Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews reacts to Gavin McKenna benching
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Gavin McKenna’s rookie season with the Toronto Maple Leafs has had its ups and downs through eight games, but it reached a low point when the 2026 No. 1 overall pick was benched by head coach Jim Hiller in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Buffalo Sabres at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday night.
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McKenna didn’t take another shift over the final 32:54 and finished with just 6:36 of ice time. His previous low was 12:46, which came in a 3-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Oct. 3.
“Those things kind of happen sometimes,” captain Auston Matthews told reporters afterwards, including NHL.com’s Dave McCarthy.
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“I think everybody has been in that situation before. It’s not necessarily a situation you want to be in, but we’ve all got his back, and I know a game like tonight is going to make him hungry for the next one, to go out there and compete and dominate, and I’m excited to watch that.”
After going pointless in his first three NHL games, McKenna put together an encouraging stretch, posting five points in four games between Oct. 6-13.
But Thursday’s loss brought that momentum to a halt, with the Whitehorse, Yukon native taking his last shift with 9:40 remaining in the second period.
The Leafs got into penalty trouble in the second, and McKenna isn’t part of their penalty-killing rotation. That contributed to his extended spell on the bench, although he was also on the ice for one of Buffalo’s goals early in the frame.
Hiller addressed the benching afterwards and said he isn’t concerned it will have a lasting negative impact on the rookie.
“You know what? That was my decision. We went for a stretch where I think we had those penalties. I wanted to get him out there,” the bench boss explained.
“He sat through the penalties, and then I didn’t get them out there through that stretch. The last few minutes of the period, we’re just trying to, you know, get out of the period, I guess you would say. Then now I’ve sat him for so long, and he sits in the intermission. I probably should have got him out there early in the third.”
Hiller said he hadn’t met with McKenna when he addressed the media after the game but would speak with the 18-year-old before Toronto’s next contest, a visit from the New York Islanders on Saturday night.
Following the overtime loss, the Leafs dropped to 3-3-2 on the season.
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