Gavin McKenna isn't picking a fight over jersey numbers with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Not this one, anyway.
He sat down with Sportsnet this week, cameras rolling inside a Leafs practice facility, and got asked point blank about wearing No. 72.
The grin gave it away before he even answered. Big smile, mic flooded by SN and BarDown branding, "PROBABLY NOT SO" flashing under his face as the answer landed.
His response was blunt: "Bob, he's won two Stanley Cups. If he wants that number, he's going to get that number."
He's talking about Sergei Bobrovsky, who carries a $7,000,000 cap hit for Toronto next season and isn't going anywhere.
Bobrovsky posted a .876 save percentage across 52 games this year, hardly numbers that scream untouchable, but the man still finished with 20 wins and four shutouts.
That's enough mileage to hold onto real estate on a jersey, rough stretch or not.
Bobrovsky's $7 million cap hit settles the debate
Toronto just wrapped a brutal year, finishing 32-36-14 and sitting 28th overall in the league.
The Leafs closed the season on a seven-game losing streak, going 2-7-1 over their final ten games with a minus-46 goal differential.
So why would an incoming prospect walk into a number war with a franchise already dealing with enough noise?
He wouldn't. And he isn't.
It's the smart move. Picking a fight with the incumbent starter before dressing for a single regular season game is not how a kid wins over a locker room.
McKenna gets that. Say what you want about the hype machine following him into Toronto, but the read on the room here is sharp for someone who hasn't played a shift yet.
-
Numbers matter in that room more than fans realize. Ask any veteran what changing digits mid-career feels like, it's closer to switching last names than swapping a hat.
Toronto hasn't announced what number McKenna will actually wear next season. That answer might end up saying more about his role on this roster than anything he said on camera Thursday.
Should Gavin McKenna have pushed back and fought Sergei Bobrovsky for No. 72?
Also read on Markerzone.com:
The Matthew Knies saga just took a stunning turn and fans are loving this
