Jim Hiller took over as an NHL head coach for the first time, and the first man he heard from was William Nylander.
The first player, ex-player I heard from was Willy, Hiller said. And I hadn't talked to him in years.
It really meant something to me. That's the whole story, and it doesn't need anything added to it.
Players don't make those calls for nothing. Coaches remember every single one of them, forever.
Hiller runs the Toronto bench now after taking the job on June 17. The two of them are back in the same room.
That's a handy thing to own in a market where the relationship between a coach and a star gets dissected by Halloween.
Nylander carries an $11,500,000 cap hit, seventeenth highest anywhere in the league.
"When I first took over as head coach in the NHL, the first player, ex-player I heard from was Willy. And I hadn't talked to him in years. And it really meant something to me"
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William Nylander did something Jim Hiller says “really meant something”
The warm story landed three days after he took a slashing minor against a kid trying to make Montreal's roster.
TSN called it retaliation. He finished that night with 3 shots on goal and a -1.
The minor came inside 25:38 of ice time. Heavy shifts, no points, one clip that travelled everywhere.
Toronto lost that one 4-1 at home. Darren Raddysh got the only goal of the night for them.
Auston Matthews played his first game since knee surgery in the same building and put 6 shots on net.
The Leafs are 0-1-1 through the exhibition schedule and still hunting a first win.
Two games Wednesday, both against Ottawa. One at home, one on the road, same split squad arrangement as last weekend.
Hiller inherited a group that landed 28th overall last season. He'll need every relationship he has stored up.
Nobody hired him for the phone calls. They hired him because the last version of this team didn't work.
So does an old call mean anything in February? Goodwill between a coach and a star works like a savings account. You only find out the balance when you go to withdraw.
Hiller has the credit sitting there now. This market decides when he spends it, and it has never once waited long to ask.
Will Jim Hiller get more out of William Nylander than the last staff did?
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