Bruce Cassidy is open to coaching the Maple Leafs, The Athletic reports

Bruce Cassidy is reportedly open to the Maple Leafs, and Jim Hiller hasn't even reached game 10 behind Toronto's bench.

The Athletic floated it Friday. Cassidy is open to Toronto, and the outlet's advice was blunt: the Leafs should wait for a chance to talk.

Wait for what, exactly? Hiller was hired on June 17, and his club walks into tonight's home date with the Islanders sitting at 3-3-2.

That's sixth in the Atlantic Division and 19th overall. Not a disaster, but nowhere near the standard in a market that treats October like May.

The bigger irritant is how the losses keep landing. All five of Toronto's defeats this season have been decided by a single goal.

Two of them came this week. The Leafs dropped a 5-4 decision in Utah on Tuesday, then lost 5-4 in overtime to Buffalo at home on Thursday.

For Hiller, the timing feels like having a realtor post photos of your apartment while you're still unpacking the boxes.

Toronto's goaltending is the problem Bruce Cassidy can't fix

Look at the crease before blaming the bench. Anthony Stolarz is sitting at an .875 save percentage through 5 appearances.

Sergei Bobrovsky hasn't been much of an upgrade. He's at .896 with a single win to show for his work.

Toronto has allowed 28 goals in 8 games, a perfect match for what it has scored. A new voice behind the bench doesn't stop pucks.

Firing Hiller this early would be a bad idea, plain and simple. It would tell the room that a .500 start is enough to send management into panic mode.

The offense isn't the issue either. Auston Matthews has 13 points on the season and has lit the lamp 5 times over his last 5 games.

William Nylander has kept pace in the top six with 12 points. Rookie Gavin McKenna has chipped in 5 points at 18 years old.

The blue line tells a rougher story. Morgan Rielly has gone minus-5, and Chris Tanev is on injured reserve with an upper-body injury.

Up front, John Tavares is listed day-to-day heading into tonight's puck drop.

Toronto took the first meeting with the Islanders 2-1 back on September 30. A repeat would snap a two-game slide before San Jose comes to town Monday.

Then the schedule turns ugly, with a western road trip through Edmonton, Calgary, Seattle and Vancouver to close out the month.

If the Cassidy chatter is still humming by then, every one-goal loss out west is going to feel like a referendum on Hiller.

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Also read on Markerzone.com:
Rangers checked on Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz and his $3.75M cap hit, per Darren Dreger