Mitch Marner is one of the best (regular season) forwards in the history of the Toronto Maple Leafs, but fans should boo him every time he touches the puck on Friday night.
If the NHL worked like European soccer, the Leafs would have already built statues for Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. For a franchise that is over 100 years old, those two become the best duo in team history as their creativity and skill was unlike anything the fanbase had ever seen.
That's what makes the idea of booing Marner so captiviating.
The 28-year-old is a homegrown talent. Not only was he drafted and developed by the Leafs but he grew up down the street from Scotiabank Arena cheering on the Leafs as a young kid. Born in 1997, Marner was too young to appreciate the Mats Sundin playoff era, which makes his love for Toronto even more special, as he would have grown up watching Jason Blake, Nik Antropov, Jeff O'Neill and Darcy Tucker.
As someone who's a litlte bit older than Mitch, I can understand the nostalgia that comes from remembering those mid 2000 rosters. However, as we look back, it's crazy to think that Marner is five times better than all of those players, but he won't be looked at as fondly.
If you were to ask Leafs fans who their favourite No. 16 is, who do you think they would say? I bet 90 percent of the fanbase is saying Darcy Tucker, although his point totals were never anything close to Marner's.
Marner unfortunately deserves to get booed on Friday night
Tucker never scored a big goal in Game 7 to win a series for Toronto or was never apart of a Stanley Cup winning roster. In 58 playoff games with the Leafs, he only scored 10 goals and 21 points, but when you look back on Tucker, you remember way more than stats.
You remember Tucker's hit against Sami Kapanen and Michael Peca, which knocked both players out of playoff series. In addition to that, you just remember the scowl on his face and how much you loved having him on your team. He was the type of player you'd go to war with and was the definition of "hate to play against, but love to have on your team."
When it comes to Marner, there isn't a single playoff moment that sticks out that's positive and he's essentially the opposite of Tucker. The only thing we remember is him yelling at his teammates to play better, despite having zero sweat on his hair while being scared to forecheck.
As much as the lower bowl at Scotiabank Arena is a corporate crowd, the fanbase itself is more blue-collar which is why we love the hard-working, gritty type of players like Tucker. They would much rather see the 25 goal, 60 point and 100 penalty minutes per year player versus a 35 goal and 100 point player who finds himself on Sportscentre every night, and I think that's fair.
Sportcentre highlights don't win you playoff rounds, so although it may be a little harsh to boo Marner on Friday night, it's incredibly fair because he had nine years to change his narrative, but failed. He could have put his body on the line one playoff series instead of trying to deke his way to a Stanley Cup.