when it comes to ruining a rookies career.
Fixed lol
Ffs even Matthews started on the 3rd line.
Fucking leaf dreamers.
You probably forgot what actually happened during Matthews rookie season due to brain damage so I’ll remind you with the facts; Matthews was #1 in Leafs forwards ice time as a rookie at 17 (15 EV, 2PP) min per game.
With a line-up like the one I proposed, McKenna would play 18 min per game and be sheltered by playing beside Matthews whereas Matthews had absolutely nobody at his level when he was a rookie beside him. It would also include McKenna and the 1st line starting in the O-Zone and playing the PP while the 3rd and 4th lines taking care of the D-Zone and the PK. Distributing responsibilities takes stress off of the top-six players who mostly only play one-way hockey anyway.
If McKenna’s career is ruined, it will be because he’s small, physically weak, disengaged and defensively inept, not because he played on the 1st line beside Matthews as a rookie. The absolute worst place for McKenna to be is on a 3rd line, playing with muckers, trying to shutdown top lines. If that’s the path they want for McKenna, then return him to the NCAA and just let him develop there.
But we all know that the only hope the Leafs have of keeping Matthews is giving him a playmaker on his wing and that’s exactly why they prayed as they drafted McKenna. This is their desperate attempt to keep this core happy and together while Matthews will be desperate to rebuild his value as he walks himself towards UFA status and wants to maximize his next contract value.