Jeff Marek thinks Jim Hiller is protecting Gavin McKenna by taking the blame for his benching, and that there's more to the story.
“I think we're missing a piece of the puzzle here,” Marek said on Daily Faceoff Live. “I don't buy the goofy janitor ‘Ohh I just sort of lost track.'”
Marek believes it was “a coach sending a message to a young player,” then taking the heat publicly so the rookie “doesn't get hounded by it.”
He added that Hiller is “very sensitive” and doesn't want to start a fire around McKenna right now.
The numbers back up how strange Thursday looked. McKenna logged a season-low 6:36 and never saw the ice after the midway point of the second period.
Hiller said publicly, “That's on me,” explaining the rookie had sat so long that he decided against putting him back out.
Auston Matthews is already looking ahead. “I know a game like tonight's gonna just make him hungry for the next one to go out there and compete and dominate,” the captain said.
Auston Matthews expects a hungry Gavin McKenna against the Islanders
Matthews added that everybody has been in that situation and the room has the rookie's back. “I'm excited to watch that.”
That's the Toronto factor. An 18-year-old first overall pick in this market lives under a microscope, and a coach publicly calling him out would turn one quiet night into a week-long storm.
The opportunity could come fast. John Tavares is day-to-day with an undisclosed issue, which could open the top power-play spot again.
If Marek is right, Hiller handled it well. Protecting a teenager in this market is smart coaching, as long as the private message is just as clear as the public cover.
It's like a parent scolding a kid in the car, then telling the neighbours everything's fine.
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The Leafs are 3-3-2 after Thursday's overtime loss to Buffalo, despite a Kirill Marchenko hat trick. The Islanders visit Saturday.
Matthews set the expectation publicly. Saturday will show whether the message, whatever it really was, got through.
Is Jim Hiller hiding the real reason he benched Gavin McKenna?
Also read on Markerzone.com:
Auston Matthews sends a message to Jim Hiller after Gavin McKenna's benching.
