There are plenty of explanations for what Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Sergei Bobrovsky did before Tuesday night’s season opener that don’t involve him dissing No. 1 overall pick Gavin McKenna.
But there are definitely some fans latching on to the new goalie’s actions and not liking how they reflected toward McKenna.
It probably doesn’t help matters that Toronto went on to lose the game to the Montreal Canadiens, 3-2.
But let’s take a look at the pregame rookie skate.
Sergei Bobrovsky Ruins Gavin McKenna’s Rookie Skate
Rookies making their NHL debut are usually allowed by their teammates to skate onto the ice first, helmet off, and take a quick lap and a shot. It’s essentially a moment of them being introduced to the home fans.
Clearly, McKenna doesn’t need an introduction, but it’s a cool tradition and one that looks pretty similar throughout the league.
Bobrovsky made it weird on Tuesday night, though, because he just strolled out onto the ice like a goalie normally does when leading the team out.
It’s very possible that Bobrovsky forgot entirely what McKenna was going to be doing.
It’s also possible Bobrovsky was trying to send some kind of message.
Some fans are pointing out that this is Bobrovsky just being superstitious and wanting to get onto the ice first regardless.
It did lead to posts like this on social media:
Sergei Bobrovsky = bad teammate pic.twitter.com/JALQwKtlbl
— World Hockey Report (@worldhockeyrpt) September 30, 2026
A Canadiens columnist added this take:
This was unbelievable. Leafs goalie Sergei Bobrovsky couldn’t let No. 1 overall draft pick Gavin McKenna have his own moment for his rookie skate. Something really wrong with that team culture. https://t.co/peZq2GooyK
— Stu Cowan (@StuCowan1) September 30, 2026
It’s totally fair to wonder if this is a bad sign. But it’d also be fair to give Bobrovsky the benefit of the doubt. It’s hard to know what may or may not have been going through his head.
Bobrovsky, McKenna Debuts
Bobrovsky ended up the loser in his debut, giving up a late goal to Alexandre Carrier in the third period to let Montreal win 3-2.
The veteran goalie faced 24 shots on Tuesday and saved 21 of them, an 87.5 save percentage.
McKenna, in his NHL debut, struggled a bit. He finished as a minus-2 with just a single shot. He also was noted as having two giveaways.
The rookie played 15 minutes and 19 seconds, a lower total than his teammates in large part because he didn’t have any penalty-killing duties as part of his night.
McKenna did see 2:33 on the power play, so that’ll be a chance for him to make an impact as time goes forward.
The Maple Leafs are right back in action Wednesday night against the New York Islanders. There won’t be a rookie lap for McKenna to be taken this time, and good thing — because that simple tradition riled up some Toronto hockey fans because of Bobrovsky’s involvement on Tuesday.
Maple Leafs’ Sergei Bobrovsky Ripped for Apparent Gavin McKenna Diss