The sight was absolutely bizarre.
Gavin McKenna wasn’t hurt, and yet he wasn’t in the game. The Toronto Maple Leafs went entirely away from the No. 1 overall pick in the third period and overtime on Thursday night against the Buffalo Sabres.
It was even weirder when you considered what was happening on the ice — the Sabres were coming back from 4-2 down to win 5-4 in overtime.
And yet during that comeback, McKenna didn’t get a single shift. He had been benched.
McKenna ended up getting just nine shifts on the ice and playing just 6 minutes and 36 seconds.
That was less than half of what he’d gotten in every other game so far this season.
The explanation after the game was a bit confusing, but it does also give some insight into what to expect from McKenna going forward.
Why Was Gavin McKenna Benched?
This was how Maple Leafs coach Jim Hiller explained the move after the game to reporters:
“We went for a stretch — I think we had those penalties — I wanted to get (McKenna) out there. He sat through those penalties, and then I didn’t get them out there through that stretch. And then the last few minutes of the (second) period, we’re just trying to get out of the period, I guess you would say. And now, as I’ve sat him for so long, since it’s in the intermission, so I probably should have got him out there early in the third. I didn’t. So I’ll talk to him about that.”
Essentially, Hiller seemed to lose McKenna, and by the time he realized that had happened, he wasn’t sure McKenna would be revved up to perform in the game.
Because McKenna doesn’t take the ice during penalty killing, it can leave him stranded for a while.
“Again, the big thing is the penalties; (McKenna) doesn’t get to play,” Hiller said. “Now he hasn’t played 30-some-odd minutes. We talked about getting him out in the third (period), and I guess it just didn’t happen. That’s on me. And then once we got into that stage, I’m not going to put him out there now. I’ve been sitting him there for 30 minutes. It was not fair at all.”
McKenna had five points through seven games entering Thursday, and the Maple Leafs also lost John Tavares to injury, yet they still didn’t turn to the rookie.
Will Gavin McKenna Play More in Next Game?
The Maple Leafs are back in action on Saturday against the New York Islanders, and you’d think a couple things work in McKenna’s favor to play more.
One is this public pushback against Hiller. He’ll want to let the No. 1 overall pick get some more action.
Another is the Tavares injury. With a chance to prepare a plan to make up for that loss of firepower, McKenna surely has to help out.
And then there’s just the fact that McKenna’s usage on Thursday was a total outlier. Even if the Maple Leafs return to just a slightly more normal gameflow, McKenna should get on the ice more.
Why Maple Leafs Benched Gavin McKenna Reveals Minutes Outlook For Next Game