Leafs sign Gavin McKenna to entry-level contract
Just a day after the San Jose Sharks locked up the second-overall pick, the Toronto Maple Leafs have done the same with the first-overall pick.
On Friday, the Leafs signed forward Gavin McKenna to his three-year, entry-level contract.
Leafs have signed Gavin McKenna to his 3-year, entry-level contract
According to PuckPedia, the deal will carry an average annual value (AAV) of $1.075 million.
McKenna, 18, was taken by the Leafs with the first pick of the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.
The Whitehorse, Yukon native has arguably been the game’s most anticipated prospect ever since he was selected first overall by the Medicine Hat Tigers in the Western Hockey League (WHL) Prospects Draft at the age of 14.
Last season, McKenna played collegiately for Penn State, where he put up 15 goals and 36 assists for 51 points in 35 games, which tied him as the fifth-highest scorer in the NCAA. In his final season with Medicine Hat in 2024-25, he had 41 goals and 88 assists for a whopping 129 points in 56 games.
McKenna was widely seen as the best available prospect in the 2026 draft class. Daily Faceoff‘s prospect analyst Steven Ellis had McKenna as the draft’s top player in his final pre-draft prospect rankings. Ellis noted that McKenna “is the most exciting player in this draft class, bar none. He’s skilled, he thinks the game at a true difference-making level, and he plays with a lot of confidence. Give him a reliable two-way center to work with, and he’ll be a star.”
Internationally, McKenna represented Canada at the IIHF World Junior Championship in 2025 and 2026. In the 2025 tournament, he had just a goal in five games as Canada fell to Czechia in the quarterfinals. In 2026, however, he dominated with four goals and 10 assists for 14 points in seven games, with Canada ultimately taking bronze.
McKenna’s arrival has injected excitement back into a Leafs team that had a dismal 2025-26 season.