{"id":934807,"date":"2026-10-16T05:30:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-16T05:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/934807\/"},"modified":"2026-10-16T05:30:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-16T05:30:10","slug":"my-decision-why-gavin-mckenna-was-benched-in-maple-leafs-loss-to-sabres","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/934807\/","title":{"rendered":"‘My decision’: Why Gavin McKenna was benched in Maple Leafs’ loss to Sabres"},"content":{"rendered":"

TORONTO \u2014 As the Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a> watched another multi-goal lead disintegrate, as they could have used a play or two to reset a rink that was increasingly tilting toward Sergei Bobrovsky\u2019s crease, and as 3-on-3 overtime begged for a hero, Gavin McKenna<\/a> sat upright in the middle of the bench.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Toes cold and brow dry, McKenna had a front-row seat as a 4-2 lead for the home side dissolved into a gutsy 5-4 OT win for the banged-up Buffalo Sabres.<\/p>\n

The much-celebrated, highly scrutinized rookie had entered Thursday\u2019s divisional tussle on a four-game point streak, his confidence high and eyes wide after his first taste of NHL road life.<\/p>\n

And yet, Jim Hiller saw something midway through the second period that caused the head coach to sit McKenna for the game\u2019s final 32:54.<\/p>\n

“That was my decision. We went for a stretch \u2014 I think we had those (two second-period) penalties. I wanted to get him out there. He sat through those penalties, and then I didn’t get him out there through that stretch. And then the last few minutes of the period, we\u2019re just trying to get out of the period, I guess you would say. And then now, as I’ve sat him for so long, and he sits in the intermission. So I probably should have got him out there early in the third. I didn’t. So, I\u2019ll talk to him about that,” Hiller said.<\/p>\n

“We talked about getting him out in third, and I guess it just didn\u2019t happen. That’s on me. And then once we got into that stage, I decided, I\u2019m not gonna put him out there now. I\u2019ve been sitting him for 30 minutes.”<\/p>\n

Hiller essentially chopped his bench down to nine forwards in crunch time, as fourth-liner Zack MacEwen also got benched midway and centre John Tavares left early due to injury. Hiller has yet to use McKenna in 3-on-3, and on this night, the coach called defensive forward Colton Sissons’ number over No. 92 in that situation.<\/p>\n

McKenna finished with a season-low 6:36 ice time and one shot on net. A couple shifts before his benching, the winger got aggressive up-ice and was beat twice before the Sabres transitioned quickly and Jack Quinn scored his second of the game, which tied the contest 2-2 at the time.<\/p>\n

McKenna got dashed up and is now a minus-2 through eight games. The 18-year-old also got\u00a0hit in open ice<\/a> early by Konsta Helenius.<\/p>\n

Hiller described McKenna\u2019s abbreviated game as “OK, fine.” He created some looks on the third line. Scoring chances were 6-4 in favour of Toronto when McKenna was on the ice but he is struggling to slow opponents through the neutral zone.<\/p>\n

Despite a request, McKenna was not made available to speak postgame due to a “team decision,” and the Maple Leafs have opted to take Friday off from practising.<\/p>\n

McKenna had said he\u2019ll always remember his last game at Scotiabank Arena \u2014 when he scored his first goal, registered his first point, and fuelled a rollicking comeback victory over the Predators.<\/p>\n

He might very well remember this one, too.\u00a0<\/p>\n

An incredible airborne snag at the blueline by Auston Matthews that led to a beautiful give-and-go strike. A highlight-reel hat trick by Kirill Marchenko. Both feats losing the narrative battle to a blown lead and a benched star-in-the-making.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose things kind of happen sometimes. I think everybody\u2019s been in that situation before. And it\u2019s not necessarily a situation you want to be in, but we’ve all got his back,\u201d Matthews said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know a game like tonight is gonna just make him hungry for the next one to go out there and compete and dominate. And excited to watch that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Will the McKenna benching serve as a harsh lesson to an offensively gifted teenager still acclimatizing to the rigours of defending properly within a pro system?<\/p>\n

