Gavin McKenna didn’t hide from his own mistakes after the Maple Leafs’ loss to Montreal on Saturday, and he didn’t stop there. He also put the rest of the room on notice, saying everyone has to be sharper when the pressure rises.
Toronto’s latest defeat came with the same familiar problems: costly turnovers and a lack of finishing. The Leafs weren’t overwhelmed by Montreal, but they still walked out with another loss, and the skid is starting to look ugly. They still haven’t beaten a division opponent this year, which only adds to the concern.
McKenna was part of the problem. His turnovers and mistakes got him benched for a stretch, though Jim Hiller eventually sent him back over the boards, and he did help make the game a little closer. Even so, the rookie knows that isn’t enough.
Postgame, McKenna spoke plainly about what went wrong and what needs to change. He made it clear that accountability has to start with each player in the room:
Might just be an energy thing. Tough schedule, but at the end of the day, that's the NHL. Each guy in this room has got to hold themselves accountable to being prepared.
Even me being a young guy, I can try to influence that a little bit, have better starts to games, and hopefully that can snowball to my teammates.
For McKenna, the message is bigger than one bad night. He wants better starts, more responsibility, and more buy-in from everyone around him. And while he’s only 18, he also knows the mistakes have to get cleaned up fast.
The issue Saturday wasn’t just that he turned pucks over. It was how those plays unfolded.
Several times, he tried to force passes without enough support or leaned on drop passes that were picked off or turned into neutral-zone giveaways. He also struggled to get the puck out of the zone.
Nobody is asking him to play scared or overly cautious. But the decision-making has to be cleaner. In too many moments, his hands were moving faster than his head.
There’s plenty of noise around McKenna, and that comes with the territory. The expectations are loud, the fan chatter is constant, and every mistake gets magnified. Still, if he slows the game down mentally and starts making smarter reads, it should only help him.
His comments should land in the room, too. If the Maple Leafs are going to dig out of this, the accountability can’t stop with one rookie.
It has to reach the whole group, coaching staff included. At least McKenna sees the problem clearly now, and there’s still time to fix it.
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