Jim Hiller isn’t hiding what Gavin McKenna has to do if he wants more trust, more shifts, and more ice time.
After the Toronto Maple Leafs dropped a 5-2 decision to the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night, their seventh loss in eight games without collecting a point, McKenna’s usage stood out almost as much as the result. Matt Boldy’s hat trick powered the Wild, while McKenna finished with just 10:37 of ice time. Outside of the stretch when he was benched for nearly the entire game, it was the lowest workload he has had.
Asked what McKenna needs to show to earn more minutes, Hiller kept the answer simple.
"I mean, just be a good all-around player," Hiller said via Arun Srinivasan." Be dangerous when you have the puck, and I thought he was a few times tonight.
And then, take care of the puck when you don't have a play to make and fight through. It’s a grind.
It’s a grind for a young player, any young player. We’re 20 games in now.
That’s it. It’s a grind, so he doesn’t have to play all those minutes every night.
There’ll be times he plays more, times he plays less.
That’s the challenge now for McKenna: not just flashing the offensive upside that has everyone intrigued, but rounding out the rest of his game enough to stay on the ice longer. He has the talent to get there, whether that happens this season or next year, but the path runs through becoming more reliable in all areas.
There’s also the obvious question of fit. McKenna would benefit from a coach willing to give him prime chances and more minutes to work with, and he’d probably look even better if he had more skilled forwards around him. The lineup has plenty of workers, with Nick Paul and Dakota Joshua among them, but the setup hasn’t exactly been built to maximize McKenna’s production.
Through 21 games, McKenna is averaging 13:56 of ice time and has six goals and 13 points.
In Other News...
Maple Leafs May Have A Blue-Line Move Bigger Than A Rental
The Maple Leafs are still hunting for help on the blue line, and the talk around the deadline suggests they are not just looking for a stopgap. Toronto appears interested in a defenseman who can fit alongside the teams core for more than a quick playoff push, which is a different kind of swing than the usual rental chase. That makes the market a little more complicated, but also a lot more interesting for a club trying to solve a problem that has lingered beyond one season.
Names such as Cam York, Alexander Nikishin, Rasmus Sandin and Simon Edvinsson have surfaced as possible fits because of their age, contract situations and longer-term appeal. None of that means a deal is close, and the Leafs still have to find the right match if they want to turn interest into an actual upgrade, but the fact they are being linked to this tier of defender says plenty about how they view their next move. [Read more 🡒]
Leafs Are Seeing Progress But One Problem Still Looms
A day away from the rink took the Maple Leafs into a different setting this week, with the club using the Blue Jays facilities as an off-ice workout stop designed to shake up the routine and give the group a little extra energy. Jim Hiller said the change of scenery can matter, especially when a team is trying to keep its legs and its focus sharp while working through the middle of the season grind.
Hiller also pointed to signs of progress in the Leafs recent play, even if the clean-up work is far from finished. Mistakes are still showing up, but the bigger message was about sustaining a positive culture and carrying that mindset into the next stretch of games, with the quality of the Blue Jays setup serving as a reminder that sometimes a different environment can help a team reset. [Read more 🡒]
Matthews Just Added To The Growing Debate Around Jim Hiller
Auston Matthews added another layer to the conversation around Jim Hiller on a night when the Maple Leafs rough stretch was already inviting scrutiny. The captain said Hiller typically does not speak to players after games, which leaves the group to sort through issues on its own at a time when the results have been slipping and the questions around leadership have only gotten louder.
For a team trying to steady itself, that kind of detail matters because it speaks to how the room is being managed as much as what is happening on the ice. The criticism around Hiller has been building on both his coaching style and some of his decisions, and Matthews comments only sharpen the debate about whether the Leafs are getting the kind of guidance they need right now. [Read more 🡒]