New York Rangers: The case for Jim Hiller’s coaching candidacy
The front office has kept a tight lip while the New York Rangers search for a new coach. Press speculation sometimes throws Toronto Marlies coach Sheldon Keefe into the mix. Keefe isn’t the only intriguing candidate from the Maple Leaf organization, though.
The name Jim Hiller might sound vaguely familiar to Ranger fans. Though he spent most of his playing career as a minor league left wing, Hiller dressed twice for the Rangers during the 1993-94 season. While he recorded zero points and seven penalty minutes in those two nights, it might be time to bring him back for a longer stay.
Hiller spent the last four years working as an assistant coach under Mike Babcock with both Detroit and Toronto. Tasked with running the power play, Hiller has a knack for getting the most out of man advantage opportunities. His arrival made a near immediate impact in both NHL cities.
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Powerful success
In 2014-15, Babcock hired Hiller to take over a Detroit power play which had finished no better than 15th over the prior three seasons. During Hiller’s single season with them, the Red Wings jumped up to second in the league with the man advantage.
When Hiller followed Babcock to Toronto one year later, the Detroit power play promptly cratered to 13th, 27th, and 24th. Meanwhile, Hiller needed a season to lay groundwork when he joined the rebuilding Maple Leafs. They finished second to last in power play percentage during Hiller’s first season.
Hiller’s work bore fruit during his second year in Toronto and the Maple Leafs finished with the league’s second best power play in 2016-17. That improvement coincides with the rookie seasons of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander, however. On the other hand, not every coach could take three talented, but inexperienced players and immediately create a lethal power play.
Toronto boasted the NHL’s second deadliest man advantage once again this season. Overall, Hiller’s teams have reached that mark in three of his four years working as an NHL coach.
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An analytical approach
In an interview with MLive.com, Hiller explained what makes his system work.
“We want to be aggressive at their net-front,” Hiller said. “When the puck gets to their net we want to have more players than they do.”“So it’s out-numbering at the net for your goal-scoring chances, out-numbering so we can get it back and start all over again.”
The article also briefly breaks down how this looks in action.
The Red Wings have used a different look in the preseason, kind of a diamond formation. They have one point man setting up at the middle of the blue line, wingers on the half-walls, a man in the slot and a net-front man.
The Rangers could easily run something similar with their current personnel. It’s not hard to envision Kevin Shattenkirk at the point with Chris Kreider in front, Mika Zibanejad in the slot, and Pavel Buchnevich and Mats Zuccarello on the half-walls.
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Working with youth
Beyond his time with Mike Babcock, Jim Hiller has extensive experience coaching in Canadian juniors. After a few years as a WHL assistant, Hiller served as a head coach in the BCHL for one season and then in the WHL from 2006 through 2014. His teams made the WHL playoffs in seven of his eight seasons behind the bench.
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The Rangers want someone to immediately maximize production from young players like Filip Chytil and Lias Andersson. Jim Hiller has shown the ability to seamlessly slot rookie talent into a successful system. His track record in both the NHL and the WHL suggests he would know exactly what to do with New York’s wave of youth.