The Maple Leafs have found their new coach!

A new coach has been found in Toronto.

Jim Hiller has been head coach of the Maple Leafs. He becomes the 41st head coach in franchise history.

Hiller was previously the head coach of the Los Angeles Kings. He initially served as an assistant coach under Todd McLellan from 2022 to 2024, and was later promoted to head coach with an interim tag on February 4th, 2024 after McLellan was fired. Hiller had the interim tag removed that summer, and remained head coach for the 2024-25 season and most of the 2025-26 season before he was fired on March 1st, 2026.

During his tenure in LA, he coached the Kings to a 93-58-24 record, with their .600 points percentage, but unfortunately didn’t come with much playoff success, as the Kings fell in the first round in 2024 and 2025, both at the hands of the Edmonton Oilers.

The Kings were Hiller’s only experience as an NHL head coach, but he has spent parts of 10 seasons as an assistant coach for the Detroit Red Wings,Maple Leafs, New York Islanders and the Kings. Interesting note: Hiller was assistant for the Leafs from 2015-19 under Mike Babcock, and his experience with Auston Matthews and William Nylander could have played immensely in the balance. He now gets another shot at bench boss, this time, in Toronto.

Per insider Pierre LeBrun, it had been an extensive search in Toronto under new GM John Chayka to find the new head coach with more than 20 candidates, including most notably Jay Woodcroft, Patrick Roy, Dallas Eakins and Joe Pavelski considered in the final phase.

But the Maple Leafs believe Hiller is the right man for the job.