With his goal and 2 assists in last night’s win over the Seattle Kraken, Mitch Marner became the latest player to hit 400 points for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Among active members of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Marner’s 401 points in 392 games is only bettered by line-mate Auston Matthews, who has 408 in 377 games. Historically, only Matthews and Syl Apps in 387 games got to 400 points faster.
Even more remarkable is the fact that all-time, only 9 players (with 100 games or more), Matthews included, are above him in terms of his points-per-game for the Maple Leafs. However, far from his statistics merely being inflated from lining up alongside Matthews, he also proved himself as playmaker with John Tavares a few seasons back. That season resulted in a career-best goal total for the Leafs captain.
Marner has proven to be the cog that gets the wheels turning, rather than simply being dragged along for the ride. What’s more, in recent seasons, he’s proven his ability reaches far beyond just assisting scorers. In addition to this though, he’s also shown great development in terms of shooting the puck. If he continues scoring goals at his current pace, he’ll easily top his best NHL season in that regard.
Is Mitch Marner a Toronto Maple Leafs Legend in the Making?
By the time this season is over, there’s every chance that Mitch Marner will be sitting right below one of his heroes on the all-time Leafs points leaderboard. Expect to see him slotting right between Doug Gilmour and Wendel Clark, though Matthews may also be part of the sandwich, assuming he maintains his pace.
When you’re being talked about in the company of Toronto Maple Leafs greats like Wendel Clark and Doug Gilmour in just your 6th full NHL season, it’s safe to say that you’ve made a bit of an impression.
That was plain to see very early on with Gilmour offering him the number 93 jersey, when he made it to the big league. Of course, with the Leafs adopting number retirements in recent times, this never came to fruition but it’s clear Gilmour saw something there.
Is his contract really worth it though?
Despite this, Toronto Maple Leafs fans still float the idea of trading Marner routinely. It’s reasonable given his contract sees him earning a very steep price for a winger, but equally he routinely shows his value, albeit right now, only across the regular season.
Comparing the price the Toronto Maple Leafs are paying per point to other larger contracts around the league, the fact remains that Mitch Marner, while certainly not cheap, is still cheaper than others.
He’s costing roughly $273,000 per point thus far this season, per CapFriendly. The closest comparison in age and cost per point is probably Patrik Laine, who is costing Columbus $278,000 per point.
Beyond that comparison, you’ve got the likes of Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn and Nikita Kucherov all costing their sides significantly more. Their cost per point are $410,000, $432,000 and $528,000 respectively. When you approach it from this angle, the Mitch Marner deal is offering at least some value for money.
Arguments can be made that he’s overpaid in terms of what he brings to the team. However, the fact is he’s picking up points on both the penalty kill and powerplay, as well as on the top line. He’s certainly earning his salary in terms of ice-time.
While people may like to propose trading his deal away, his homegrown status and lifelong love of the team makes it really hard to ever see Mitch Marner playing in any jersey other than a Toronto Maple Leafs one. That is a lucky situation the team finds itself in, all things considered.