Gavin McKenna hasn't played an NHL game yet, and Toronto Maple Leafs fans are already lining him up next to two established stars.
Leafslatest posted the hot take on X this week, asking followers for their boldest Leafs prediction for next season.
Their answer: McKenna, William Nylander, and John Tavares forming a line together and coming out of the gate hot.
McKenna arrives in Toronto as the first overall pick in this year's draft, a status that comes with real hype attached.
Pairing a teenage rookie with two proven scorers is exactly the sort of bold call that gets a Leafs Twitter feed buzzing.
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Why McKenna could actually earn that spot faster than expected
Nylander is coming off a 79-point season, 30 goals and 49 assists in just 65 games, on an $11,500,000 cap hit.
Tavares, at 35, still posted 71 points last season, scoring 31 goals and adding 40 assists across a full 82-game slate.
Auston Matthews still centers Toronto's true top line, which means McKenna would have to win a wing spot just to slot in next to that pair at all.
Or does he? If McKenna, Nylander, and Tavares actually click, Matthews sliding to the second line becomes a real scenario, not a joke.
Nobody would have seriously floated that a year ago. But a top six that deep would be an entirely different problem for opposing coaches to solve.
Toronto's coaching staff isn't obligated to hand a rookie top-six minutes just because the fan base wants the highlight reel.
But head coach Jim Hiller inherited a group that finished 32-36-14 last season, a team that clearly needs more juice up front.
If McKenna shows in camp that he can handle that pace, sliding him next to Nylander and Tavares isn't actually a stretch.
Is it more likely he starts lower in the lineup while he adjusts? Probably. Rookies almost always need time before getting thrown into a fire that hot.
Still, the idea itself isn't crazy. It's the kind of pairing that could either look brilliant by Halloween or get quietly broken up by Thanksgiving.
Either way, Leafs fans clearly aren't interested in easing their newest prospect in slowly, and that pressure starts the moment camp opens.
Should the Leafs put Gavin McKenna on a line with Nylander and Tavares right away?
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