One of the biggest questions surrounding Gavin McKenna is not whether he’ll play for the Toronto Maple Leafs next season. It’s where he’ll play for the team.
There is logic to sheltering McKenna, at least in the early going. Throwing him into prime time may not be the best path for the 18-year-old. While he certainly looks like a confident young man, the pressure that comes with playing in Toronto might be a bit overwhelming at first.
That aside, it just makes too much sense to partner McKenna with Auston Matthews. It seemed as though that was the whole point of taking McKenna. The pair seemed ideally suited for one another.
In fact, McKenna is kind of like a Mitch Marner clone. In that regard, putting Matthews and McKenna together allows the duo to complement their skill sets. McKenna is a passer, while Matthews is a shooter.
Given that McKenna is a gifted playmaker, there might just be another 60-goal season in store for Matthews. Heck, why wouldn’t a 70-goal season be in the cards?
Sure, the opposition will do their best to stifle McKenna. Since McKenna isn’t exactly the most overpowering guy physically, you would think that opposing coaches would deploy hard-hitting defensive guys against them.
But there’s another side to that. Matthews has quietly become one of the best two-way centers in the game. He often matches up against the opposition’s best players. And that usually means playing against offense-first guys.
That situation opens up vulnerabilities in other teams’ lines. Those vulnerabilities could become opportunities for McKenna and Matthews to run amok. And that’s why it wouldn’t be insane to see Matthews return to his Rocket Richard form with McKenna potentially setting a team record for points by a rookie.
Yes, these are all ambitious projections. However, John Chayka has taken active steps in shaping the lineup so that it becomes much more balanced throughout. In particular, having a beefier, meaner bottom six, a group that may not score a ton but could play well defensively, may just open up enough space for the top six to run wild.
There’s no question this conversation paints a rosy picture. But there’s no reason why the Maple Leafs can’t see a Matthews renaissance with McKenna riding shotgun. That was the point of drafting him in the first place.
If Matthews can get back to 100 points and McKenna channels the best parts of Marner, Chayka could look like Einstein by year’s end.
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