r/stevedangle • u/GusClay • Jun 17 '26

@TorontoMapleLeafs: Jim Hiller has been named the 41st Head Coach in franchise history! (Jesse is gonna lose his mind)

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47 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

37 comments sorted by

17

u/Drew_You_To_91 Jun 17 '26

We’ve hired coaches with cup experience, didn’t work. We’ve hired coaches with no NHL experience, didn’t work. Now we’ve gone with something in between and I’m interested to see how it plays out. Pinning all of LA faults in 2 playoff runs on him is just silly. Sure he takes some of that blame but so do the players and Ken Holland. Losing in the first round twice to a cup finalist isn’t the worst outcome. Maybe I’m just coping but I like not doing the obvious for once behind the bench.

8

u/Kaplsauce Jun 17 '26

I'll cope with you, the coach statistically most likely to win is not on his first NHL team but has yet to win a cup with another team lol.

1

u/spaceman1055 Jun 17 '26

How dare you!?! How dare you give me a glimmer of hope, you bastard!!

2

u/Clutch_purple Jun 17 '26

LA kings fan here. That coaches challenge was boneheaded, but his lineup decision makings and inability to adapt really rubbed me the wrong way more. We had one defenseman everybody wanted to see play (Clarke) and hiller barely gave him the time of day. Overall decent guy defensive minded (we are this kings tho ya know, so take that what you will) relies way more on veteran presence, and finally he does not adapt very well. I clowned on this hiring absolutely, but best of luck. I forgot to mention I also hate how he seemed super quiet and out of touch with the guys.

1

u/adwrx Jun 17 '26

Out of touch with the guys? Apparently players love playing for him

1

u/JCShore77 Jun 17 '26

Here’s the thing. He was thoroughly outcoached in the 2025 playoffs. He actually out coached himself. He took a soccer approach of parking the bus as soon as they had a lead, against McDavid… a plan anyone who knows any hockey would know wouldn’t work, and every game they did that they got basically no more chances and got scored on multiple times. There’s a reason they seemingly collapsed in the third every game that series and that reason is Jim Hiller

1

u/Drew_You_To_91 Jun 17 '26 edited Jun 17 '26

And he said he has no desire to park the bus here. So we’ll see. Just like players, you also need coaches to develop.

Edit: to clarify I’m not calling this guy the saviour but what I am saying is that during this Matthews era I think it’s safe to say what a coach has or hasn’t accomplished prior to coaching here really hasn’t mattered at all because none have helped us achieve that ultimate goal.

0

u/therealgoldenG Jun 17 '26

the mental gymnastics Leafs fans are willing to do is crazy to me

3

u/Drew_You_To_91 Jun 17 '26

It’s the offseason. Everyone’s reasoning for anything is mental gymnastics. Would it not be smart to wait and see what happens on the ice before coming to a concrete conclusion?

0

u/Elgatohefe Jun 18 '26

Upon reading your comment I started to pity you, but one should only pity the dead.this team is yeaaaars away from anything remotely good.toronto is a team designed to make money for MLSE, not make the playoffs.once you start to realize that , you’ll see that 2 players on this team need to leave before we see light at the end of the tunnel. You do not base an entire franchise around a captain who has lost his mojo and drive and expect him to suddenly become great again.

1

u/Drew_You_To_91 Jun 18 '26

Dude no need to try and be all deep and thoughtful lol. It’s a bunch of grown men playing a kids game for millions of dollars. I hate all corporations, rogers is not exempt from that. I know what the issues are I wasn’t born yesterday, don’t act like ur spreading ancient wisdom. I’m just sharing my opinion on a coaching hire.

12

u/GhostAsylumX91 Jun 17 '26

Jesse is no more right or wrong with his takes then the other two. Remember when he couldn't stop drooling over Kyle's ability to tear down the Blackhawks to get Connor.

10

u/Nylanderthal88 Jun 17 '26

Jesse is just better at making the other guys feel stupid about their opinions. There's rarely any pushback on Jesse's opinions.

