Toronto Maple Leafs first overall draft pick Gavin McKenna will wear number 92 this season instead of the number 72 he wore throughout his junior and college career. The switch became necessary after the Leafs signed goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky on July 1, and Bobrovsky has worn 72 for most of his professional career.
McKenna had been skating in 72 at the team's development camp this week, according to Fox News. Fans had already ordered jerseys with his name and that number on the back before the situation changed.
The conflict put the organization in a position of deciding between its newly drafted franchise cornerstone and a veteran goaltender who is a two-time Stanley Cup champion and two-time Vezina Trophy winner. McKenna ended up being the one to change.
The number swap was not as simple as flipping digits or doing basic arithmetic. Adding 7 and 2 gives 9, but number 9 is retired by the Leafs in honor of Charlie Conacher and Ted Kennedy. Flipping the digits to 27 was also off the table, as that number is retired in honor of Frank Mahovlich and Darryl Sittler. The Leafs have retired a significant number of jerseys over their long history, which limited McKenna's options.
Number 92 cleared those hurdles. Before settling on it, McKenna reached out to one of the three previous Leafs players to wear the number, Jeff O'Neill, to ask if he was comfortable with McKenna using it. O'Neill gave his approval.
McKenna comes to Toronto after playing for the Western Hockey League's Medicine Hat Tigers and then Penn State this past season. He is expected to be a central part of the organization's rebuild after a difficult 2025-26 season that saw the Leafs finish last in the Atlantic Division.
The development camp this week gave McKenna his first extended time on the ice with the organization. The jersey number question is now settled heading into training camp and the 2026-27 season.
