The Toronto Maple Leafs skated at the Ford Performance Centre on Saturday prior to their game against the New York Islanders.
Gavin McKenna played just six minutes and 36 seconds during Thursday’s overtime loss to the Buffalo Sabres. The Leafs rookie didn’t get a shift during the second half of the game.
“I can’t say it’s ever happened,” the first overall pick in the 2026 draft admitted with a smile. “So that was a first.”
What was McKenna thinking as shifts flew by and he didn’t see the ice?
“Obviously with the [two] penalties, I know I’m not going to go out there and kill any penalties,” the 18-year-old winger said. “At the end of the second you think maybe you’d get a shift but, yeah, it didn’t come. And then you sit for a while and then get a little bit cold and then obviously you’re hoping for a shift. But when it doesn’t come, I think you start to realize that you’re going to be watching a little bit.”
McKenna could only watch as the Leafs squandered a 4-2 lead in the third period. He had a meeting with coach Jim Hiller to talk about what happened and reset for Saturday’s game against the New York Islanders.
“Obviously you want to play, but we had a good talk,” McKenna said. “We have a good relationship together, me and Jim. Yeah, 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 at all so appreciated him reaching out. I mean, I trust him. I trust the team. I trust what they want to do so I’m willing to play whatever role this team wants.”
“I just love his personality,” Hiller said. “He’s got great confidence. He knows how good he is. He knows how great he’s going to be and we just had another good conversation.”
After the game Hiller explained that he lost McKenna on the bench at the end of the second period and initially planned to get him on the ice early in the third before changing his mind.
“I had a couple opportunities to do that and thought about it for sure and just, in that moment, made a decision not to, to go in a different direction for different reasons,” Hiller said. “And then, like I said, didn’t want to put him in a bad spot after that.”
Asked about McKenna’s play without the puck, Hiller pointed out the rookie averaged 15 minutes and 32 seconds of ice time during the recent three-game trip through Vegas, Colorado and Utah.
“I would use that as a bit of an indicator,” the coach noted. “I think he’s played quite a bit. It’s not only him, it’s every player has got to get a little bit better on our team, I think, without the puck. We’re pretty good with it. So that’s something we address daily with our entire team.”
McKenna appreciated how many teammates approached him to offer support. The overriding message?
“Just shake it off,” McKenna said. “You know, you’ve got 84 games in a season, so one off game doesn’t mean the end of the world. You know, that happened on Thursday or whatever it was and we got a game on Saturday. So it’s a pretty quick bounce back and, honestly, for me, just shaking it off, and they’ve all kind of told me the same thing. And I’m just trying not to think about it at this point.”
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John Tavares is being listed as week-to-week after exiting Thursday’s game with an undisclosed lower-body injury. The 36-year-old forward did not put weight on his right leg while leaving the ice after getting tangled up awkwardly with Sabres forward Josh Norris early in the third period.
“It’s obviously scary when you see a guy go down like that,” said McKenna, who is living with the Tavares family. “And especially a guy like John, who’s meant so much to this team and this city. He’s a backbone to our team and he’s coming out there every single game and he’s working as hard as he can every single shift. So, you know, to have a guy like him not be in tonight, it’s tough, but it motivates us all to kind of step up and play a bigger role.”
Per the team, “week-to-week” means the absence is expected to be in the one-to-six-week range. TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger is hearing that the timeline for Tavares is likely to be closer to 2-3 weeks.
“John was playing well too,” Hiller highlighted. “That’s a tough one for us. You know, just on the heels of [Chris Tanev] too. So those are two veteran players, and you just got to find a way.”
The Leafs haven’t played without Tavares a lot since he joined his hometown team in the 2018-19 season. He has only missed 22 regular season games with Toronto and was the only Leaf to suit up in all 82 games last season.
“One of the top players in the league for a long, long time so it’s tough to see that happen,” said winger William Nylander. “We have to dig in as a team and build some character out of this process.”
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With Tavares out, Easton Cowan is moving up to the second line beside Nick Paul and Kirill Marchenko.
“Cowan played extremely well in that last game,” Hiller said. “We got on our heels a little bit in the third period. We didn’t like the result, but Cowboy was the one guy in the third period I thought had a lot of energy, was still F1 on the forecheck, created a little bit. So we’ll probably end up leaning on him just a little more.”
“No matter where I am in the lineup, you try to help the team win,” the 21-year-old winger said. “So, just a new opportunity here tonight ... Yeah, obviously John’s a big piece. Unfortunately, you know, things like that happen. So I feel like just the next man up.”
Cowan is tied for third on the team with five even-strength points. He is averaging 15 minutes and nine seconds of ice time per game and getting shifts on the power play and penalty kill. Cowan has also been getting out in 3-on-3 overtime.
