Toronto Maple Leafs forward Gavin McKenna said he and Jim Hiller had a “good talk” about his ice time from Thursday’s game against the Buffalo Sabres and reiterated he has a strong relationship with his head coach.
The No. 1 overall pick had averaged 16 minutes of ice time through his first seven NHL games, but played just 6:36 in Thursday’s 5-4 overtime loss with his last shift coming midway through the second period.
Hiller said afterward the decision to sit him had nothing to do with McKenna’s play, which was reassuring to the 18-year-old rookie.
“We have a good relationship ... He said it had nothing to do with my play which is obviously nice to know. It doesn’t really take away from your confidence ... I trust him. I trust the team ... I’m willing to play whatever role this team wants,” McKenna said after Saturday’s gameday skate via TSN’s Mark Masters.
Hiller described after the game what led to the lack of ice time.
“We had those penalties, I wanted to get him out there, he sat through the penalties, and then I didn’t get him out there through that stretch,” head coach Hiller explained. “And then the last few minutes of the period, we were just trying to get out of the period, I guess you would say, and now I’ve sat him for so long, and he sits in the intermission. So, I probably should’ve got him out there early in the third. I didn’t, so I’ll talk to him about that.”
The Leafs were shorthanded twice in the latter half of the second period and McKenna is not currently part of the team’s penalty-kill rotation.
Hiller added that the game’s circumstances, and not McKenna’s play, were to blame for the lack of ice time.
“It was OK. It was OK. It was OK. It was fine,” the coach said. “The big thing is penalties. He doesn’t get to play, we get into the [intermission], now he hasn’t played for 30-some-odd minutes. We talked about getting him out in the third and then I guess it didn’t just happen, but that’s on me. And then once we got into that stage, I said, ‘I’m not going to put him out there now. I’ve been sitting him there for 30 minutes, it’s not fair to him.’”
McKenna skated on the third line at Saturday’s practice alongside Colton Sissons and Bo Groulx. He has two goals and three assists in eight games so far this season and has a chance to add to that Saturday night as the Maple Leafs host the New York Islanders at Scotiabank Arena.