The Toronto Maple Leafs lost to the Buffalo Sabres in overtime by a 5-4 final score on Thursday. With this loss, the Maple Leafs have extended their losing streak to two games.
However, the Maple Leafs' loss was not the biggest storyline from this game. Instead, it was Maple Leafs head coach Jim Hiller's shocking decision to bench star rookie Gavin McKenna from halfway through the second period to the end of the game.
Hiller's decision to bench McKenna for such a long period of time ultimately backfired, too. After having a 4-2 lead at the 16:51 mark of the second period, the Maple Leafs blew it by allowing three unanswered goals before losing. With this, Hiller's decision to bench McKenna and play their defensive forwards more to try to maintain the lead was a major error.
Now that 24 hours have passed since the Maple Leafs' loss, benching McKenna for the second half of the game makes even less sense.
McKenna is a player whom the Maple Leafs are going to build their future around. Because of this, they need to give the 18-year-old the opportunity to play if he is on the NHL roster. The 2026 first-overall pick would have benefited from playing in a close game like that.
Instead, the star rookie's night ended with just 6:36 of ice time, which is perplexing. This is especially so when noting that Maple Leafs veteran forward John Tavares left the game early in the third period with an injury. Yet, that was still not enough for Hiller to play McKenna.
The Maple Leafs need to give McKenna the chance to grow his game. Even if he makes some mistakes, as all rookies do, there is no benefit to Toronto benching him for that amount of time if he is dressed for a game. In the end, the Maple Leafs were burned by the decision, and they simply can't make this mistake again.
Gavin McKenna should look to have big response game
Now, after being benched, it would not be surprising if McKenna responds by having a big performance in his next game for the Maple Leafs. He is a very talented forward, and he should be extra motivated after strangely being benched. Thus, he will undoubtedly be a player to watch when the Maple Leafs take on the New York Islanders on Saturday, assuming he is in the lineup.
It will now be interesting to see how McKenna responds to being benched. In eight games this season for Toronto, he has two goals and five points.
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