Jim Hiller isn't going to make fans happy when they learn he decided to play Gavin McKenna for less time than seventh-round pick Ryan Tverberg.
The first overall pick in this year's draft, Gavin McKenna came into the NHL with a ton of expectations and hype.
While he hasn't set the league on fire, he's currently at the top of the rookie leaderboard, he's shown flashes of his creativity and talent, and for an 18-year-old, has already cemented himself as someone to keep an eye on.
But this year if there's one thing to point to that's a negative is his ice time, as coach Jim Hiller decided to consistently bench him for minutes at a time - sometimes whole periods.
Jim Hiller decided a seventh-round pick was more valuable than Gavin McKenna
He can't decide what he wants to do with him but his latest decision is arguably his most egregious.
Hiller decided to not only put recent call-up Ryan Tverberg on the second line as opposed to McKenna (or even putting Easton Cowan there and McKenna up top) but gave him more ice time against Colorado than McKenna too.
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Tverberg played 15:31 on Tuesday as oppposed to McKenna's 13:14, and while you can credit Hiller for trying something wildly different, it's a pretty ridiculous decision.
Nothing against Tverberg who has played well for the Marlies and was a key part of their Calder Cup run, but McKenna is the future of the franchise, and regardless of if he fails or not - he needs to play.
Hiller needs to swallow his pride and let McKenna succeed (and fail)
Should he be leading the team in minutes? No, but giving him roughly the same amount that Easton Cowan has had (15:49). That's a 1.5 minute increase over his current average TOI and it would give him a chance to get more comfortable.
As much as the team loved John Tavares coming back, McKenna has thrived on the top PP unit and it's strange why Hiller moved him off.
Tavares was out for a few weeks and needed to acclimate back - so why not put him with Rielly, Cowan, and Roslovic on the second unit instead?
There's literally no reason why McKenna is getting less and less minutes, especially against a seventh-round pick.
If Toronto is already giving up on the season, then sheltering your top prospect and future cornerstone and pushing others over him is a bad look regardless of if you're a Leafs fan or not.
Whatever Hiller's agenda is regarding McKenna, or whatever he's been directed to do has caused a lot of fans to turn their backs on the Maple Leafs, and if they aren't careful then they are going to have their prized rookie doing the exact same thing.
Should Jim Hiller be given a warning from the Maple Leafs about his management of Gavin McKenna?
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