Puckpedia doesn't have Gavin McKenna on the first power-play line but if the team really wants to see what he's capable of, he needs to be on unit #1.
The Maple Leafs were lucky enough to be able to draft Gavin McKenna #1 overall this past NHL Entry Draft and it honestly could be something magical. He's got the talent for sure, but for a kid with such high expectations he's very grounded in reality and takes nothing for granted on his journey to the NHL.
Toronto is expecting to see that generational talent on the ice and with them needing to find a new sidekick for Auston Matthews they couldn't have found a better one than McKenna. He's going to need some time to get acclimated but when he does, he could be a dangerous force at only 18-years-old.
He won't just be expected to help elevate Matthews though, as McKenna's playmaking ability is a perfect resolution for a Toronto power-play that really was ineffective last year. Add in Darren Raddysh and suddenly you have a potent group that can dominate the man advantage.
Toronto's veteran-loaded power-play leaves no room for the incoming McKenna
Well, that is unless you ask Puckpedia - who has no spot for McKenna on the first unit.
Right now, the salary cap site has a projected power-play unit for Toronto that consists of Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Matthew Knies, John Tavares, and Darren Raddysh with McKenna nowhere in sight.
Instead, they have him lining up on the second PP unit with Easton Cowan, newcomer Jack Roslovic, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Morgan Rielly. That unit while able to score is certainly not your typical overloaded unit.
You have realistically four playmakers and one scorer on that unit, so it'll be a lot of the same we saw in year's past where Toronto is hesitant to take a shot and instead look for a pass and waste a chance. Plus, as good as those players are - they feel a bit below the calibre of McKenna.
One alternative the team could make is to move Matthew Knies down to the second unit however that leaves Toronto without a true dedicated screen man, or even see if John Tavares would be willing to take the spot on the second unit to replace McKenna. But even then, you're losing two critical pieces who play the majority of the man advantage.
Tavares may be the one pushed out of the top line after all
But you're also weighing an 18-year-old generational talent with a mid-30s veteran with an insane amount of experience both in the NHL and elsewhere. At some point, you need to see what the future holds and that means moving Tavares down.
He's elite in the face-off dot, is dangerous in close and has a knack for finding the open man. But McKenna has the potential to give Matthews and Nylander a weapon they haven't had since Mitch Marner and perhaps be even better than him down the line.
Toronto has to decide quick if they want to run with that veteran contingent that has been a mixed bag but is comfortable with each other, or sparking things in a big way by adding a teenager to the fold.
It's going to be imperative this preseason that anytime the Maple Leafs have a power-play that McKenna, Matthews, and Nylander are all on the ice together.
Split-squad games make that a little harder but at least pairing the first two is a great start. You have the perfect chance to see what they can do before it starts to matter, so get ahead while you can.
If Toronto can get the jump on a McKenna and Matthews power-play duo, then we could be looking at a very dangerous Maple Leafs team this season, and it won't matter what anyone projected before - the results tell the real story.
Should the Maple Leafs have Gavin McKenna on the first or second PP unit?
Also read on Hockey Patrol :
Morgan Rielly made himself a lot easier for Toronto to trade