Mitch Marner once again disappeared in the biggest game of the season

For all the talk about Mitch Marner proving that he wasn’t the problem, but the Maple Leafs were in the playoffs, his disappearing act in the Stanley Cup Finals finally proves the point.

His hat-trick in Game 3 against Carolina was supposed to have been his crowning moment. It was the definitive proof that everyone needed to declare that the Maple Leafs were the toxic environment holding Marner back.

Then, the Carolina Hurricanes won three games in a row to lock up the franchise’s second Stanley Cup. And Marner, well, he disappeared in the most important game of his team’s season.

Technically, the last two games.

In Game 5 at home, Marner skated for over 21 minutes, managing just one shot on goal and a minus-1 rating.

So, Marner would surely step up for Game 6 with Vegas’ season on the line, right? Nope. Marner was MIA during the Hurricanes’ 3-0 blanking at the hands of rookie goaltender Brandon Bussi.

Marner hit the ice for nearly 23 minutes, getting three shots on goal and registering a minus-3. Here’s a look at Carolina’s second goal, one that Marner looked sick on:

Marner was also the unfortunate victim of a terrible giveaway in the third period that nearly led to another Carolina goal.

All told, the 2026 Stanley Cup Final proved that Mitch Marner’s penchant for disappearing in the biggest games of the season continues. If all the chatter about Toronto being the toxic environment that held him back for so many years were accurate, he would have stepped up in Game 6 and helped the Golden Knights force a Game 7.

That didn’t happen. The debate about whether Marner is truly a big-game player is now settled. He’s only as big as his teammates allow him to be. The Hurricanes put the clamps down on the Golden Knights, the entire Vegas club was unable to do much, and, well, that’s all she wrote for Marner.

There’s no denying that Marner had one heck of a playoff run. But he didn’t really torch the Colorado Avalanche, and he failed to carry the Golden Knights against Carolina.

At least Marner can now say that he made it to the Stanley Cup Final.

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