Maple Leafs Have One Major Question About Gavin McKenna
· Yahoo Sports
The Toronto Maple Leafs are fortunate to have Gavin McKenna join the team this season. It’s not very often that a team has the opportunity to see an elite-level talent hit the lineup.
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In Toronto’s case, McKenna’s arrival provides a golden opportunity to transform the team without going through the pain of a full-on rebuild.
While there’s no question that McKenna is a boon to the Maple Leafs’ roster, there is one major question surrounding McKenna: What does he fit into Toronto’s lineup?
There’s an easy answer to that question. The Maple Leafs should roll Gavin McKenna on the top line with Auston Matthews. It’s not every day that a high-end talent gets an opportunity to ride shotgun with an elite player like Matthews (regardless of what pundits say).
But such an answer would be chickening out in a way. It’s the easiest path forward, and one that might not yield the desired outcomes right away.
The biggest argument against lining up McKenna alongside Matthews and potential Matthew Knies is the fact that McKenna might not be quite ready for the spotlight of hockey’s most intense market. That’s why there is another way out of this conundrum.
Maple Leafs would do well to leave McKenna further down the lineup
The hardest answer to the dilemma involving Gavin McKenna’s place in the Leafs’ lineup is placing him outside of the top line.
There’s an argument for placing McKenna on the third line. Playing with a more defensively responsible center like Teddy Blueger or Colton Sissons, and a linemate like Easton Cowan or a veteran like Dakota Joshua would provide the Maple Leafs’ top prospect cover to ease into the NHL game.
Of course, that idea would find justifiable opposition. McKenna is not a bottom-six player. And giving him third-line minutes wouldn’t exactly be the most conducive to his development.
But then again, expecting Gavin McKenna to be a top-line player even before hitting NHL ice for the first time can be unreasonable. That’s why there’s another better way to approach McKenna’s placement in the Maple Leafs’ lineup.
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Chemistry and Fit Might Be the Best Approach
At the end of the day, the best path forward would be to let McKenna develop chemistry with his future linemates. There is not much to be said about grouping players based on how well they mesh together.
If that’s the philosophy with McKenna, the Maple Leafs would be in a better spot. The last thing the Leafs would want to do with Gavin McKenna is to shoehorn him into a position that he’s not really ready for.
That’s how some teams have destroyed top prospects in the past.
Ultimately, the Leafs have to be as careful as they can with Gavin McKenna. Having such a promising prospect requires careful attention to detail. That attention involves finding the right place for him based on a natural fit and progression, not what pundits believe should be where the star rookie belongs.
Training camp will determine where things stand before Toronto hits the ice for Game 1 of the 2026-27 season.
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