Gavin McKenna Watch: Maple Leafs prepare for six-game homestand

Gavin McKenna, the No. 1 pick by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2026 NHL Draft, enjoyed a solid first month at the sport’s highest level. Each Monday, NHL.com will take a look at what McKenna has done and what’s ahead for him with the Gavin McKenna Watch.

WHAT HE'S DONE

After he had one shot on goal in 14:50 of ice time in a 5-2 loss at the Calgary Flames on Oct. 26 that ended the Maple Leafs' four-game winning streak, McKenna had the most productive output of his NHL career two nights later with two goals and an assist in a 5-4 loss at the Seattle Kraken.

Moved to the top line with Auston Matthews and Jack Roslovic while Kirill Marchenko is out because of a lower-body injury, McKenna scored his fourth goal of the season at 19:14 of the first period, finding space inside the right face-off circle, taking a pass from Matthews and snapping a shot high to the far side, over the blocker of Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer, to tie the game 1-1. Then after Seattle regained the lead 16 seconds into the second period, McKenna tied it again with a power-play goal at 1:46, scoring short side on a one-timer from the right circle set up by Matthews. He then had a secondary assist on Matthews' tying goal at 18:30 of the third period, resetting play from the right point and moving the puck to Darren Raddysh, who passed to Matthews for a one-timer to make it 4-4. 

At age 18 years, 312 days, McKenna was the youngest Maple Leafs player with a multigoal game since Jack Hamilton (18 years, 262 days) on Feb. 19, 1944, and the youngest with a three-point game since Ted Kennedy (age 18 years, 84 days) on March 5, 1944.

McKenna had three shots on goal in 13:01 of ice time in a 4-2 win at the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday in the finale of a four-game road trip.

WHAT'S AHEAD THIS WEEK

The Maple Leafs return to Scotiabank Arena to start a season-long six-game homestand, beginning against the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; TSN4, Utah16, Mammoth+), followed by a weekend back to back, against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN) and the New Jersey Devils on Sunday (7 p.m. ET; TSN4, NHLN, MSGSN). The game against Montreal will be a rematch of Toronto's opening-night 3-2 home loss Sept. 29. McKenna had one shot on goal in 15:19 of ice time in his NHL debut.

MOST INTRIGUING MATCHUP

McKenna vs. Jack Hughes

McKenna gets to skate against Devils center Jack Hughes, the No. 1 pick of the 2019 NHL Draft, for the first time. Hughes has seven points (four goals, three assists) in his past five games; he scored twice and was plus-4 in a 5-2 win against the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday. New Jersey is 3-1-0 since acquiring goalie Connor Hellebuyck in a trade with the Winnipeg Jets on Oct. 23 and is averaging 3.43 goals per game this season, up from 2.76 per game in 2025-26.

MOST ANTICIPATED GAME

Saturday vs. Montreal Canadiens

Saturday night. National broadcast. Maple Leafs vs. Canadiens. It's the ultimate hockey rivalry, the 778th game between the teams dating to Dec. 26, 1917, the second week of the first NHL season. Toronto is 13-6-1 in its past 20 home games against Montreal but has lost the past two at Scotiabank Arena (0-1-1), including its opener this season.

EDGE STATS OF THE WEEK

McKenna was moved onto a line with Colton Sissons and Dakota Joshua against the Canucks on Saturday, and it seems like the three could stick together for a bit. "It's probably the most Gavin's had the puck in the (offensive) zone in a game, I would think," Maple Leafs coach Jim Hiller said. "With the puck on his stick he was dangerous, so really like the looks of that." The numbers bear that out; McKenna has spent 44.2 percent of his shifts at all strength in the offensive zone, which ranks him in the 75th percentile. (For all McKenna NHL EDGE stats, click here).

THEY SAID IT

"It was cool. A lot of Leaf fans here as well. To play in front of my family, came to a couple Canucks games growing up, so to play in that barn against that team, was pretty cool." -- McKenna after his first NHL game in Vancouver, the rink closest to his hometown of Whitehorse, Yukon.