It looks like Gavin McKenna’s decision to wear the No. 92 jersey has nothing to do with former Toronto Maple Leafs veteran Jeff O’Neill after all.
O’Neill currently works as a host on TSN Radio analyzing the Maple Leafs. The 50-year-old also happens to be a former player of the Maple Leafs, spending his last two seasons in a Toronto jersey during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons. O’Neill happened to wear the No. 92 jersey during his time in Toronto.
McKenna will wear the No. 92 jersey entering his rookie season after sporting No. 72 during his hockey career. However, veteran goalie Sergei Bobrovsky will instead wear that number.
O’Neill had previously claimed — likely in a joking manner — on X that McKenna FaceTimed him, asking for permission to wear the No. 92 jersey. The former longtime NHL veteran recently said that did not actually happen.
“I can’t even believe you put me on the spot like this,” O’Neill said during a recent appearance on TSN’s Overdrive. “I have to confess something. It’s so obvious, but I let it go too far, and I couldn’t go back on it. I feel awful because I had so many people I love and respect bringing it up. I was just trying to have some fun on social media, and it got to a place where I was like, ‘I just have to leave this there because I can’t delete it or go back on it now.’”
Jeff O’Neill Said Paul Bissonnette Congratulated Him on Gavin McKenna Claim
The former Maple Leafs right winger said that even fellow hockey analyst and former NHL veteran Paul Bissonnette congratulated O’Neill on a call about the jersey number situation that never actually happened.
“I was just trying to have some fun on social media, and it got to a place where I was like, ‘I just have to leave this there because I can’t delete it or go back on it now,’” said O’Neill.
Gavin McKenna Works out With Macklin Celebrini Over Summer
Now that the jersey situation is cleared up, it’s clear that the top overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft will have high expectations as he enters his first season in Toronto. McKenna is expected to be the next great offensive player in the NHL, having proven himself in the WHL with the Medicine Hat Tigers and in college during his lone season at Penn State.
McKenna produced 129 points and 88 assists during the 2024-25 season with Medicine Hat, setting a league record with a point in 54 consecutive games while winning the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy as the WHL’s Most Valuable Player. He also produced 51 points in just 35 games at Penn State.
The 18-year-old recently spent the summer working out with San Jose Sharks star Macklin Celebrini, the 20-year-old phenom who just became the highest-paid player in the NHL with his $18.8 million per year deal. Celebrini is coming off of a breakthrough 115-point season, ranking fourth in the league.
“He’s a pretty intense guy when it comes to his off-ice and on-ice stuff,” McKenna said of Celebrini, per NHL.com’s Tracey Myers. “To be in that environment and get into a routine, it felt good. I had a lot of fun, and I felt like I got better.”
If McKenna can come anywhere close to Celebrini’s production, the Maple Leafs will welcome that considering they already have a stacked offensive core featuring the likes of Auston Matthews, William Nylander and John Tavares.
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