Gavin McKenna could force a Maple Leafs lineup change before opening night

There are some reservations on throwing Gavin McKenna into the fire right away but if they're banking on Auston Matthews returning to form, it's the only way.

When the Maple Leafs drafted Gavin McKenna, they did so with the intentions of not only drafting the superstar of the future and someone the team can build around for years to come, but also give their captain the playmaker he needs.

However, while there is a lot of promise and hype around McKenna, he still hasn't touched the ice yet and we don't know exactly how his game is going to translate. Will he be incredible? There's no doubt. Will he do so immediately? That's another story entirely.

He very well could take a little while to acclimate to the pressures of the NHL workload, though for someone who has been under that type of pressure his entire life, it's not a worst-case scenario but nothing is guaranteed.

McKenna and Matthews can thrive right away but they need as much time together as possible

Though, if the Maple Leafs want to make sure that both he and Auston Matthews have the most success, they have to put them together right away, even if that means forcing a name to slide down. We heard a lot of lineup speculation that has William Nylander on the top line with Matthews as well as Matthew Knies, with McKenna playing with John Tavares instead.

But you can't deny the fit and the sooner they see what they have, the better. Training camp is a split-squad affair so Toronto has to make sure that the two are lined up together and not spread out over two different games.

Jim Hiller has to have a game plan in mind, and he can't keep swapping McKenna (or others) up and down the lineup for half a year to get things figured out. Go with McKenna and Matthews until it doesn't work (or shows a lack of results) then try something else.

A lot of concern last year with getting Matthews back to form wasn't injury concerns - it was his line construction. He had a rotating cast of people from Bobby McMann to Easton Cowan to even Steven Lorentz at one point, right after having Mitch Marner for nearly a decade glued to his side.

He's never going to get any consistency or chemistry with people if there's a revolving door of players. Let McKenna and Matthews run together until the wheels fall off.

If Auston Matthews can get back to form, that's going to spell danger for the NHL

But oh boy, if those wheels stay on? Watch out.

Matthews, for as good a playmaker as he is, is much better at putting the puck in the net. He's had multiple 60+ goal seasons and had the most in one year since Mario Lemieux in the mid 90s when he had 69 goals in 2023-24.

But looking at who was helping him the most, it was and always had been Marner.

With him out of town, there was no synergy and Matthews looked lost trying to do everything at once. McKenna gives him a creative playmaker who has elite vision which when coupled with Matthews' shot is deadly.

Not to mention that the power-play offers a lot more space for them to get things figured out and now that Toronto has actually built a lineup made to protect and defend, Matthews can solely focus on the offensive side of things.

Gavin McKenna and Auston Matthews are going to need some time to get acquainted but if all goes well, then it's a combination that could finally push the Maple Leafs past their second round demons in the postseason.

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