 2023-26.
“Jim is an experienced coach with a strong understanding of what it takes to win in today’s NHL,” general manager John Chayka mentioned in a statement. “He has worked with successful teams throughout his career, connects well with players and brings a clear approach behind the bench. We believe he’s the right person to lead our team and help us reach our goals.”
Jim Hiller coached the Kings for the last three seasons, going 93-58-24. He had a previous stint with the Maple Leafs, serving as an assistant, primarily under Mike Babcock, from 2015-19. AP Photo/David ZalubowskiChayka told reporters Tuesday that Toronto was close to naming its new bench boss after an “extensive” multi-phased search to replace Craig Berube, who was fired by Chayka in May after two years as the Leafs’ coach.Hiller was similarly let go by Los Angeles on March 1 in the wake of a cratering 8-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers that dropped the Kings to sixth place in the Pacific Division. He joined the Kings in 2022 as an assistant for Todd McLellan, whom Hiller replaced on an interim basis when McLellan was fired on Feb. 2, 2024, and got the head coach job ahead of the 2024-25 season.
Hiller was 93-58-24 with Los Angeles over those combined three seasons.
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He’ll return to Toronto now with a strong knowledge of the franchise. Hiller came to the Leafs originally from Detroit, where he previously served one season as an assistant under Babcock and carried on with him — primarily managing the team’s power play — for four seasons with Toronto. Once Babcock was fired and replaced by Sheldon Keefe, Hiller moved on to be an assistant for the New York Islanders from 2019-22 prior to landing in Los Angeles.
“I’m incredibly excited for the opportunity to return to Toronto and lead the Maple Leafs,” Hiller mentioned in a statement. “This is a special organization with great players, passionate fans and high expectations. I’m looking forward to getting to work with our players and staff and doing everything we can to help this team reach its full potential.”
Having Hiller in place checks off an important task for the Leafs going into a crucial stretch. Toronto holds the No. 1 overall pick in next week’s NHL Entry Draft, and Chayka had prioritized getting the bench settled before then.
Toronto has undergone an extensive period of change over the last several months, from firing former GM Brad Treliving to March, to hiring Chayka and Mats Sundin (as a senior advisor) in May, winning the NHL’s draft lottery, and subsequently parting ways with Berube.
The personnel changes were in reaction to Toronto’s dismal 2025-26 season, as they finished seventh in the Atlantic Division with 78 points and missed playoffs for the first time since making their last first overall pick — Auston Matthews — in 2016.
Hiller will be formally introduced as the franchise’s 41st head coach during a news conference on June 25.
