Contrary to popular belief, Jim Hiller isn't just a defensive-minded coach who will start Auston Matthews in the defensive zone 35% of the time. He was once the powerplay coach of the Maple Leafs under Mike Babcock, and some of Matthews and the rest of the core's best years on the man advantage came with Hiller doing the X's and O's.
Hiller coached with what he was given in Los Angeles, which is where the belief that he was nothing but a defensive coach came from. If you're going to be a coach in the NHL, you have to be adaptive, and there is plenty of reason to believe that Hiller is going to help the offense much more in Toronto than anyone thinks.
If that is the case, there are going to be a certain few players who are going to thrive. If Hiller can get Toronto back to a top-five powerplay as they were during his time running the group as an assistant coach, most of the players thriving will be on one of those two units.
Darren Raddysh
One name that many mentioned as someone who could thrive once again with Hiller back on the bench was Morgan Reilly. He recorded plenty of powerplay points when the unit was one of the best in the league in the late 2010s, and if he were running things again, that trend could return. However, with the acquisition and subsequent signing of Raddysh, Reilly's days in Toronto are even more numbered than they were before.
It took a while for Raddysh to break out in Tampa Bay, but once he got the opportunity to run the first powerplay unit, his production took off and earned him a $64 million contract from the Maple Leafs after years of making the league minimum. Raddysh did have the benefit of one of the league's all-time great powerplay guys in Nikita Kucherov on his right flank, but Matthews, William Nylander, and potentially Gavin McKenna offer the defenseman a chance to also shine in Toronto with the man advantage.
Raddysh has one thing that Reilly didn't when the latter shined under Hiller, and that is a booming shot from the point. If the Leafs' newest defenseman can pile up assists while also scoring a couple of his own, he'll continue to thrive in the Atlantic Division.
Auston Matthews
The reason we alluded to Matthews' defensive zone starts earlier is that it is around the number that he was at with Craig Berube as his head coach. Another tough number for Matthews with Berube in charge was just 60 goals over 127 games, which is far from the pace he was on under Sheldon Keefe when he scored 60 goals twice in a single season. It isn't hard to see that there is a direct correlation.
Hiller is going to be closer to Keefe than Berube in his ability to open up Matthews' offensive abilities, both at even strength and on the man advantage. For Matthews, his game is all about comfort, and there was something about the fit with Berube that didn't jive well with the captain. By all accounts, he is a fan of Hiller, and something tells me he will be a bit more effective in the 2026-27 season.
Matthew Knies
Will John Chayka actually trade his 23-year-old power forward? With Matthews, Nylander, McKenna, Raddysh, and John Tavares likely getting the first opportunity at first unit powerplay time, there may not be a spot for Knies there. However, if he stays with the Maple Leafs and eventually forces his way onto the net-front spot on the first unit, Toronto is going to very thankful that they didn't trade him before his breakout.
Things didn't go too well for Knies at the end of Berube's tenure, but he was another player that was getting put into a box and not used to his strengths. It's impossible to know how Hiller will use him right now, but a fresh perspective for the power forward could see him find another gear. It'll just be about whether Hiller will have the stomach to move someone to the second unit to make room.
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