TORONTO (AP) — The Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday hired Jim Hiller as the 41st head coach in franchise history, bringing back an assistant with the club from 2015-19.
The 57-year-old Hiller replaces Craig Berube as part of an offseason overhaul led by new general manager John Chayka.
Most recently, Hiller served as head coach of the Los Angeles Kings, compiling a 93-58-24 record over parts of three seasons. The Kings fired Hiller on March 1 following an 8-1 loss to Edmonton.
“(Hiller) has worked with successful teams throughout his career, connects well with players and brings a clear approach behind the bench,” Chayka said in a news release. “We believe he’s the right person to lead our team and help us reach our goals.”
Hiller served as an assistant coach with the Kings for two seasons before being promoted to head coach.
A native of Port Alberni, British Columbia, Hiller spent 11 seasons coaching junior hockey, including stints with the WHL’s Tri-City Americans and several teams in the British Columbia Hockey League, before moving to the NHL ranks.
“I’m incredibly excited for the opportunity to return to Toronto and lead the Maple Leafs,” Hiller said in the release. “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.”
The Leafs fired Berube on May 13 after two seasons, following a first-to-last turnaround this past season. After finishing atop the Atlantic Division in 2024-25 and making it to the second round of the playoffs, Toronto fell to last in the division and 28th in the NHL.
His firing came 10 days after Chayka was brought on board to replace Brad Treliving. Chayka called the Berube firing “an opportunity to start fresh,” and said the team would go through a wide-ranging search.
Along with making some new front-office additions, Chayka traded goaltender Joseph Woll and depth defenseman Simon Benoit to the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday for blue-liner Emil Andrae, goalie Samuel Ersson and a third-round pick at next week’s NHL draft.
Toronto owns the No. 1 pick in the draft, a first since taking Auston Matthews atop the 2016 draft.
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