{"id":949902,"date":"2026-10-28T22:36:11","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T22:36:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/949902\/"},"modified":"2026-10-28T22:36:11","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T22:36:11","slug":"mckenna-unites-with-matthews-as-maple-leafs-juggle-lineup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/949902\/","title":{"rendered":"McKenna unites with Matthews as Maple Leafs juggle lineup"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI\u2019m sure there\u2019ll be an opportunity at some point where we\u2019re going to play together, and I\u2019m sure it\u2019ll be a lot of fun.\u201d \u2014Auston Matthews<\/a> on Gavin McKenna<\/a>, September 16<\/p>\n

SEATTLE \u2014 It took until Game 15, but Gavin McKenna finally walked into the Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a>\u2019 dressing room and saw his name to the left of Auston Matthews\u2019 on the top line, along with Jack Roslovic.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you see that, I think a little bit of a boost of confidence,\u201d McKenna said Wednesday morning at Climate Pledge Arena, ahead of the Leafs\u2019 game against the Seattle Kraken. \u201cWhen you\u2019re playing with two guys like that, you’ve got to make sure you’re working. I want to make the most out of this opportunity, so I\u2019m looking forward to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

So is Leafs Nation, a fan base begging to see what magic Toronto\u2019s two most recent first-overall draft picks can conjure in regular rotation.<\/p>\n

The slippery playmaker and the fearsome sniper.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhenever he\u2019s open, you want to find him in a spot because he’s dangerous in all areas of the ice. So, you want to get him the puck,\u201d McKenna said of his new centreman.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But remember, it was mentor Matthews who set up McKenna\u2019s first-ever NHL goal three weeks ago, in an emotional comeback win over Nashville.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis playmaking is something. I didn\u2019t really know how good he was at making those plays coming into the league. I think he’s made a ton of nice plays not a lot of guys can make. So, when he\u2019s got the puck on his stick, you’ve got to be ready as well,\u201d McKenna noted.<\/p>\n

McKenna and Matthews sit beside each other on the road and have flashed power-play chemistry. But they\u2019ve skated just 19:04 together five-on-five this season, outshooting the competition 11-4 and outscoring them 2-0.<\/p>\n

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Coach Jim Hiller has never started the two stars on the same line, though, despite plenty of behind-the-scenes discussions about the combo.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This juggle was made out of necessity.<\/p>\n

Top-six winger Kirill Marchenko left the road trip early after suffering an undisclosed lower-body injury in Monday\u2019s loss to Calgary and will be sidelined weeks. Centre John Tavares remains rehabbing his own lower-body injury back in Toronto.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope he just feels comfortable playing with Auston. Sometimes the first few times it’s, \u2018Hey, you’re playing with Auston. What do I got to do? I got to get him the puck.\u2019 I think probably by now he’s played enough with him and enough in the league that he just has to go out and play his game,\u201d Hiller said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, the league gets ramped up really quickly, so he has to get ramped up really quickly too. I think that both things have happened. I think if you talk to him, he has a healthy respect for the league. He’s understanding some of the things he can get away with offensively, some of the things he can’t. And then the play without the puck, which is always the biggest challenge for every player, is just how important the details of the game without the puck are.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rookie has four steals but 13 giveaways. Some of those were made in the neutral zone and thrust the Leafs\u2019 defence on its heels. That Matthews always draws the opposition\u2019s toughest matchup will put McKenna\u2019s puck management to the test.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you turn over a puck and stuff like that, guys will make you pay for it,\u201d McKenna said. \u201cIt’s the best hockey league in the world. So, there’s a lot of offensive brains out there that are very dangerous and are very quick players.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, you’ve got to be ready. And honestly, it’s all about positioning is kind of what I found out. If you’re in the right spots, it’s a lot harder to go against. So, for me, it’s been trying to get in those spots and create turnovers and stuff like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the on-point McKenna wrapped his first pre-game scrum as a front-line forward and the cameras dispersed, Nick Paul gave the teenager a half-hug, half-handshake.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou killed it. What a pro!\u201d Paul exclaimed. \u201cDid you go to school for that?\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, McKenna has been comporting himself with a maturity beyond his 18 years.<\/p>\n

If a freshman is ready for a top-line test, it\u2019s him.<\/p>\n

\u201cGav\u2019s a great player, great human being. There\u2019s lots of skill. He’s got (14) games under his belt, starting to get used to the space and the speed and structure,\u201d Paul said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe’s doing a great job. And, yeah, just excited for him and to see what he does.\u201d<\/p>\n

One-Timers:\u00a0A game-ready Dakota Joshua was recalled from his AHL conditioning loan and has joined the team in Seattle but is awaiting his gear. \u201cHe\u2019s in great shape. He\u2019s ready to roll,\u201d Hiller assured\u2026. Chris Tanev (upper body) is clear for contact and might play as early as Saturday in Vancouver\u2026. Marchenko is officially listed as week-to-week. Same goes for Tavares (lower body), Marshall Rifai (lower body)\u2026. Sergei Bobrovsky makes the start in goal\u2026. Seattle coach Lane Lambert on Bobby McMann facing his old team for the first time: \u201cBobby\u2019s a pretty even-keel guy. He\u2019s got enough wherewithal and experience to make sure he\u2019s not too amped up. But certainly, he\u2019ll be ready to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maple Leafs projected lineup Wednesday in Seattle:<\/p>\n

McKenna \u2013\u00a0Matthews \u2013 Roslovic
Cowan \u2013 Paul \u2013 Nylander
Groulx \u2013 Sissons \u2013 Lettieri
Duhaime \u2013 Blueger \u2013 MacEwen<\/p>\n

McCabe \u2013 Raddysh
Rielly \u2013 Stecher
Mermis \u2013 Ekman-Larsson<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cI\u2019m sure there\u2019ll be an opportunity at some point where we\u2019re going to play together, and I\u2019m sure…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":949903,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[49,48,448,82],"class_list":["post-949902","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/949902","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=949902"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/949902\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/949903"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=949902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=949902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=949902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}