Leafs coach Jim Hiller on Gavin McKenna benching: 'Probably should've got him out' in third period

“That was my decision,” Hiller told the media after the game. “We went for a stretch, he sat through the penalties. Now that I’ve sat him for so long, I probably should’ve got him out in the third.”

The penalties in question are the hooking minor that went to Oliver Ekman-Larsson at the 14:35 mark of the second, the hooking minor that went to Morgan Rielly at the 18:07 mark, and the interference minor that went to Zach Benson at the 18:33 mark. McKenna is not on the Leafs’ penalty kill unit, so he never went out during those stretches, and also has generally not played minutes for the Leafs’ 4v4 and 3v3 units either. After all that was lost in the shuffle, apparently Hiller opted to not play him the rest of the game.

Hiller’s reasoning for the benching certainly comes off as confusing, especially when it just sounds like it was a bench management failure of his own accord. However, it’s also possible that there actually was an issue with McKenna’s game that night, and instead of putting the rookie on blast to the public, Hiller took the blame and would rather only raise the issue in a private setting between the two.

The Leafs proceeded to score two goals in the second after McKenna’s benching, both from Kirill Marchenko to complete his first hat trick as a Leaf. However, the Sabres rallied in the third period to tie it at 4-4, and then capped off the comeback with an overtime winner from Mississauga, Ontario product Owen Power.

Despite the benching in his eighth career NHL game, McKenna has had a solid start to his rookie season with two goals and three assists for five points. The 2026 first-overall pick is tied for second in points among rookies this season.