After (very) early growing pains, Leafs’ Gavin McKenna has come alive

Oct 7, 2026, 11:53 AM ET|Comments (0)

from Daily Faceoff, by Steven Ellis,

Toronto Maple Leafs forward Gavin McKenna heard all the detractors. He even called his “Welcome to the NHL” moment hearing from the media that he hadn’t registered a point through three games.

McKenna recorded the first point of his career with a primary assist on John Tavares’ goal. Then, with under five minutes to go in the middle stanza, McKenna scored to send Scotiabank Arena into a frenzy unlike anything we’ve seen in recent memory. He even had an excellent screen on Toronto’s second goal, despite it not getting him onto the scoresheet.

[continued]