Mitch Marner
Over the years, one of the main caveats in Mitch Marner’s game was the fact that he had the tendency to become less effective once the going got tough during the playoffs. No matter what kind of sustainable offensive outburst he would manifest, once opposing teams started to focus on shutting him down, he usually became a non-factor as the games progressed during the postseason.
This year has turned out to be no different once again for the 28-year-old winger. Despite finishing second on the team in playoff points with 13 (two goals and 11 assists), 12 of those points actually came early against the Senators in the first round and the first three games against the Panthers in the second round. Once Florida turned things up a notch, they commandingly held Marner in check, limiting him to just one assist and three shots on goal in the final four games of the series.
Expected to be a big game player throughout his career, Marner has certainly come up small when the team has needed him most. Especially as the Leafs top point-getter during the regular season in 2024-25, one would assume he could find a way to step up his game to help produce offensively for the team when the rest were struggling to generate any offense. However, that game-changing performance never materialized. As a result, with Marner missing in action with the series on the line against the Panthers, the Leafs season also disappeared along with it.
WIth Marner a pending unrestricted free agent this offseason and will likely be due for a pay raise and a huge multi-year contract in the process, the Leafs will need to re-think over things carefully on whether they envision the superstar to be in their long-term plans or not.