Toronto Maple Leafs

Maple Leafs Mitch Marner: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Although Mitch Marner is a great NHL player, he doesn’t get universal appreciation from Toronto Maple Leafs fans. How come?

by
Old Prof
August 27, 2022

On one hand, the Toronto Maple Leafs Mitch Marner is an All-Star winger. On the other hand, he plays great in the regular season but has a reputation among Maple Leafs’ fans for simply not showing up in the postseason.

So who’s right? In this post, I will explore the good and the bad (and the ugly) about Marner.

The Good with Mitch Marner

Marner is simply one of the best offensive players in the entire NHL. He was top 10 in scoring last season with 35 goals and 62 assists (for 97 points) in 72 games. And, note that it was 72 games. Had he been able to play 10 more games, he would have easily hit 100 points.

Over the past two seasons, Marner was named a back-to-back first-team All-Star right winger. He regularly leads all Maple Leafs’ forwards in ice time; he kills penalties; and, he’s good enough to pull votes for the Selke Trophy as the NHL’s best defensive player.

Marner has a great hockey IQ and sees the ice well. Playing with a goal-scoring Auston Matthews helps because his on-ice vision and passing skills greatly complement Matthews’ shooting skills.

In short, what makes Marner good is that he’s growing into a 200-foot player. He’s growing stronger defensively and, on offense, his ability to read plays is among the best. He’s skilled and steady – at least during the regular season.

The Bad with Mitch Marner

For as skilled and successful as Marner is during the regular season, he’s had trouble finding the same success during the postseason. And, that’s the most significant criticism he gets from Maple Leafs’ fans. Where does he disappear?

According to fans, Marner is too easily pushed around during the playoffs. With the pressure on, he tends to panic. His giveaway during the Montreal Canadiens series and shooting the puck over the glass during the Tampa Bay Lightning series are just a couple of examples.

Marner’s scoring during the postseason has waned. However, it isn’t as bad as fans claim. In 39 postseason games, Marner has scored 33 points, which given the tight-checking of the playoffs isn’t that bad. And during the last postseason, he was a point-a-game postseason player with eight points in seven games.

Mitch Marner, Maple Leafs
(Upper Deck 2020-21 Upper Deck Synergy – Purple Numbered Autograph Card)

However, it was the stretch in the playoffs in the three playoff series from 2018-19, 2019-20, and 2020-21 that many Maple Leafs’ fans recall. During those three postseasons, Marner scored a total of 12 points in 19 games. And in 2019-20 and 2020-21, he didn’t score a single goal.

Not good enough.

His reputation is that he seems to disappear offensively in big games. Fans see him as a playoff underperformer. At some point, they note, a good player must produce in the crunch or he’s not that great.

The Ugly with Mitch Marner

Marner’s ugly centers on what fans believe is a selfish side that resulted in he and his agent Darren Ferris playing hardball in his contract negotiations with the Maple Leafs’ organization. Before that, he was seen by many as the second coming of Dave Keon. Not so much anymore.

There’s a lot of clean-up yet to do in the continuing shadow of those negotiations. They might be the single cause for much of the over-the-top criticism he continually wears along with the “A” on his jersey.

The Bottom Line with Mitch Marner

All the things mentioned above are Mitch Marner. He’s a great regular-season player; but, he could show up stronger in the postseason. On one hand, he’s earned the respect of his peers in the NHL. However, he hasn’t yet earned the respect of all Maple Leafs’ fans.

All that said, if the Maple Leafs are going to win the Stanley Cup any time soon, it will be in part because Marner shows up to carry the team. This season, he’ll have another chance to do just that.