Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner and his wife welcomed their first child on Sunday, which means his dad strength has been unlocked.
This is not the first time that dad strength has been a fun narrative for a Toronto sports team's playoff-push. When the Toronto Raptors won their first NBA championship in 2019, Fred VanVleet welcomed his first child and went off afterwards.
VanVleet went from averaging 4.0 points per game (PPG) to 14.7 PPG, then upped his three-point average from 21 percent to 53 percent in the nine playoff games that ensued after his child was born. Not only did his stats improve, but his performance was a huge reason why the Raptors won a championship, ultimately beating the Golden State Warriors in six games.
I'm not guaranteeing that the Leafs will win a Stanley Cup now that Marner is a dad, but long playoff runs usually need a narrative or two and this could be a fun one to follow. Marner was solid in the first round scoring one goal and registering seven points in six games, but there's clearly another level he can get to.
When you watch the Western Conference and see what Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl are up to on a given night, Marner's speed and skill looks like he should be in the minors. All four of those players elevate their game in the biggest moment, but for some reason, the Leafs best players don't look any different.
Marner's dad strength will propel Leafs to victory
Maybe it's because I'm not hyper-focused on the Western Conference for 82 games or that I'm more critical of the Leafs because they're the team I watch the most, but Marner and company do look slower than the rest of the league. Their skill doesn't pop as much as those other players and I would love nothing more than to see someone like Marner have a night like Rantanen did against Colorado on Saturday night and put the team on his back.
The idea of dad-strength is exactly what Marner needs right now because every game they play is the biggest game of his life. The Leafs core has never played more than five games in the second round, so if there's a Game 6 or 7, that will be a new experience for them. We've seen them falter in those types of games before, but they have an opportunity to write a new chapter and Marner's dad-strength can be the thing they lean on.
It's time for the Leafs to change their ways and it's time for them to make this city excited, instead of scared. We watched every first round game like we were crash-landing a plane, but instead need to be excited like it's our birthday party. The Leafs on the verge of doing something we haven't seen in more than 20 years and let's hope that Marner's dad-strength can propel them towards that goal.