The Toronto Maple Leafs are coming off a 2–1 overtime loss against their division rival, the Detroit Red Wings. A game where the Leafs once again made careless mistakes that cost them the game. The Leafs find themselves one point out of a playoff spot, and their next game is against a good Vegas Golden Knights team on Friday.
It is also Mitch Marner’s return to Toronto for the first time since the sign-and-trade to the Golden Knights. With how he was treated in Vegas last Thursday, there’s no doubt that it will be even more hostile in Toronto on Friday.
And the fans are within their right to express their opinions. Let’s take a look at why Marner deserves the boos he will receive on Friday.
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
Mitch Marner will perhaps be one of the most polarizing players in the Leafs’ franchise history. There’s no doubt that he will be remembered as one of the most skilled Leafs players to ever wear the Leafs’ crest, but his time in Toronto was not without challenges. After all, we all know the infamous “rank your teammates from hardest working to least working” list that then head coach Mike Babcock had a rookie Marner create and then shared in front of the whole team. There are also instances of fans dropping garbage on his front lawn, harassing him, his wife, and his newborn baby, and being downright bad human beings to Marner during his tenure.
Under no circumstances is what some Leafs fans did to Marner acceptable. But the keyword is “some”. The Leafs have the biggest fanbase in hockey. Of course, by proportion, we will hear of more fans taking things to the extreme than other teams. I think every fanbase that thinks this is representative of how most fans think of Marner is wildly off the mark.
I think the vast majority of Leafs fans will agree that Marner is a superstar in the NHL. The majority of Leafs fans will remember his regular-season performances. But he will always leave a hole in the hearts of Leafs fans when it comes to the playoffs.
Mitch Marner: A tale of two stories
On one hand, Marner has had some impressive regular seasons in Toronto, including a career year last year, where he scored 27 goals, 75 assists for 102 points. There’s a reason why Vegas decided to sign him for a eight year, $12M AAV contract. He is truly a magician with the puck and was instrumental in Matthews’ historical 69-goal year.
But it’s his playoff performance that has the ire of Leafs fans. Throughout his tenure with the Leafs, he has scored 13 goals, 50 assists for 63 points in 70 playoff games. On the surface, not bad, some would say. I would still argue that this is a significant drop off from his regular season production.
However, the devil’s in the details. He has played Games 5, 6, and 7 in the playoffs a total of 19 times. In these 19 games, he has scored zero goals and seven assists. Under what circumstances is this acceptable?
Not to mention all the playoff series between 2018 and 2022, where he took a delay of the game penalty for throwing the puck over the glass. Simply put, he could not handle the pressure of playoff hockey. When players would turn it up in the playoffs, he would turn it down.
This is what has fans upset with Marner. Not that he left the Leafs, but that he did not show up in critical moments when the Leafs and fans needed him to. Yes, there are other star players on the team, but that does not absolve Marner’s lack of production in the playoffs.
Instead, we would get the same tone-deaf post-game interviews about whatever playoff collapse, year after year. The same narratives of blaming the fans for being invested in the team (and paying his near $11M salary). The fans grew tired of it, and a change was needed for both Marner and the team.
The beginning of the end of an era
The window on the Matthews era is quickly closing. With the departure of Marner, the Leafs noticeably have less skill up front. It makes the William Nylander injury sting more when, in years past, we wouldn’t have noticed.
Besides Marner’s abysmal playoff performances, he will be booed for how the Matthews era has unfolded. In 2016, there was so much optimism in Toronto. Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander were budding superstars. It was only a matter of time before the Leafs won the Cup.
Ten years later, and the Leafs have won two playoff rounds. The Leafs haven’t made it further than Mats Sundin’s teams, and those teams had one-third of the skill this Leafs team had. Emphasis on had.
Imagine if the Leafs had one deep run to the Stanley Cup Finals. Or even to the Eastern Conference finals. How much more positive would the fanbase be? Let’s say in this hypothetical deep run, Marner was an absolute animal. Shades of Nathan MacKinnon for a couple of series. Marner’s reception would be so much more received in his return to Toronto.
Instead, his legacy in Toronto is one where he could not help the team win. A legacy where, on the surface, he opted for maximum dollar at every turn, instead of putting the team first. I am all for players maximizing their earnings, but it’s hard to think this way when you see players like Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid, and other superstars take less to make the team competitive. The fans have the right to boo him.
During the tribute on Friday, I will cheer for Marner. He dedicated nearly a decade of his prime with the Leafs, and there were some magical moments. But before and after the tribute, I will be cheering for the Leafs to win another “must-win” game in their hunt for a playoff spot, and will boo Marner every time he touches the puck.
Pretty much sums it up