John Gruden has moved from the Toronto Marlies to become an assistant coach with the Maple Leafs. He will work under head coach Jim Hiller, with whom he previously collaborated.
Gruden led the Marlies to a Calder Cup title before taking the new role. He said he reached out when the position opened and was hired after an interview with Hiller.
The two worked together for three seasons with the New York Islanders under Barry Trotz, where Gruden handled defence and Hiller the forwards. Hiller delayed the interview until after the Marlies won the Cup.
The Maple Leafs coaching staff saw major changes after Craig Berube was fired on May 13. Jim Hiller was named head coach on June 17. Daniel Alfredsson joined as an associate coach on July 7, along with Gruden and Brad Werenka. Only goalie coach Curtis Sanford remains from the prior group.
Gruden and Werenka are expected to focus on defence. The team ranked second worst in goals against per game last season at 3.6. Gruden plans to communicate with players before training camp to assess their strengths.
