Leafs rookie McKenna already poking fun at Toronto media

It didn't take long for Gavin McKenna to get used to the intense media attention around the Toronto Maple Leafs. 

The 2026 first-overall pick is now three games into his Maple Leafs tenure, and the tension is already starting to mount. Toronto has won just a single game to start the season, while McKenna is still searching for his first NHL point. 

It isn't quite the start that Leafs fans hoped for, and McKenna joked with the media on Tuesday that he's already getting the full Toronto experience thanks to all the attention. 

"Especially in the Toronto media, with putting up zero points in three games, I think you hear about it," McKenna said with a smile. "Maybe that's my welcome to the NHL [moment]." 

 

 

 

 

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It is far too early to press the panic button on both the Leafs and McKenna. Toronto missed the playoffs last season, and they were anything but a surefire shot to return to the postseason this year. A slow start was definitely in the cards for this Maple Leafs squad. 

As for McKenna, he still has a lot of time to live up to his first-overall billing. Three games is far too little of a sample size to determine anything about his NHL future. For reference, Connor McDavid only notched a single point throughout his first four NHL games, and he still went on to become the best player in hockey for over a decade. 

"It's obviously not where you want to be, but at the end of the day, I've been on many streaks where I've put up no points," McKenna said. "I think learning from last year and learning from these first few games I think is going to be key, and just sticking with it and being confident.

"I know it's gonna come, so just keep working and have confidence." 

Toronto has put McKenna in a place to succeed in the lineup, having him play left wing on the second line next to John Tavares and William Nylander. If he can continue to remain in that spot and build chemistry with his linemates, it shouldn't take long for him to remind everybody why he went first overall.