Gavin McKenna hasn't played a single NHL game yet, and Toronto Maple Leafs fans are already bracing for what tickets to see him will cost.
Toronto released regular-season ticket prices this week, and the sticker shock spread fast across Leafs Twitter.
The cheapest standard seat averaged $215 CAD, and that number doesn't even include standing-room or obstructed-view spots.
Prices climbed even higher for the marquee nights. Tickets against Montreal and Edmonton peaked between $350 and $400 for the cheapest available seat.
Gino Hard broke down the numbers on X, and the replies were exactly as unhappy as you'd expect from a fan base paying to watch a 32-36-14 team.
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McKenna's arrival as this year's first overall pick only adds fuel here. Hype like that tends to push demand, and demand pushes prices right along with it.
Why the Montreal and Edmonton nights carry the steepest price tags
Those two games aren't random spikes. Original Six rivalries and marquee opponents almost always command the top pricing tier on any NHL schedule.
Toronto's roster already carries plenty of star power without McKenna, with Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and John Tavares all locked into massive cap hits.
Nylander posted 79 points last season, and Tavares still managed 71 at age 35, proof this roster already had reasons to sell tickets before the rookie ever arrived.
Is a rookie who hasn't taken an NHL shift yet really enough to justify pushing tickets higher? For a fan base this hungry, apparently yes.
Head coach Jim Hiller still has to turn a team that finished 32-36-14 into one worth these prices on a nightly basis, not just on the nights McKenna debuts.
Selling hope is easy in August. Selling $400 seats in December, if this team is still scuffling, is where this gets genuinely uncomfortable for Toronto.
Training camp hasn't even opened, and the price tag on watching this team already tells its own story about expectations for the season ahead.
Are Leafs ticket prices justified with Gavin McKenna joining the roster?
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