Toronto Maple Leafs: Mitch Marner’s Obsession Hurting His Play

If the Toronto Maple Leafs are to find success, Mitch Marner needs to be himself.

As the Toronto Maple Leafs regroup and reload in the wake of their postseason bid coming to an early close, a lot of fan ire has been directed towards Mitch Marner. The playmaking winger, who has admitted to not being engaged during the early part of the Playoff Qualifying Round, has a lot to live up to now that he is contracted to make an average of $10.89 million dollars for the next five seasons.

Looking back on the season that was, Marner is in the process of making a huge mistake, one that could endanger his future as a Maple Leaf. In 59 games this season, Marner recorded 16 goals, 51 assists. By no means is that a bad season, especially considering he missed 11 games due to an ankle injury, but fan perspectives are skewed because of the 94 points he scored in the season previous.

Fans, media, and Marner himself have come to expect more from “The Magician,” and Mitch has a plan to deliver on those expectations. How? By scoring more goals? Wait, am I reading this right?

I’m resisting the urge to make a “selfish” joke and pushing onward. This was seemingly Mitch Marner’s takeaway from the 2019-20 season, and the Toronto Maple Leafs’ failed bid to make the playoffs. That on a team with John Tavares, William Nylander and Auston Matthews, he needs to put the puck in the net more.

From that same season-exit interview:

"“I’ve gotta try and get more pucks on net- score more goals. I don’t think zero goals is going to do the job done, that’s what I’m most frustrated with.”"

There no other way to say it, Marner has become obsessed with scoring goals. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that for any hockey player, but you’re Mitch  Marner, one of the best playmaking wingers in the NHL, playing on a team that already has three 30-goal players. What those guys need, what the Leafs need is a puck wizard who can make the magic leading up to a goal happen.

This is all speculation, but maybe this obsession stems from just a little bit of Matthews envy, out of some perceived slight that the superstar sniper gets more attention than him because of his scoring acumen, or maybe it’s something a little deeper than that.

Per Elliotte Friedman on 31 Thoughts: The Podcast (August 13th episode):

"“There is so much noise around Mitch Marner that I think sometimes people hear it and they think that means the organization doesn’t like him……One thing I’ve learned is that what is out there is not always the reality. There is a certain amount of paranoia that comes from some people close to Marner. It’s not from him, but it is around him. There is a belief that “Oh, he is not respected or the team doesn’t like him, or they’re going to get rid of him.” I’ve learned over the years that that’s not necessarily the reality.Sometimes, there is a belief the Leafs feel a certain way about him, and it’s just not true.”"

Oh hi, Paul Marner, good to see that you’ve learned absolutely nothing from all that meddling you did last summer that put your son’s reputation in the sewer.

Look, I get it, parents are protective of their kids, it’s part of the job, but Paul Marner has done absolutely nothing but be a toxic pain in the Toronto Maple Leafs collective behinds for a few years now. Between the rumors that he was one of the driving forces behind Mitch exploring the possibility of an offer sheet, reported demands that Marner had to be named one of the alternate captains, and even going to the media to complain that the contract offers being received were not high enough, Paul Marner has left the impression that he’s the stereotypical “Far-Too-Invested Hockey Dad” to the letter.

There’s another NHL player whose parents interfered with his career (albeit to a much worse degree), and this player has never truly recovered from that incident. His name is Jack Johnson.

In conclusion, Mitch Marner just needs to be himself. He’s the straw that stirs the drink for the Leafs, his playmaking ability and elite vision are unrivaled on this team. This team doesn’t need another goal-scorer, they need the player that Marner has been since he arrived in the league.

There’s nothing wrong with being a 15-20 goal guy and scoring 70+ assists from now until the inevitable heat-death of the universe. Embrace it… and stop taking those low-danger shots on the power play and the back-passes to nobody.