Jim Hiller got asked about Matthew Knies and his camp on Wednesday night, and the answer never once got warm.
I thought he was better tonight. He wasn't that dangerous, Hiller said.
I think he only ended up with one shot on goal. Took one to the net. So I think this has been okay.
I wouldn't say strongly one way or the other. I think there's more there for sure.
Coaches hand out praise in September. That's the entire month. This one declined to.
He led every Toronto forward with 17:48 on the ice and finished with that single shot.
Toronto scored six goals in that game. He wasn't on the ice for any of them.
"I thought he was better tonight. He wasn't that dangerous. I think he only ended up with one shot on goal. Took one to the net. So I think this has been okay. I wouldn't say strongly one way or the other. I think there's more there for sure." Jim Hiller
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Jim Hiller makes revealing Matthew Knies comment after latest Leafs preseason game
Saturday told the same story. One shot on goal and a -2 across 17:35 against Montreal.
Two games, two nights, exactly one shot each time. That's the pattern Hiller described without ever naming it.
He's coming off 66 points in 79 games. He's 23 and carries a $7,750,000 cap hit.
He told the media last week that he's back to 100 percent after dealing with a tendon issue for most of last season.
Inside The Rink already put him at the top of a Red Wings target list this week.
That column leaned on an odd report that Toronto is only closed off to moving Auston Matthews.
Matthews scored and added 2 assists in the same game Hiller was describing. Jack Roslovic and John Tavares each matched him.
Morgan Rielly and Jake McCabe scored from the back end. Gavin McKenna and Easton Cowan picked up helpers.
Toronto took both halves of the split squad, 6-1 at home and 4-2 in Ottawa.
Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 13 of 14 for his first win in that sweater.
Montreal visits on September 29 to open the season, and the lines get decided long before that.
So what does a coach mean by more there? Saying it works like a teacher writing shows potential on a report card. Everybody understands it and nobody has to spell it out.
He has five days to change the sentence. Hiller already told the room what he thinks, and he did it into a microphone.
Should Matthew Knies open the season on the Maple Leafs top line?
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