Gavin McKenna just made the Toronto Maple Leafs' power-play debate a lot louder, and John Tavares isn't around to argue back.
Heading into Tuesday night in Utah, Tavares is listed day-to-day for personal reasons. He isn't expected back until at least October 13, which happens to be puck drop night.
The Leafs left Denver with a 6-3 win Saturday night, their only meeting with Colorado so far. The 18-year-old's work on the top power-play unit is what stuck.
By Sunday night, Daily Faceoff Toronto was floating a Wally Pipp situation between the rookie and the 36-year-old veteran.
For the younger crowd, Pipp was the Yankees first baseman who sat out one day and never got his job back from Lou Gehrig.
Too early for that kind of talk? Maybe. But the gap between them is narrower than one résumé suggests.
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McKenna has 1 goal and 3 assists through 6 games. One of those helpers came on the power play.
Jim Hiller now owns the toughest power-play call in Toronto
Tavares has managed 3 points in 5 games. The uglier number is a -4 rating, the worst among Leafs forwards.
Then there's the money. The veteran carries a $4,389,280 cap hit, while the teenager counts $1,075,000 against the cap.
Production on the man advantage has leaned on familiar names so far. William Nylander already has 2 power-play goals.
Easton Cowan has one too, and the 21-year-old also owns 2 game-winning goals. The young core isn't waiting politely for anyone in that locker room.
Here's the call. Even if Tavares is good to go Tuesday, McKenna stays on PP1.
Pulling a rookie off the top unit to hand the spot back out of habit is how October momentum quietly dies. Bad idea, plain and simple.
It's like letting your kid borrow the car for a weekend. When you get the keys back, the seat's moved and every radio preset is different.
Jim Hiller, in his first season behind the Toronto bench, gets to decide whether he readjusts the mirrors.
Utah won't make any of it easy. The Mammoth are 4-2-0 and sit first in the Central with a +7 goal differential.
The Leafs are 3-2-1, fourth in the Atlantic, and their only road win came Saturday. They can't afford to run the power play like a seniority list.
Tavares' status for Tuesday is still up in the air. So is the real question: once McKenna has that seat, who in that room asks for it back?
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Should Gavin McKenna keep his Leafs PP1 spot even when John Tavares returns?
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