There is no question that the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-0 shutout loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday was bad. Many fans criticized the team’s effort in the wake of the performance.
Veteran defenceman Chris Tanev and Toronto Maple Leafs Coach Craig Berube enforced this belief as both were critical of their team’s showing after the game.
The Leafs were shut-out for the 3rd time this season, and they looked lost and disinterested for most of the game.
After the game, while Tanev and Berube were honest, Marner had a somewhat more positive spin.
Marner Thinks the Team Played Well
Despite the consensus, Mitch Marner had a much more favorable take on the Maple Leafs’ on-ice play. When asked about the team’s effort on Saturday, he replied, “I liked it. I thought we played well, I really did.” His nonchalant and optimistic perspective did not resonate positively with Leafs fans, most of whom likely did not here the rest of what he said.
Marner’s analysis - at least in the portion of the quote circulating on Twitter - came across as tone deaf. Even if he honestly felt good about the team’s play, he probably should have realized his words wouldn’t sit well with fans. Leafs tickets are the most expensive in the NHL, and the team boasts the largest and most loyal fanbase in hockey. With that comes an expectation for players to put forth their best effort, especially in a situation like Saturday night.
At home, Hockey Night in Canada, against a Vancouver team that was not only coming off a road loss the previous night, but facing travel issues. Their flight was delayed due to weather, and they arrived at Scotiabank just a few hours before puck drop. If ever a game was set up for the Leafs to win, this was it. Instead, they lost.
However, to be fair to Marner both Tanev and Berube are emotional guys. They were angry about the loss. Marner is a more even-keeled person, and he tends to look at the positives. And there were positives in this game - the Leafs were the better team, they had the puck for 56% of the game, and you'll usually win when that happens. They had more shots, scoring chances and finished the night with the better expected goals percentage. It is not unreasonable to look for the positives in such a game.
Much of the negative discourse surrounding Marner has little to do with his talent. It’s unarguable that he is an elite player with elite skills. Where fans take issue is in situations like this because ultimately, a loss is a loss and no one wants to hear otherwise, even if it's true.
And it's also true that if the reporters put out the entire quote, it doesn't sound nearly as bad. Here is what Marner said after the game:
- "I liked it. I thought we played well, I really did. Just last couple games we’ve been giving plays to teams that aren’t missing on them. I thought we were good five-man tight in their zone. I thought we went through the neutral zone as a unit. I think when we didn’t do that that’s when breakdowns happen and they had a lot of offence off it and that’s something that we talked about that we need to be better at and we’ll look at it going forward and fix it."
It’s a long NHL season, every team goes through highs and lows, and losses happen. Fans are never going to applaud a loss, but they are much more forgivable if there is clear effort. When teams with four superstar offensive players get shutout, it's hard to make the case the effort was there, even if it was. Marner could help himself by being more self-aware and understanding this.
But in all fairness, it's not really right to rip the guy who one sentence while not printing the rest of the things he said. Still, he did say "I thought we played well" after they lost a game they were expected to win. Despite the framing, despite the advanced stats, he's got to know better.