Jim Hiller served as an assistant coach to Mike Babcock during his time with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Jim Hiller served as an assistant coach to Mike Babcock during his time with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Another former Toronto Maple Leafs assistant coach just got his first NHL head coaching gig.
The Los Angeles Kings announced that they dismissed Todd McLellan from his duties as head coach on Friday following a bad string of games for the club that saw them win just three of their last 17 games and fall to fourth place in the Pacific Division.
Assistant coach Jim Hiller was named the new head coach on an interim basis.
Hiller has been a longtime assistant coach in the NHL and this is his first NHL head coaching gig in any capacity. Maple Leafs fans will be familiar with Hiller, who helped run the offense and power play during his time as an assistant under Mike Babcock until the fall of 2019 when the Leafs replaced Hiller with Paul McFarland and permitted him to seek opportunities.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aYz3y_hyBY[/embed]
The 54-year-old Hiller then joined the New York Islanders for three seasons before joining McLellan's staff before the start of the 2022-23 season.
The move follows another former Leafs assistant becoming an NHL head coach for the first time. On June 5, the Anaheim Ducks hired Greg Cronin to become their bench boss. Both Southern California NHL franchises are now run by first-time NHL head coaches who were previously Maple Leafs assistants.
Hiller spent nine seasons as a head coach in the Western Hockey League with the Chiilliwack Bruins and Tri-City Americans before heading joining Babcock's staff with the Detroit Red Wings in 2014. He spent two seasons as an NHL player where he scored eight goals and 12 assists in 63 games from 1992-94, spit between the Kings, Red Wings and New York Rangers.
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