- Gavin McKenna will wear No. 92 as a rookie after handing No. 72 to Sergei Bobrovsky
- He built the number from 9 and 27, both retired by the Maple Leafs
- Read below for McKenna’s explanation and the short list of Leafs who wore 92 before him
Gavin McKenna finally has a number.
The Maple Leafs’ first overall pick told reporters Saturday he will wear No. 92 as a rookie, closing a question that had lingered since he handed No. 72 to new goalie Sergei Bobrovsky earlier in the week.
McKenna wore 72 through junior, his college season at Penn State, and Leafs development camp. He gave it up without a fight once Bobrovsky, a two-time Stanley Cup champion and two-time Vezina winner, asked for it.
That left the 18-year-old picking from scratch. His two backup choices, 9 and 27, were both off the table. Toronto retired 9 for Ted Kennedy and Charlie Conacher, and 27 for Darryl Sittler.
So he got creative.
Asked how he landed on 92, McKenna walked through the math:
“I said that 9 and 27 are up in the rafters and wanted to have a little bit of both in there. So 92, 9 replacing the 7.”
He is not the first to wear it in Toronto. Jeff O’Neill had 92 in his final NHL season back in 2006-07. Igor Ozhiganov wore it in 2019, and Alex Nylander pulled it on during a short stint in 2025.
McKenna spent this week at his first Leafs development camp, where he stole the show on and off the ice. Watch his session from camp:
The number is a small thing next to the expectations. McKenna went first overall in the 2026 draft and signed his entry-level deal Wednesday, and Toronto is banking on him to help drag the franchise out of a rough 2025-26.
Everything else about his first NHL season is still a projection. The digits on his back are not. They read 92.
