Toronto Maple Leafs Can Do Nothing But Laugh at NHL Network's Silly List
Mitch Marner is going to prove that he's hands down the best winger on the Toronto Maple Leafs and in the NHL this year
Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander may be getting more money than Mitch Marner right now, but he's not better than him.
The NHL Network announced thier top 20 wings right now and listed William Nylander at No. 8 and Mitch Marner No. 10, with Sam Reinhart in between. Also on that list was (in order), Nikita Kucherov, Matthew Tkachuk, Mikko Rantanen, David Pastrnak, Artemi Panarin, Jason Robertson and Kirill Kaprizov.
The fact that the Leafs have two players within the top-10 is impressive, especially with the fact that they have a top-two centre in the NHL with Auston Matthews. As such, those three talents should, and will, guide them to another playoff berth and hopefully this year is different with more wins than losses.
I know it's a stupid list that is supposed to spark debate, but how in the world is Marner No. 10 on this list? There's no doubt in my mind that Marner is a top-five winger in the NHL and points shouldn't be the only indicator to prove a player's worth.
Marner scores more at 5v5 and provides elite defense. Nylander scores mostly on the power-play and puts up much worse 5v5 numbers. They are both good players, but Marner is on another level.
Marner is Top 3 Winger in the NHL
You can't just look at points to evaluate players. Far more important than raw point totals are on-ice statistics which show how teams perform when certain players are on the ice. Marner has, for his entire career, posted superior on-ice 5v5 stats to Nylander.
Marner, for year's, has been the team's top penalty killer and is sometimes just as lethal when killing a penalty, as he is when he's on the power-play. His edge-work and hand-eye coordination makes him such a threat when defending that he can out of nowhere cut off a pass and go on a breakway.
Marner may not be a physical player, but he can defend at an elite level, which is something Nylander can't do. Nylander is the furthest thing away from being a physical player and is not good defensively. His biggest skillset is his offensive abilities, which is obviously very important, but it's not everything.
Clearly there is a public sentiment against Marner right now, and he's taking the brunt of the blame for the Leafs lack of playoff success. However, he's clearly one of the best players alive and his elite defense probably means he's better than the other star wingers who score at a similar level.
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The blame that Marner gets in this market is terrible and if he played on another team, he'd be listed at the top-three position, but unfortunately that's just not how it goes in Toronto. Either way, Marner is superior to Nylander and that is an objective fact.