The Toronto Maple Leafs are 1-1 through the first two games of the new 2026-27 NHL campaign, and they hit the ice with multiple new faces thanks to the extensive offseason work from general manager John Chayka.
Two of those new faces are veteran goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who signed with the Maple Leafs as an unrestricted free agent after leaving the divisional rival Florida Panthers, and rookie Gavin McKenna, whom Toronto selected with the first overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.
It’s become a tradition for NHL clubs to allow a rookie playing in his first season to take a lap or two around the ice by himself before the rest of his teammates take the ice for the pregame warmups.
However, during Toronto’s season-opening contest earlier in the week against the Montreal Canadiens, Bobrovsky made his way onto the ice with McKenna in what many considered to be a careless faux pas.
Toronto Maple Leafs Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky Explains Accidental Rookie Lap Faux Pas
Bobrovsky, who was fully dialed in to his pregame mentality, admitted that he completely forgot about the tradition and meant nothing by it.
“I just completely forgot,” Bobrovsky said via David Alter. “I didn’t think about it. I completely forgot. I came to him and I also told him. So I pretended that it was my first game too (jokingly). But no, I didn’t mean to do that. So it just happened by incident (accident).”
So far in his Maple Leafs tenure, Bobrovsky is 0-1-0 with a 3.06 goals-against average and a .875 save percentage.
Meanwhile, McKenna has skated in two games so far, and has yet to register a point while having posted a minus-two rating.
Maple Leafs Head Coach Jim Hiller Said The Club Looked Like They Were Getting Used To One Another
Following the contest, Maple Leafs head coach Jim Hiller, who was hired back into the organization that he previously served as an assistant coach under Mike Babcock, said that the players looked as though they were still getting used to one another in their first game.
“We looked a little bit like a new team…we’ve worked at doing that off the ice,” Hiller said. “That’s been a priority because that’s one of the things we can control. On the ice, I just think it’s going to take some time until everybody settles into their roles. Everybody wants to do extremely well, and sometimes that’s more of a curse than a blessing.”
“You try to do too much, and you get a little tight,” he said. “First time playing for the Maple Leafs in this building in a regular-season game, so that might have a little bit to do with some nerves. I don’t know that for sure. Hopefully, they can bounce back and just be a little cleaner tomorrow night.”<
Maple Leafs’ Sergei Bobrovsky Responds After Gavin McKenna Incident