Could it also act as a lesson for a coach desperate for some plays to get made amid a late collapse but not calling the number of one of his best playmakers?<\/p>\n

\u201cYou just have to be able to have a little poise and somebody to make a play,\u201d Hiller said of the loss. \u201cGive them credit. They put us on our heels, and we just couldn\u2019t make two plays in a row.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"RealReal Kyper and Bourne<\/p>\n

Nick Kypreos and Justin Bourne talk all things hockey with some of the biggest names in the game. Watch live every weekday on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ \u2014 or listen live on Sportsnet 590 The FAN \u2014 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET.<\/p>\n

Full episode<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2022 Shortly before warmups, trader John Chayka packaged 24-year-old Marlies forwards Jacob Quillan and Brandon Buhr and sent them to the Canucks in exchange for depth centre Aatu R\u00e4ty, who had cleared waivers a few hours prior and thus can be sent straight to the AHL.<\/p>\n

The scouting report on R\u00e4ty from someone who watched the 23-year-old Finn closely in Vancouver before he fell out of favour:\u00a0Just didn\u2019t get better. Great guy, works hard, wins faceoffs. But slow. Doesn\u2019t really play energy\/depth role and can\u2019t be in top nine. Still young, but he\u2019s been at this level a while.<\/p>\n

Toronto\u2019s current 4C, fellow ex-Canuck Teddy Blueger, has been just fine, so we don\u2019t see R\u00e4ty as an imminent replacement here. Blueger isn\u2019t driving offence, but he has played an important role on the NHL\u2019s best penalty kill (96.2 per cent).<\/p>\n

For the Maple Leafs, we suspect this two-for-one trade has more to do with Toronto reducing its contract total to 49. That frees up a slot should Chayka wish to trade for an NHL-level defenceman.<\/p>\n

Hiller was actually an assistant coach when the Islanders drafted R\u00e4ty in 2021 and was impressed by his training camp.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Tavares had started his age-36 season with strong production, again: seven points in seven games. An awkward collision with Josh Norris took him out of the game, and Hiller had no update on Tavares\u2019s health afterwards.<\/p>\n

“We\u2019re all thinking about him,” Matthews said.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Broadcaster Rob Ray, the Sabres’ all-time record-holder for penalty minutes (3,189), lamented the lack of intimidators in today\u2019s NHL.<\/p>\n

“There\u2019s nobody that does that. I stand between the benches every home game, and I don\u2019t hear anybody even talk about anybody\u2019s mom, grandmom, girlfriend, wife. It\u2019s ‘You\u2019re overpaid!’ I\u2019m like, ‘That really got ya.’ There\u2019s no talk like that,\u201d Ray said during Thursday\u2019s entertaining appearance on\u00a0Real Kyper & Bourne<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“There\u2019s no intimidation in the game. If you understood that game now, you could intimidate three-quarters of the NHL. It\u2019s crazy how calm and mild it is. They\u2019re all buddies.”<\/p>\n

\u2022 Chris Tanev (upper body) has been given a return timeline of week-to-week. In other words: Anybody\u2019s guess.<\/p>\n

Quietly, the Maple Leafs also placed Miles Wood on injured reserve with an unspecified injury. The forward practised with his new club in Utah and looked just fine but was absent from Thursday\u2019s morning skate.<\/p>\n

Wood has not played a game since being acquired from Columbus as part of the Matthew Knies blockbuster.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Beautiful pregame tribute to the late, great Cliff Fletcher (1935\u20132026) inside Scotiabank Arena, with the long-serving executive\u2019s family in attendance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TORONTO \u2014 As the Toronto Maple Leafs watched another multi-goal lead disintegrate, as they could have used a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":934808,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[49,48,82],"class_list":["post-934807","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/934807","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=934807"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/934807\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/934808"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=934807"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=934807"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=934807"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}