Editor In Leaf
Fansided

Is the Marner Contract Good or Bad for the Toronto Maple Leafs?

By Wilbert Timmermans

TORONTO, ON - APRIL 17: Mitchell Marner #16 of the Toronto Maple Leafs during opening ceremonies before a game against the Boston Bruins during the first period during Game Four of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Scotiabank Arena on April 17, 2019 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Kevin Sousa/NHLI via Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - APRIL 17: Mitchell Marner #16 of the Toronto Maple Leafs during opening ceremonies before a game against the Boston Bruins during the first period during Game Four of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Scotiabank Arena on April 17, 2019 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Kevin Sousa/NHLI via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 6
Next
TORONTO, ON - APRIL 21: Mitchell Marner #16 of the Toronto Maple Leafs during warm up before a game against the Boston Bruins during Game Six of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Scotiabank Arena on April 21, 2019 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Kevin Sousa/NHLI via Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - APRIL 21: Mitchell Marner #16 of the Toronto Maple Leafs during warm up before a game against the Boston Bruins during Game Six of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Scotiabank Arena on April 21, 2019 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Kevin Sousa/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Peri Gallacher

The day deemed unlucky granted every unsuspecting Leafs fan’s wish with the final member of ‘The Big Three’ being locked in. Friday the 13th brought Me the biggest sigh of relief since The William Nylander Debacle.

At 6’ and 175lbs, Marner compensates size with his skills; with outstanding speed, puck handling, and an eye for the net. Marner is an on-ice playmaker who is eager to assist teammates; he was arguably an MVP in the past playoff runs- he’s quickly become a major role in the teams’ young core.

He’s an instant point maker and helps players on his line play better- he had 68 assists in the 2018-2019 season alone, with a career total of 157 assists- he makes plays to better the whole team.

It can be hard to see his skill and heart in contract talks when the whole media circus is yelling about how little or how much he is worth and consistently undervaluing a player who is for the team and always has been. A near duplicate situation of the Nylander trade talks but somehow more hostile.

Marner, who is nine out of ten times an easy fan favorite, became a villain in the conversations surrounding the contract, all for asking for money he deserved from a team he’s played his guts out for the three seasons he’s been playing for the team.

It’s been obvious since the start that Marner really had no interest in parting ways with his original draft organization. The right-winger landed one of the 7th highest contracts in the league at 65.358 million over 6 years and an AAV of 10.893 million dollars, also listing as the third highest-paid on the team, behind John Tavares [11 million] and Auston Matthews [11.634 AAV] – all equally paid for their talents and value to the team.

Kyle Dubas’ We Can and We Will attitude paid off; he managed to lock down three of the most talk worthy RFA’s in recent NHL history as well as curate a team that is full of players who want to be there and want to win— potentially the most cup contending group of players in over a decade.

Ultimately, all athletes are overpaid, but in the instance of the Toronto Maple Leafs, I firmly believe that Mitch Marner deserves every single penny he got in this deal. A generally unpopular opinion, but in terms relative to the Leafs and cap space aside, he’s a valuable member to the team and is fully worth the money.

Home/Editorials