The Toronto Maple Leafs squandered a 4-2 lead and fell 5-4 to the Buffalo Sabres in overtime on Thursday, October 15.
The game featured several key talking points, including Kirill Marchenko’s hat trick, Auston Matthews’ strong performance, and some negative developments, such as John Tavares’ injury and head coach Jim Hiller benching Gavin McKenna.
The latter decision sparked significant controversy among fans, with some even calling for the coach to be fired for how he handled the prospect.
The following day, on Friday’s edition of “The Leafs Morning Take,” Nick Alberga and Jay Rosehill discussed the situation.
Rosehill, drawing on his experience as a former player, offered his analysis of why Hiller made the decision, while making it clear he disagreed with the head coach’s approach.
Maple Leafs’ Gavin McKenna Benching ‘Got Away’ From Jim Hiller, Rosehill Says
He said, “Oh look, here’s my take on this thing. Jim Hiller got caught trying to teach Gavin McKenna a lesson, for lack of a better word.”
“In order for him to play on the top six lines, the top power play unit, he’s going to have to show the coaching staff that he’s understanding the defensive side of the puck and showing more responsibility. You play in Buffalo, you’re in complete control of the game (…) he says to himself, here’s a great chance for me to sit Gavin down and have a little watch for a little while just to show him that I’m serious.”
“And it completely got away on him. You know, you talk about the two penalties at the end of the second period, going through an entire intermission, and then you just can’t get to him. And his response to it was kind of weak. It was his screw-up.”
“There’s no two ways about it. No two ways about it. I don’t like it. I didn’t like it. I think the guy learns by playing more and watching video and talking to the coaches and talking to other players about what he’s seeing out there and what can be different. That’s fine. He’s getting better every single game. But that got away from him. I understand what he was doing aside from the whole shutdown defense with the rest of the team. I understand what he was trying to do with Gavin McKenna. It got away from him. That’s on him. And he kind of owned it.”
Maple Leafs HC Jim Hiller’s Decision to Bench Gavin McKenna Finally Explained