Marner interview deflects responsibility for move to Vegas to Maple Leafs fans

Former Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner’s interview with TSN, in which he opened up about his move to Vegas, has done all the rounds by now. The interview has caused justifiable buzz around the league.

While the interview itself did not make any earth-shattering revelations, it did, nonetheless, reveal some interesting insights into the motivations behind leaving Toronto. But the biggest issue, the one that has generated the most concern, has been the matter of personal security.

Here’s a specific clip to hone in on the precise comments:

Let’s get this straight for a moment. Marner is right to focus on his family’s security. He’s right to think about his wife and child first. Any one of us, in his situation, would have done the same thing.

But there’s a big difference between dealing with so-called crazy fans and legitimate life-threatening hoodlums. While I don’t mean to diminish the potential security risk the Marner family faced, it wasn’t like Marner was dealing with a vendetta from drug cartels. These threats came from angry individuals who have nothing better to do.

If anything, it would have been a matter best handled by law enforcement authorities. That aside, and once again, totally backing Marner’s point of view, he pinned the blame for his decision to leave on “fans,” not himself.

It would have been one thing to say that he made the call. He felt it was time to move on. He wanted to be in a situation where he could help a team win, and all that rhetoric. But saying that “fans” were the ones who motivated his exodus from Toronto makes it clear that Marner is looking to slip the check to someone else at the end of the day.

Maple Leafs teammates don’t want to throw Marner under the bus

I have to give credit to Auston Matthews and William Nylander. They have behaved like true gentlemen throughout the entire media blitz following Marner’s departure.

Firstly, Matthews said all the right things when facing the camera. He had nothing but praise for Marner and expressed his regret to see his friend leave the team. He could have piled on the deranged fans that motivated Marner’s exit, but he didn’t.

Moreover, Matthews didn’t say anything to put Marner in a spot. He was politically correct at all times. He sounded like someone who’s been coached by lawyers to say the right things during an ongoing trial.

Meanwhile, Nylander was extremely diplomatic in his remarks, referring to Marner. During the NHL’s European media tour, Nylander expressed pleasantries regarding Marner, expressed his regret, and made it clear that Marner wasn’t thinking about leaving until the end of last season.

But then, Marner stated that security concerns regarding his family had been ongoing for two years. Does that mean that leaving wasn’t at least on Marner’s mind at the start of the season? If Marner's concerns for his family’s safety hadn’t become an issue until the end of last season, he could have signed and then demanded a trade out of town. Instead, he held on to the last minute and then bailed.

Ultimately, Marner did the right thing by his family. He thought about them first. He set his priorities in their rightful spot. Meanwhile, Matthews and Nylander did right by their friend. They didn’t throw him under the bus. They may think and say what they will behind closed doors. But in public, Matthews and Nylander did the right thing by supporting a friend, even when that friend bailed on them.