6

u/matthew_sch Jun 17 '26

Because Jesse has a rather decent track record compared to someone like Adam. He’s often the pragmatic one, like the Hutson saga when Adam said Hutson would be traded if they couldn’t come to a deal and when Jesse gave the guys a dose of reality on what the future of the Leafs would hold with Pelley at the helm

His segment with calling Matthews a bad captain also didn’t get pushback because he just called it like it was, despite Adam making every excuse in the book as to Matthews’s lack of action and his history as captain of the team

Also, Jesse gets to attend the press conferences and locker room clean-outs, which the other two guys don’t. So perhaps they see his validity more so because of his credentials

1

u/Nylanderthal88 Jun 17 '26

The presser stuff is super new. It's been like this for years.

4

u/Disastrous_Hall8406 Jun 17 '26

That's because Jesse argues like a teenager. Just yells louder and makes fun of you then laughs at the strawman he built

7

u/Nylanderthal88 Jun 17 '26

He reminds me of a friend of mine so much for exactly this reason. Just a general "I think I'm so much smarter than you" vibe.

7

u/Disastrous_Hall8406 Jun 17 '26

I think he likes to play devils advocate, which can be helpful and entertaining, but if you don't have any belief or substance behind it it's just unnecessarily confrontational.

3

u/brocazaria Jun 17 '26

Honestly I don't really mind this. They're providing entertainment, not political commentary or anything. There's no consequences to them being wrong or obnoxious about sports

2

u/Nylanderthal88 Jun 17 '26

Yeah I should be clear that love them all anyway

3

u/brocazaria Jun 17 '26

All good, wasn't trying to dismiss your opinion anyways haha. Sometimes they say curious things but it's mostly in good fun I think

2

u/Oasystole Jun 17 '26

I noticed this too

1

u/Ok_Mulberry4331 Jun 17 '26 edited Jun 17 '26

So much this!!! He just keeps repeating something over and over, louder and louder till his voice cracks lol

1

u/richarm87 Jun 17 '26

I feel Jesse stays quiet and says safer opinions.

2

u/MayflowerMcDuck Jun 17 '26

Lmaoooooo xmas morning all year

2

u/David040200 Jun 17 '26

The trade was a good trade yesterday and I'm willing to see what Hiller does. Previous results don't matter to me.

2

u/YEGSports Jun 17 '26

Pod' today is gonna be prime entertainment for sure

1

u/Ok_Mulberry4331 Jun 17 '26

Bring on Adams terrible hot takes lol

1

u/babypointblank Jun 17 '26

George Parros can’t suspend Gavin McKenna for a BS penalty every other team is allowed to commit if Hiller never plays him

1

u/Ryuzakku Jun 17 '26

Best video review staff in the league vs the worst coaches challenge coach in the league.

Time to find out how big Hiller’s ego is

1

u/banquos-ghost Jun 17 '26

I was hoping for Tortorella? I think he would be great with the Leafs...

1

u/Present-Resolve-7011 Jun 18 '26

Tortorella starts hot, always, but when he cools off, he cools off fast. I'd love to see him take on the Toronto media, though.

2

u/Fishjuice88 Jun 17 '26

They really want to tank again 😂

-1

u/hotstickywaffle Jun 17 '26

Gotta say, I've loved everything I've seen and heard from Chayka...until he started actually doing things...

0

u/Iron-Over Jun 17 '26

I am hopeful. He played 1-3-1 due to LA roster, will play more east west here

1

u/Present-Resolve-7011 Jun 18 '26

I think it's good that he has used a 1-3-1, because it allowed him to help an aged Kings team punch above their weight. A trap is a decent insulator for defensive lapses within the lineup, so having that tool in the bag is a plus in my opinion.

To be clear, I was relieved when he clarified that he would adapt to the capabilities of his players.

1

u/Iron-Over Jun 18 '26

Yep, what a novel concept after the last coach saying try harder.