There’s a theory making the rounds regarding Mitch Marner’s reluctance the sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs. This theory claims that Marner’s unwillingness to stay in Toronto is due to playing in Auston Matthews’ shadow.
I don’t even know where to begin on how silly that theory sounds. It obviously isn't true, and the Toronto Maple Leafs are highly-likely to sign Marner in the coming weeks.
But let’s explore this idea in a little more detail. If true, such an attitude makes Marner highly immature. Think about it. Great players are great regardless of who else is on the team.
Does Connor McDavid outshine Leon Draisaitl? Does Sidney Crosby outshine Evgeny Malkin? The fact of the matter is that great players are great. Period.
That idea leads me to believe this theory is nothing more than a pile of rubbish. It’s well known that Matthews and Marner have great chemistry together. In fact, I firmly believe that If Marner hadn’t missed about a dozen games last season, Matthews could have topped 75 goals.
Any sensible hockey fan would realise that Marner and Matthews thrive playing with each other. They have a great partnership. I wouldn’t be surprised if Matthews keeps Marner in Toronto and vice-versa.
While business is business in the hockey world, don’t be surprised to see loyalty and friendship play a key role in motivating Marner to re-sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Teams where Mitch Marner would be the "Star"
Unless he were traded to Edmonton, Chicago or Colorado, there aren't too many places where Marner wouldn't be the team's biggest star, but since he isn't properly rated he could find himself in a situation where he's the best on his team but still finds himself in someone else's shadow.
Marner isn't properly rated throughout the league for two reasons. The first is that he does in fact play in Auston Matthew's shadow. That can't be helped, and while Marner probably doesn't care, it is true. The second is because of the Leafs bad playoff performances.
They may or may not be mostly due to luck, but the NHL is a results-oriented business, and until Marner has playoff success, he's not going to get his due as a player who scores about as much as Kucherov, Kaprizov, Rantanen, Guentzel and Pastrnk but who has a signifiantly better defensive game.
If Marner’s really looking to be a team's main star, there are a lot of options, but realistically his best chance of winning and becoming one of hockey's best players and biggest stars is in Toronto. The Leafs are close to winning and if they pull it off it won't matter if he's in Matthews' shadow or not, Marner will basically achieve Sainthood.
The bottom line is that any theory about Marner feeling overshadowed by Matthews is dumb at best. Sure, Matthews gets the lion’s share of the attention. But let’s put it this way: Until the Toronto Maple Leafs announced Matthews’ captaincy, the whole summer talk revolved around Marner.
Based on that logic, who’s overshadowing who?