The Toronto Maple Leafs are in the middle of a pretty ugly losing streak, and fans are already calling for Jim Hiller to be fired. There have been plenty of things that haven't gone right during this four-game losing skid, but it seems like the biggest frustration comes down to some of the decisions Hiller is making with his lineup.
The most recent example was calling up Ryan Tverberg from the Toronto Marlies and playing him on the second line ahead of Gavin McKenna. It’s just another example of Hiller passing over the club's best prospect for a player who was just called up from the AHL. McKenna has the skill to play a much bigger role, yet he's the one who keeps getting pushed down the lineup.
Hiller's treatment of McKenna is a problem
This isn't the only time Hiller has made a questionable decision with McKenna. Earlier this season, McKenna was benched after only playing 6 minutes and 36 seconds, and after the game, Hiller said there were too many penalties, which led to McKenna sitting on the bench for too long, and he felt it would have been unfair to get him back into the game.
Honestly, that's ridiculous. This is a player who should be getting the chance to play alongside Auston Matthews on the top line for an extended period of time. Not sitting on the bench because his coach can't find a shift for him. Toronto drafted McKenna first overall for a reason, and that reason was not to play him alongside third-liner players, where he generates next to no offensive production.
Aside from that, there's the constant line juggling. Even when the team was fully healthy, it felt like Hiller was changing the forward lines every period. This is a team that added more than 10 players during the offseason and made a huge trade for Kirill Marchenko the day before the season started. These players need time to get used to playing with each other, and that's difficult when the lines keep changing every time a new period starts, or they are down a goal.
Did Toronto make a mistake hiring Hiller?
It just feels like the Maple Leafs went with a coach who may be better suited to being an assistant rather than being a head coach in a market like Toronto. There were coaches like Bruce Cassidy and Jay Woodcroft, among others, available. Either one could have been a better fit for this group, especially with how offensively gifted this team could be. Maybe they wouldn't have fixed everything, but it's hard not to wonder if Toronto passed on a better option by going with Hiller.
There is too much talent on this roster for Toronto to keep playing like this. They need time to get comfortable with each other, but Hiller also needs to figure out his lineup and give this group some consistency. Otherwise, the Maple Leafs and their fan base are in store for another failed season like we had last year.
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