Jim Hiller didn’t wait long to send a message in Toronto.
In the Maple Leafs’ 2-1 win over the New York Islanders, the new head coach made a few noticeable tweaks after the season-opening loss to the Montreal Canadiens, including inserting Bo Groulx for Zach McEwen on the fourth line and starting Anthony Stolarz in net. Stolarz was steady and helped drive the win, but the move that really stood out came in the third period, and it had nothing to do with comfort.
After William Nylander’s bad pinch in the Montreal zone led to Emil Heineman’s shorthanded 2-on-1 goal - with Nylander also turning in a poor back-checking effort - Hiller immediately pulled Toronto’s top power-play unit off the ice. It was a blunt response, and it landed as a clear warning to the Leafs’ biggest names, especially Nylander, that a costly mistake would not just slide by.
That kind of accountability has been a long-running talking point around this team. In the past, a glaring error from stars like Auston Matthews or Nylander often came with no real consequence. Hiller chose a different route.
He also kept making practical decisions with his power play throughout the night, using Toronto’s second unit for the final 40-45 seconds of each man advantage. That group - Gavin McKenna, Easton Cowan, Jack Roslovic, Nick Paul, and Morgan Rielly - has been more productive through the first two games, and Cowan scored the Leafs’ only power-play goal. In Hiller’s hands, ice time became the punishment.
The coach leaned into the hot hand in other spots, too. Cowan, Paul, and Colton Sissons were heavily relied on, and that third line was Toronto’s best unit on the night. Hiller also mixed in Teddy Blueger and Brandon Duhaime on the penalty kill, with Blueger, Duhaime, Paul, and Cowan leading the Leafs’ forwards in shorthanded ice time.
Matthews didn’t play a second while Toronto was down a man, while he and Marchenko led Leafs forwards with nearly five minutes of power-play time. That fit the offseason reshaping of the bottom six that Chayka had in mind, with Matthews freed up to focus on offense while the third and fourth lines handled more of the dirty work.
For now, Hiller is also resisting the urge to keep shuffling the lineup. Through two games, he has let the forward groups and defense pairs stay together and try to build chemistry. Injuries and poor play will eventually force changes, but early on, he’s showing patience with the mix.
In Other News...
Maple Leafs Prospect Suddenly Faces A Troubling Silence Overseas
Victor Johanssons situation in Sweden has become one of those quiet developments that can linger in the background until it suddenly matters more. The Toronto Maple Leafs defensive prospect was expected to be part of Brynas mix in the SHL, but he has not played this season and was not seen in preseason action, leaving a notable gap for a young player whose progress the organization is still tracking.
What makes the absence more unsettling is the lack of clarity around it. Reports from Sweden suggest Johansson is dealing with an unspecified issue, yet there has been no official update to explain the delay or outline a timeline, which leaves both Brynas and the Maple Leafs waiting for information on a prospect whose future now feels less certain than it did a few weeks ago. [Read more 🡒]
Leafs Trade Of Matthew Knies Raises An Ugly Question About Toronto
Matthew Knies move from the Maple Leafs to the Columbus Blue Jackets, in a deal involving Kirill Marchenko, has left a familiar kind of aftertaste around Toronto. The trade itself was surprising enough, but it also reopened the conversation about how the organization handles young players who are trying to establish themselves and figure out where they fit in the bigger picture.
Knies agent, Matt Frederico, made clear he was frustrated with the way things were handled, arguing that the player needed clarity about whether Toronto actually saw him as part of its plans. The contract extension Knies signed did not include trade protection, which gave the Maple Leafs the flexibility to make the move and left an ugly question hanging over the franchises approach to one of its younger pieces. [Read more 🡒]
Maple Leafs Had To Reshape The Marchenko Deal To Make It Work
The Maple Leafs spent part of their offseason doing more than just adding Kirill Marchenko, they had to make the numbers fit before the season could even start. Toronto had two extension paths on the table for Marchenko, and the choice of a six-year deal with a $12.5 million cap hit gave the club a clearer long-term commitment as it tried to line up the rest of the roster around him.
What made the move trickier was the cap math behind the trade itself. The deal had to be reshaped so both teams stayed compliant under NHL salary cap rules, and Emil Andrae ended up heading to Columbus as part of the adjustment to keep Toronto on the right side of the limit. It is the kind of behind-the-scenes maneuvering that rarely gets the same attention as the player acquisition, but it can determine whether the whole plan actually works once opening night arrives. [Read more 🡒]