The volume of noise around Toronto Maple Leafs winger Mitch Marner is shockingly quiet give his current form.
While there have absolutely been analysts gushing over his recent performances for the Toronto Maple Leafs, it doesn’t quite match up to what he may be about to achieve.
We’re talking about a franchise with a one hundred-plus year history and Mitch Marner might very well be the sole claim to the Leafs’ longest point streak in very short order.
In tallying a seventeenth consecutive game with a point, he’s already moved into rarified air, with just Darryl Sittler (1977-78) and Eddie Olczyk (1989-90) making it to 18 games.
For a team whose critics complain constantly about 4th line players and seventh defenseman, you’d think their fans would comparatively loud when good things happen.
Toronto Maple Leafs Value What Mitch Marner Brings
All this coming from a player that the Toronto Maple Leafs work hard. He leads the team’s forwards in ice-time, while no player in the league above 20 minutes ice-time sees more of it shorthanded than him (per Natural Stat Trick).
The team knows they can rely on Mitch Marner in the defensive zone just as much as in the offensive zone and it’s this freedom that brings the best out of him.
Not only is he on a 17-game point streak, he has 28 points across his 24 games played so far and has only been held pointless on two occasions this season.
Marner is currently 11 points back of the scoring title. He is only 5 points back of the 5v5 scoring title.
Since 01/15/21:
— Editor in Leaf (@EditorinLeaf) November 30, 2022
Mitch Marner leads the NHL with 67 5v5 points in 70 games.
- 2nd in 5v5 goals behind A. Matthews.
In total, he has 105 points in his last 70 games, and is only 4 points behind McDavid.
With elite Defense + PK time.
Best. Player. Alive
There was plenty of negative press during October around him because of his propensity to try to be too smart with the puck, but now it’s arguable there’s not enough positive press.
Perhaps most telling of all is that a lot of this success is despite being shifted from the top line alongside Auston Matthews.
It speaks to the fact that the Toronto Maple Leafs top centers in Matthews and John Tavares actually end up improving with Marner on their wing.
Marner isn’t just snapping up these tallies and padding his stats on the powerplay either. In fact, his last powerplay point was five games ago against the New York Islanders.
Of course, if Marner is able to tally points in the team’s upcoming two games, against San Jose and then Tampa Bay; it’s to be expected that the volume will get much louder.
It’s very rare to say that the media around the Toronto Maple Leafs are underselling a situation or a streak, but in comparison to all of the October noise, they are deafeningly quiet.
After all, it’s not every day 100 year-plus franchise records are broken. The Toronto Maple Leafs know they have a gem in Mitch Marner – he’s absolutely shining this year.