TORONTO — There’s been a natural inflection point in Bobby McMann’s game since he notched a hat-trick against the St. Louis Blues on February 13, 2024 and since then, he hasn’t looked back. The NHL isn’t a developmental league and the incremental strides McMann has made only matters in a vacuum, but since his pre-Valentine’s Day breakout game, he’s become one of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ best 12 forwards and is rapidly ascending through the depth chart. At least he ought to be, and McMann’s place is in the lineup is no longer up for debate. He should be a fixture going forward, if the Maple Leafs are to run their optimal lineup throughout the season and beyond.
McMann scored two goals for the Maple Leafs in a 5-2 victory Wednesday over the Los Angeles Kings, and was an all-around menace, driving a line featuring Max Domi — who leads the Maple Leafs with five assists through October — and William Nylander, Toronto’s all-world winger and the star of Amazon’s FACEOFF: Inside the NHL. There can be a tendency at times to reduce a player to the sum of their skills, but McMann’s elite speed has been apparent from the outset. He’s now putting it all together and his offensive contributions are now a necessary part of Toronto’s equation. McMann-Domi-Nylander started the game and forced two icing calls during the opening minute of the game, in large part due to the tenacity displayed by Toronto’s rising winger.
“Any time you have success, it helps the confidence but I always have to trust the abilities and trust that they’re there, whether things are going in or getting points, just try to play my game and trust that doing the little things right will pay off,” McMann said post-game.
October 10, 2023: Bobby McMann was placed on waivers
October 16, 2024: Bobby McMann scores two goals in the first period against the Kings
— Michael (@mic_mazz) October 17, 2024
Last season, McMann finished tied for 11th league-wide in rush attempts at 5-on-5, an outcome derived from his ability to take off in transition and put the defence on their heels. McMann has clearly overcome a lower-body injury that kept him out of the 2024 playoffs and he’s a player born anew as a 28-year-old NHL mainstay. Squaring off a Kings team that was sorely missing Drew Doughty, McMann looked two steps above the competition and his speed, playmaking and renewed opportunism made him the clear-cut first star of Wednesday’s game. McMann read the play well on the game’s opening goal, as Jake McCabe found Max Domi on a cutting lateral feed, Domi’s centring pass hit Vladislav Gavrikov in the skates and he was hanging out in the right position to bury it.
BOBBBBBBBOOOOOOO 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/etimwSA0iI
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) October 16, 2024
McMann’s second goal exemplified the high-end skill set he’s displayed since February, reinforcing his value to the team. Nylander, who fought off an illness earlier in the week, found a blazing McMann through the middle, and he skated past the Kings for a breakaway, before dangling a helpless David Rittich for a 3-0 lead. We don’t mean to be cruel but McMann was no match for a seemingly exhausted Gavrikov.
THAT MANN IS DOUBLE DIPPIN’
(in style😎) pic.twitter.com/sABmB5daDN
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) October 17, 2024
McMann excelled during the preseason with 13 shots, but didn’t register a point in four preseason games. Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube evidently wasn’t impressed with the lack of production, despite McMann acing the eye test, at least in this corner.
And while Berube has been transparent about his lineup decisions and the style of play he wants to implement, Berube’s evaluation of McMann, and what we saw throughout September, was certainly at odds with each other. McMann was benched for the season opener against the Montreal Canadiens, while Ryan Reaves factored in. It’s not a zero-sum evaluation of Reaves, but there’s no way McMann should have been sitting out to begin the year and skyrocketing out of the gate ought to punctuate this point for Berube and the Maple Leafs.
“He just looks hungry out there and making plays, making good on his opportunities,” Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews said of McMann post-game. “He’s an easy guy to play with, he works extremely hard on both ends of the puck and it’s good to see him rewarded.”
perhaps for the final time: Bobby McMann has to be a permanent member of the lineup.
— Arun Srinivasan (@Arunthings) October 17, 2024
And if you’re the superstitious type, the following stat also bodes well for McMann’s permanent inclusion in the lineup.
Maple Leafs are 11-0-1 when Bobby McMann scores a goal
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) October 16, 2024
McMann made the game look fun too. He dropped Kings defenceman Mikey Anderson with a punishing hit, briefly drawing a “BOBBY!” chant from the upper level and won puck battles throughout the evening. On his first shift of the second period, he hunted down on a loose puck and the Kings had no answer for him. It was a great showing for a player who was considered an ancillary part of the lineup at the start of the calendar year, who has now morphed into an immovable piece of the Maple Leafs’ puzzle.
“He’s got speed,” Berube said of McMann post-game. “He finished tonight, which was good to see. He’s a power forward, that’s how he should think the game. Night in, night out he’s a power forward with his skating and his size. He doesn’t have to complicate the game when he’s going in straight lines, bang bodies, and get to the net and score goals around the net.”
McMann dropped Anderson pic.twitter.com/gIbTyGqqo5
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) October 17, 2024
Dating back to last season, Bobby McMann has 15 goals in his past 33 games.
— Matt Larkin (@MLarkinHockey) October 16, 2024
Bobbo & Steve-o pic.twitter.com/vWnaMXBvL9
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) October 17, 2024
The opening week of the season is ripe for preemptive takes, overreaction and small sample theatre. Bobby McMann has been on a mission to make himself irreplaceable to the Maple Leafs. The debate is now over. McMann has to be a permanent part of the lineup for the duration of the season.