With McKenna grabbing headlines, Hiller feels like Cowan is flying under the radar a bit.
“Maybe that’s helped him,” the coach said. “He’s getting all scenarios, and he’s earned them. And I’ll tell you about him. I talked to him this summer and then in training camp and I said, Are you ready? And he said, ‘Yes, I’m ready for this. I can do this.’ Can you do that? ‘Yes, I can do that.’ He has answered the bell at every turn. It’s just great to see and we’ll see where he goes.”
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After being a healthy scratch in the last two games, Bo Groulx will come back in and slot in on the third line beside McKenna and Colton Sissons. During the morning skate, Groulx also took reps as the net-front presence on the second power-play unit.
Groulx averaged just under eight minutes of ice time in his first five games this season.
“He’s been solid enough,” Hiller said. “He hasn’t typically been a fourth-line player. That hasn’t been his role so far here and even in the American League, he had a terrific season and helped lead them to the Calder Cup. So we’re hoping tonight a little bit of an elevated role, he’s on the power play, you know, kind of try to get him in his groove where he played so well at the end of last year with the Marlies. It’s up to him to respond to that.”
After seeing his four game point streak snapped on Thursday, McKenna is aiming to start a new one.
“We’re excited,” McKenna said of his line. “Yeah, with John out, that’s a key guy we lost, so we’re going to have to step up and play a big game ... I’m looking forward to getting into it with them and just trying to build off each other and make sure we’re working hard and playing simple.”
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As was the case last Saturday when Tavares missed a game to go home following the birth of his son, McKenna will take over the net-front role with the team’s top power play unit.
“Obviously, I got big shoes to fill there,” McKenna acknowledged. “John, he’s one of the best guys down low, a very smart hockey player and has played well on that power play. Obviously, there’s a lot of talent on that power play and a lot of smart veterans out there, so I’m just going to try and be confident and, you know, get some puck touches and get a feel for it. And, you know, being a net-front guy, you got to be first to those pucks in the corners. So, for me, it’s trying to be as hard as I can, win pucks back and just play my role.”
McKenna produced a nice primary assist on a goal by Nylander while with the top unit in Colorado.
“It’s still try and be the same mindset, really,” Nylander said. “Still trying to build the power play the same way. It’s not like we’re changing anything. Just another great player out there. We’ll just try to work our way around it without having John there.”
Toronto’s power play has scored five goals in the last three games. The team ranks fourth overall in power-play percentage (29.6).
Tavares is tied for the team lead with four power-play points.
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Thursday’s game marked the first time this season that Nylander started on the top line beside Auston Matthews and Jack Roslovic.
Matthews scored in the first period while Nylander was held off the scoresheet despite firing five shots on net.
“We had a lot of scoring chances,” Nylander stressed. “We could’ve scored a few more. Sometimes that happens, you don’t score, what are you going to do? But, yeah, want to build off of that. We’ve had stints together even this season, so I thought it felt pretty good playing together.”
Toronto’s top line did seem to lose some pop down the stretch. Nylander and Roslovic were caught flatfooted on Buffalo’s tying goal and Nylander’s opening shift of overtime lasted just 19 seconds.
“I mean, we were kind of tired,” the 30-year-old Swede admitted. “Flying back and then playing the next day, it was a little [tough], but got some rest yesterday.”
The wrapped up a week-long Western road trip in Utah on Tuesday before flying home on Wednesday. The team scrapped a planned practice on Friday and instead opted to give the players a day off.
Hiller wasn’t interested in making excuses, though, when asked about the fatigue factor.
“I don’t want to look at that,” the coach said. “I mean, you know, you guys can do the math on the schedule and the travel and all that. For me, that’s a game we got to close out, and we got to play better in the third period. And we didn’t really give up that much, but you know they found the back of the net on some good looks. So that’s just on us.”
The Leafs have held a lead in all five of their losses this season.
“We just weren’t on our toes enough,” Hiller said. “We’ll take that as a lesson learned ... and I hope the next time we’re in that situation you’ll see us be a little bit more aggressive.”
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Tanev, who sustained an undisclosed upper-body injury last Saturday, hit the ice with player development staffer Nik Antropov following the main Leafs skated.
Tanev is listed as being out week-to-week.
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Lines at Saturday’s skate:
Roslovic - Matthews - Nylander
Cowan - Paul - Marchenko
McKenna - Sissons - Groulx
Duhaime - Blueger - MacEwen
McCabe - Raddysh
Rielly - Stecher
Ekman-Larsson - Blankenburg
Rifai
Bobrovsky starts
Stolarz
Power play units at Saturday’s skate:
QB: Raddysh
Flanks: Matthews, Nylander
Middle: Marchenko
Down low: McKenna
QB: Rielly
Flanks: Blankenburg, Roslovic
Middle: Cowan
Net front: Groulx