Jim Hiller wasted no time in demoting Gavin McKenna as a way to not only reset the lineup, but let him know that sometimes he's going to need to sit out.
Tuesday night marked the first game for the Toronto Maple Leafs in their 2026-27 season, and it came with several big debuts. Kirill Marchenko, Darren Raddysh, and Sergei Bobrovsky all started their Leafs careers, meanwhile rookie sensation Gavin McKenna was making his NHL debut.
Though the acquisition of Marchenko overshadowed the debut of McKenna a bit, the rookie was still able to find himself in the spotlight. Despite not exactly having a solo rookie lap to start off, McKenna found himself alongside John Tavares and William Nylander to start.
McKenna's demotion all a part of the NHL rookie experience
It was what we expected, though we also began to notice that at some point, it was no longer McKenna on that line, but Easton Cowan which can only mean one thing: Jim Hiller is already drawing a line with McKenna.
Not that the rookie had an egregiously bad game, but he also wasn't exactly as explosive as you'd hope. He had one shot, but also two giveaways and was a minus-2 in only 15:19 TOI. Not the best debut to say the least, and at times he did look a little out of sorts.
Hiller felt that Cowan was a better fit to try and spark the offence as someone who can grind and fight for pucks, and it paid off later down the line as Cowan was key in setting up William Nylander's second goal of the game.
McKenna found himself with Nick Paul and Colton Sissons, which isn't a horrible group but not one that sparks a lot of offensive hope. If McKenna can drive the offence against weaker competition and perhaps bring Paul back to his 20-goal potential then it could be beneficial to move him down.
McKenna won't be held down for long
Though you shouldn't expect McKenna to be hanging around the bottom-six for too long, it was his first game. Hiller was trying to win, McKenna had some nerves and mistakes - it's not the craziest thing to sit him.
Wednesday night will actually be a much better test of McKenna's ability give that he already has the first game jitters out of the way, he already knows what to expect, and he's learned that he needs to be better to get better chances.
He's 18 years old, not a 10-year veteran. We have to temper out expectations just a bit, and there's no doubt that McKenna is going to thrive. Plus, this is game one of 84 - it's nigh impossible he's bad for even a third of those games.
You can't hold down a wild horse for too long, and for 'The Wizard of Whitehorse', it's only a matter of time before he manages to put on a show. Hiller's decision was baked in real-time, not some message to send to a rookie - it's just part of the NHL experience.
Do you agree with Jim Hiller's decision to demote Gavin McKenna to the third line?
Also read on Hockey Patrol :
Jim Hiller confirms fringe forward draws into lineup after a rough season opener