Jim Hiller makes a surprising call on Gavin McKenna before tonight's split-squad game

Auston Matthews dresses tonight against Ottawa, and the Maple Leafs have first overall pick Gavin McKenna on the same game sheet.

Toronto posted its split-squad roster this morning for the Senators at Scotiabank Arena. William Nylander is on it too.

So much for easing anyone in. The two biggest contracts on the team and the first name called at the 2026 draft share a bench on a Wednesday in September.

Matthews carries a $13,250,000 cap hit, seventh-highest in the league. Nobody in Toronto is paid more to be on the ice when it matters.

Nylander sits at $11,500,000. Put them together and that's a serious chunk of the forward budget playing a game that won't touch the standings.

The kid from Whitehorse, Yukon, is listed at 5-foot-11 and 167 pounds. He wears No. 92 and doesn't turn 19 until December 20.

He spent last season at Penn State. Toronto then made him the first pick of the 2026 draft, and now he gets a real look under the lights.

Jim Hiller faces an early McKenna decision in Toronto

Jim Hiller took over behind the bench on June 17. He's still looking for his first preseason win as Toronto's head coach.

The Leafs are 0-1-1, and Saturday night's 4-3 overtime loss in Montreal made it two straight games without a win.

Ottawa doesn't walk in hot either. The Senators dropped a 3-2 overtime decision in Montreal on Monday.

And the Canadiens? They're 3-0-0 and have already beaten both of tonight's teams. That should sting a little in both dressing rooms.

Here's the part that matters. Dressing McKenna with the big guns is the right call, and anything less would be a wasted night.

Toronto needs to know now whether his game holds up at NHL pace. Finding out in October, with points on the line, is a luxury this team doesn't have.

Think of it like an apprentice cook getting his first shift during the Saturday dinner rush. You learn fast who belongs in the kitchen.

The pressure on the wing is real. Mitch Marner's $12,000,000 hit now sits on the Vegas books, and somebody in this lineup has to fill the space he left.

Is it an 18-year-old from Whitehorse?

Tonight's group also carries eight players acquired in 2026, through trades, signings and the draft. Opening night won't have room for all of them.

Montreal is first up on the regular-season schedule, September 29 at Scotiabank Arena. Ottawa comes back to town on October 3.

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So tonight won't count. What Hiller sees from McKenna against the Senators might still decide who's in the room when it does.

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