Toronto Maple Leafs first-overall pick Gavin McKenna will spend his rookie season living with veteran forward and former team captain John Tavares.
Tavares, who handed the “C” to Auston Matthews in 2024, revealed the housing arrangement to reporters in Las Vegas at the NHL/NHLPA player media tour on Tuesday.
“You want him to go out and enjoy all the great things about being a Maple Leaf, and living his dream, playing in the NHL, and the opportunity to play for an unbelievable fanbase that’s going to love him and support him,” Tavares said, per Mark Lazerus of The Athletic. “And when it does feel heavy at times, or when it is a lot, going through it for the first time, he has that ability to just be in a family environment.”
Tavares was selected first overall in the 2009 draft by the New York Islanders. While he can relate to McKenna in that regard, the 35-year-old also admits that times have changed.
“It’s definitely different than what I had experienced,” Tavares said. “That’s why even more I felt like offering up the opportunity if it made sense for him and the organization. Just being able to come home and disconnect from it all — the attention can be a lot at times, especially just being 18 years old and from a small town in a more remote place out in the Yukon (Whitehorse). That can be really positive for him.”
As McKenna looks to find consistency in the NHL, there may be few better to learn from than Tavares, who is coming off his eighth career season with at least 30 goals. Playing out the first of a team-friendly four-year deal last season that carries a cap hit of just under $4.4 million, Tavares had 31 goals and 71 points in 82 games for the struggling Maple Leafs.
McKenna played his first and only NCAA season in 2025-26, recording 15 goals and 51 points in 34 games with Penn State. He also had a strong performance for Canada at the World Junior Championship midway through the season, posting 14 points in seven games en route to a bronze medal.
The Whitehorse, Yukon native made the move to the NCAA from the Western Hockey League after spending three seasons with the Medicine Hat Tigers, where he established himself as one of the best prospects in the world. He scored 41 goals and 129 points in 56 games in his final season with the Tigers.
McKenna is one of several new faces joining the Maple Leafs after an off-season of significant change. General manager John Chayka made several roster moves and brought in new head coach Jim Hiller as he looks to steer the franchise back into the playoffs after a down year.
Also joining the forward group are Colton Sissons, Jack Roslovic, Nick Paul, Brandon Duhaime, Teddy Blueger and Zack MacEwen, while Darren Raddysh and Emil Andrae are new faces on the blueline. One of the biggest moves of Toronto’s off-season came in net as Chayka signed veteran Sergei Bobrovsky to pair with Anthony Stolarz.
“It’s been amazing,” Tavares said of the quick retool. “It’s pretty impressive what’s gone on. Gotta give the organization a lot of credit. … (They’ve) created an amazing environment and an amazing experience and opportunity to do something special that hasn’t been done in Toronto in a long time.”
Toronto will open its preseason on Sept. 19 with split squad games against the Montreal Canadiens, with their regular season kicking off on Sept. 29 against Montreal.
