Gavin McKenna explains his reasoning behind his decision to wear No. 92 next season for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Gavin McKenna has made a decision on what number he'll wear next season for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
His preferred No. 72 will be worn by free agency acquisition Sergei Bobrovsky, and even his backup Nos. 27 and 9 are both in the rafters and retired by Maple Leafs legends.
Therefore, he had to come up with a new number, and he said he decided on No. 92. But why 92?
"I said that nine and 27 are up in the rafters, wanted to have a little bit of both in there," McKenna said after the third and final day of the Maple Leafs' development camp.
"So, 92... nine replacing the seven."
Assuming he makes the Maple Leafs' roster next season, McKenna will be just the fourth player to wear No. 92 in the franchise's history.
The last player to don those digits was Alexander Nylander, who played five games for the Maple Leafs in 2024-25.
Before him was Igor Ozhiganov, a defenseman who played 53 games with Toronto in 2018-19. He never featured in the NHL since then.
The first player to wear No. 92 was Jeff O'Neill, who played 148 games for the Maple Leafs in 2005-06 and 2006-07, which were the final two seasons of his NHL career.
McKenna could still go back to wearing his preferred No. 72 when the 37-year-old Bobrovsky retires. But for now, the 18-year-old will have 92 underneath his name on his first NHL jersey.
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