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NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - MARCH 04: Nico Hischier #13 of the New Jersey Devils pursues Auston Matthews #34 of the Toronto Maple Leafs during the second period at Prudential Center on March 04, 2026 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

It’s a new era with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Maple Leafs have gone through a massive organizational overhaul after missing the playoffs for the first time in a decade this past year. They’ve hired a new general manager in John Chayka, brought back a franchise great in Mats Sundin in an executive role and have hired Jim Hiller as the new head coach.

Optimism is high for the Maple Leafs as they embark on a new period in franchise history and it’s understandable considering the franchise is only a year removed from pushing the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers to seven games.

Jim Hiller’s Theory on Why Auston Matthews’ Production Has Dipped

Hiller, who previously served as an assistant coach for the Leafs for four years from 2015 until 2019, is pretty familiar with Auston Matthews. Matthews was drafted by the Leafs No. 1 overall in the 2016 NHL Draft and spent his first three seasons playing under Hiller.

Over the years, Matthews has emerged as one of the best offensive players in the NHL, winning the Hart Trophy (the MVP) and the Rocket Richard Trophy (the NHL’s leading goal scorer) on three different occasions. However, after scoring a career-high 69 goals during the 2023-24 season, Matthews’ production has dipped drastically, scoring just 33 goals during the 2024-25 season and 27 goals during the 2025-26 season.

During his press conference while addressing the media, Hiller was asked why Matthews’ production has dipped so much in recent seasons, as he’s literally failed to post half of his goal production from that season. Hiller had a theory — it may have to do with the Leafs’ power play unit declining in recent seasons, resulting in the lack of production from Matthews in prior seasons.

Via Maple Leaf Hot Stove:

“There are a lot of things there,” said Hiller. “One thing — Auston was always a really dangerous player on the power play. I don’t think they’ve been as dangerous recently. I think that is one area. Of course, there is five-on-five, and him being completely healthy, and those types of things. But I hope and envision we can get our power play going a little bit more. For the top guys, when they get some good momentum on the power play, it generally spreads out to the five-on-five game. That will be a real focus.”

Toronto Maple Leafs’ Power Play Unit Fell off During 2025-26 Season

Hiller actually has a legitimate point. From the 2021-22 season until the 2024-25 season, the Leafs ranked near the top of the league in power-play percentage, posting above 23.0% in each of those years and ranking in the top seven. However, that efficiency dipped entirely last season, ranking in the middle-of-the-pack at 15th with a 21.32% rate.

It doesn’t entirely explain Matthews’ dip in goal scoring considering it’s a massive one. However, getting the Leafs back on track as far as excelling on the power play will go a long way towards not only boosting Matthews’ goal count, but it’ll go a long way towards giving the Leafs more wins as they try to mold themselves back into being a contender.

It’s worth noting that Hiller worked on the power play when he was an assistant coach for the Leafs under Mike Babcock. However, as the head coach of the Los Angeles Kings over the past two seasons, they never ranked above 27th. During the 2023-24 season — Hiller’s first as head coach — they ranked 12th in power-play percentage.

Hiller is clearly emphasizing the improvement of the Leafs’ power play as he enters his first season back in Toronto.