A lot of fans labelled Mitch Marner as the scapegoat for the Toronto Maple Leafs’ problems after he was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights last summer. So far, it doesn’t appear to be Marner’s fault as the Leafs are near the bottom of the Eastern Conference. The “Core Four” era was a failure, and even though the Leafs are just three points back of the Detroit Red Wings for third in the Atlantic, Leafs Nation has been quick to push the panic button.
There was once a time when Mitch Marner was one of the most beloved players on the Leafs roster. He was supposed to be a big part of something great… breaking the Maple Leafs’ Stanley Cup curse and bringing a championship back to Toronto. However, here we are 10 years later, and Marner signed an eight-year contract worth $96M with the Vegas Golden Knights.
Some people think Leafs fans wrongfully chased Marner out of town, while others had a “good riddance” mentality after his departure. Either way, it was an unfortunate way to end an era for the Leafs.
How’s he doing?
Meanwhile, in Vegas, Marner has 25 points in 25 games, and the Golden Knights are in a playoff spot while being in third place in the Pacific Division. In an article on August 26th, I said Marner could be even better in Vegas and that he would be better if he turned himself into a goal scorer without Auston Matthews. Marner has only had 45 shots in 25 games this season, which puts him at an 11.1 shooting percentage on the season.
Also, I initially thought he’d be playing alongside Jack Eichel, who is an unbelievable player in his own right. Marner has moved onto a line with Brett Howden and Mark Stone. If he were playing with Eichel, his five-goal total could be much higher.
During the 4 Nations, Jack Eichel was, in my opinion, the USA’s best player, and I think he’s one of the best players in the entire league. And if he and Marner consistently played together, it’d be an absolute treat; they’d become one of the best duos in the NHL.
What about us?
Now, the Leafs struggles boil down to a variety of things. For example, why do they play a “dump and chase” philosophy when they’re one of the slowest teams in the NHL? In Matthews and William Nylander, the Leafs have two of the most skilled players in the league. Why are they not carrying the puck?
Overdrive on TSN referred to the Leafs’ current situation without Marner as a “revolving door on the right side.” Marner was in the top five in points in the league in the 2024–25 season. Even though he isn’t on a wild pace this year so far, I think if he plays on a line with Eichel, he can do even more damage than he ever did with Matthews.
Joffrey Lupul said on the Missin’ Curfew podcast, “the best part about playing in Toronto is the fans, but the worst part about playing in Toronto is the fans.” Like, what if you had access to a time machine and you managed to track down a young Mitch Marner? And you tell him that he’ll play for his favourite team, but towards the end, the fans will hate him so much that he decides to leave.
The Unknown
One of the major criticisms Marner received during his time with the Leafs was his performance in the playoffs. It’s unknown for the Vegas version of Marner, but personally, I think he’ll be better in the playoffs, surrounded by guys who have actually won before.
Marner is at a point-per-game pace so far, so nothing absurd, but still would be nice to have for the Leafs. Is he worth the $12M per year the Knights are paying him? So far, no! But he could easily start producing more and become the Marner Leafs fans used to love and now hate. Only time will tell whether Marner was really the problem or whether the Leafs were holding him back.
Easily Marner was a serious problem when in Toronto. Let’s look at the present situation, Marner is merely a point per game player with Vegas = 80 to 82 points on the season for 12 million, no thanks. Proof Leafs do not miss him the Leafs offense is ranked 2nd in the entire Eastern Conference and 5th overall in the entire league so they are not hurting for offense whereas Marner is. Guess Marner does need Matthews to put up all those points after all. The Leafs main problems have not had anything to do with missing Marner as their problems stem from bad defense and goaltending something he had zero to do with in Toronto. Now let’s review why fans wanted Marner gone – often led the team in: “GIVE AWAYS” with his terrible no look drop passes that usually went to the other team for odd man rushes. Considered himself a “GOD” to Toronto fans (his words), threw temper tantrums on the bench like a 5-year-old when things did not go his way, Did figure skating in warm ups, talk about insulting your own fans and how does that intimidate the other team when the Leafs are trying to put out a “tough” image ?? And of course, the most important reason to dump him was his no show in every playoff series past game 4, he disappears when it really matters in games 5,6,7. By the way he made up his mind to leave Toronto a full 2 years before he did. He refused one of the biggest contracts in team history that the Leafs offered him and as fans we all thank him for turning it down.