It was the 2015 NHL Draft, and the Toronto Maple Leafs had the fourth overall pick. The first three picks were Connor McDavid to Edmonton, Jack Eichel to Buffalo, and Dylan Strome to Arizona. Mark Hunter had narrowed down the pick to Noah Hanifin, Ivan Provorov, and Mitch Marner. The Leafs ended up choosing Marner. The Marner selection would be a pick that many fans will remember forever, in both good and bad ways.
Marner's time in Toronto was filled with mixed emotions. He brought a lot of good to the Leafs on the ice; he produced a 100-point season, brought a lot of highlight reel plays, but also brought a ton of disappointing moments, and some of the decisions made along the way will end up haunting the Maple Leafs for a very long time. Marner had a lot of generational talent, the kind that makes you a fan favourite. He was high skilled winger who could do anything with the puck at any moment.
The early stages of Marner's career
After Mitch Marner was drafted, they sent him back down to the London Knights of the OHL for the 2015-16 season. The Knights were loaded that season with stars like Christian Dvorak and Matthew Tkachuk. Mitch Marner continued his development and was looking to become a true NHL superstar. Looking back at this now, this proved to be the last time the Maple Leafs and Marner truly had a good relationship.
Marner later made his NHL debut with the Maple Leafs on October 12th, 2016, alongside Auston Matthews and William Nylander. This trio was going to be the face of the Maple Leafs; they were destined to bring the Stanley Cup back home to Toronto. Marner later scored his first career goal against the Boston Bruins during the Maple Leafs' home opener. Marner's first NHL campaign went well, to say the least; he produced 61 points in 77 games. The Maple Leafs later punched a ticket to the playoffs for the first time since their monumental breakthrough in Game 7 of 2013 against the Boston Bruins. The Leafs and Marner put up a good fight against the Washington Capitals, but ultimately lost. The future was looking bright for Marner and the rest of the Maple Leafs core.
Controversy with Mike Babcock
The controversy with Marner had already begun during his first season. Mike Babcock had Marner list the hardest-working players on the team from first to last. While that is not acceptable by any standards for a coach to make their players do this. Why did Babcock do this? Could there be more backstory that was never released or ever talked about? That is something we will never know.
Expectations in Toronto had shifted during 2018-19 from growth to results. With John Tavares added to the core, anything short of a deeper run felt like a disappointment. Toronto put itself in position again, building a 3–2 series lead over Boston with home ice advantage during Game 6. Instead, the Leafs failed under pressure, allowing the Bruins back into the series and suffering a blowout Game 7 loss. Two straight postseason exits to the same opponent reinforced the concern that talent alone wasn’t enough and that this group still hadn’t learned how to win when it mattered most.
Marner making it hard on the Maple Leafs
This is where things began to take a turn for the worse for Mitch Marner's situation in Toronto. When Marner's entry-level contract ended, Marner's agent, Darren Ferris, demanded top dollar and felt that he deserved the same treatment as Auston Matthews. While yes, Marner led the team in scoring, Matthews provides more value to the Leafs organization than Mitch Marner. Marner's contract came with a lot of stress and difficulty on both sides. Marner threatened to leave and go play in Switzerland unless a contract was reached. Instead of trying to find ways to get a deal done, he was planning on leaving and finding other places to play.
Heading into Marner's next season, he was under a lot of pressure to perform and lead the way for the Leafs offensively. The Maple Leafs truly struggled this season, and if it wasn't for Covid-19 there was a great chance the Leafs could have missed the playoffs. The bubble was the worst Maple Leafs playoff loss to date. The Columbus Blue Jackets dominated the entire series and won in a deciding Game 5. In five games, Marner did not score a goal. For a player who threatened to travel to the other side of the world earlier this season, this was straight up disappointing.
Disappointing playoff success
This would continue for many years down the road. Since the 2019-20 playoffs, Marner scored a total of eight goals. He was never able to take control of a game and be a true x-factor when it mattered. Maple Leafs fans had the right to be upset with Marner. He was always great in the regular season, but it seemed he could never find ways to score and be effective in the playoffs. During last season's playoff run, there is a viral clip of Marner screaming at teammates to "wake up," while Marner did not have a drop of sweat. This clip was Marner's tenure in a nutshell. Never able to accept responsibility and was never able to take over games when the Leafs needed it most.
During his last season with the Maple Leafs, Marner was already thinking of his next team and where he could see himself. He admitted to speaking with players at the Four Nations, as well as Ryan Reaves and Max Pacioretty, about playing in Vegas and helping him look for properties in certain areas. The Maple Leafs attempted to move Marner in exchange for Mikko Rantanen, which ultimately got shut down due to Marner's no-movement clause. Marner restricted the Maple Leafs from making any moves, handcuffing them and doing whatever he best feels fit.
How will it be during his return?
Leafs fans should not be happy to see Marner, and need to side more on booing him. Marner did what was best for him, not the Maple Leafs. Many should celebrate the fact that he is gone, and not for what he did for the Leafs organization. This past era was one of the most disappointing in sports history, and it can be attributed to Marner. I feel fans will be split on either booing and cheering, and fans that truly care about the Leafs will boo Marner.