The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed their No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, Gavin McKenna, to a three-year entry-level deal.
The transaction comes a week after Toronto made the 18-year-old winger the first pick at the draft in Buffalo.
McKenna’s contract is for the highest compensation allowed under the current collective bargaining agreement
According to TSN, each season can have $1 million in Schedule A bonuses and $2.5 million in Schedule B bonuses.
IT’S OFFICIAL 🍁
2026 first overall pick Gavin McKenna has signed his entry-level contract with the @MapleLeafs! pic.twitter.com/jMwkC0Qq9C
— NHL (@NHL) July 3, 2026
With $1.025 million coming in year one, $1.075 million in year two and $1.125 million in year three.
A native of Whitehorse, Yukon, McKenna joins Toronto after a stellar freshman campaign at Penn State.
He he tallied 15 goals and 36 assists for 51 points in 35 games, breaking program freshman records for assists and points.
He was voted Big Ten Freshman of the Year and was a top 10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Award.
McKenna spent parts of three seasons with the Medicine Hat Tigers of the WHL before playing one season of college.
He totalled 244 points in 133 games and earned CHL Player of the Year honors in 2024-25 after leading the league with 129 points in 56 games.
He also helped Medicine Hat win a WHL championship.
He played internationally for Canada, capturing gold at the 2024 IIHF U18 World Championship and Hlinka Gretzky Cup and bronze at the 2026 World Juniors.
McKenna has already been on the ice for Toronto at development camp this week in No. 72
He is anticipated to change numbers before training camp as freshly signed goalie Sergei Bobrovsky already wears that number.
All signs lead to McKenna making Toronto’s opening night roster in October.
Now that the agreement is official, this gives the Maple Leafs a possible building brick for years to come.
