The real and very strange reason Gavin McKenna was benched finally revealed!

Gavin McKenna is one of the most exciting young players on the Toronto Maple Leafs roster, and fans tune in expecting to watch him play. But after a game on Thursday night, the biggest talking point had to do with what McKenna didn’t get to do to the ice… He ended up playing a career-low 6:36 in Toronto’s 5-4 OT loss to the Buffalo Sabres.

Head coach Jim Hiller admitted postgame that it was entirely his decision to keep McKenna on the bench for an extended stretch of the game, and his explanation was remarkably candid. In his postgame presser, Hiller said the situation snowballed from a series of penalties in the second period. McKenna sat through the penalty kills, and then Hiller simply never got him back out there.

"That was my decision," Hiller said. "I think we had those penalties. I wanted to get him out there. He sat through the penalties, and then I didn't get him out there."

Hiller explained that by the time the second period was winding down, the team was focused on just getting through the frame. Then the intermission came, and McKenna had been sitting for so long that Hiller felt conflicted about sending him back out cold in the third period.

"I probably should have got him out there early in the third. I didn't," Hiller admitted.

The coach was unequivocal in shouldering the blame. "That's on me," he said.

When asked whether he was concerned about how the young forward might interpret the extended benching, Hiller expressed confidence in McKenna's maturity. He noted that McKenna has a reputation for letting things roll off his back and not taking situations too personally.

Still, Hiller acknowledged he had not yet spoken with McKenna about the decision at the time of his media availability. "I'll talk to him for sure," he said.

The reaction online was swift and harsh. Fans were incredulous that a coach could essentially lose track of one of the team's most talented players for an entire period and then some. Several called for Hiller's dismissal, with one fan writing that paying customers don't show up to watch coaching mistakes.

We will see how Hiller manages McKenna's ice time in the next game, and whether the young star's usage becomes a larger storyline as the season moves forward.