John Tavares and Mitch Marner
The prized Unrestricted Free Agent signing by the Leafs this past off-season, Tavares has shown he can live up to the hype, to the surprise of no one.
Putting up a spectacular six goals and 11 points thus far through seven games while alongside Marner, the two have combined for 22 points and have looked like a dynamic duo. The fact that this is the Leafs second line is completely bizarre.
It was thought that with one of the Leafs elite centres taking the other team’s best line every game, that the other one would slice through secondary units, and this has proven to be the case. The opposing coaches have had no choice but to throw whatever they have at Matthews, leaving Tavares and Marner free to pretty much do what they want (or at least it seems like they can).
Before signing with the Leafs, Tavares was promised he would see time with Marner, which was beneficial to him while making his decision, as described by Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Marner has turned into one of the premier young stars in the game. With a breakout season a year ago in which he posted 22 goals and 69 points, Marner is continuing to show his superstar status.