I really don't think anyone is scared of him playing well (except maybe fans of other teams).
The issue many posters have is the hype - yes he's very good, but there are a few posters who regularly say that he's one of the very best players in the league (you could make an argument that he's not even the second best player on the team), and that seems to be what triggers the rebuttals.
Not his performance, but the hyperbole about it.
The hype is a big part of it for sure. He's good in the playoffs for 4 games, after that he's just terrible. Regular season he's always good but hyping the guy in October when he almost always fails in April seems ridiculous to me. He doesn't deserve being talked about like he's an elite player until he shows in the playoffs that he's worth what he's being paid, simple as that. JMHO.
I agree but I think the reason for a lot of the acrimony is pretty clear (he is a puny effete zoomer)
Maybe for some people. Not for me though, he was my favorite player for a time there. I've always had a thing for smaller players with mad skillz.
the other thing about the identity politics aspect of the debate around Marner is that his biggest backer was a know-it-all millenial rookie GM who never played the game. it's like a perfect storm of the sort of generational identities that traditional hockey fans are conditioned to hate.
That's interesting, I think you might be on to something here. I mean Dubas didn't just back him, he backed all of them not just Marner but still, there might be something to this.
The debate around the kid went off the rails a long time ago. I just laugh when people call me a hater, I mean he was my favorite player, then he wasn't because of his playoff disappearing act but I'd love it if he'd win me over again. Then of course I'll be called a flip-flopper.
I just want the team to start living up to it's potential in the playoffs and I've been waiting for so long, I have good reason for thinking it might never happen and there's a good chance this core goes down in history as the biggest disappointments in Maple Leafs history, despite re-writing the Leaf record books. It's not all on Marner of course, but he's near the top of the list. The way he tends to fade away as the playoffs go on mirrors the struggles of the team perfectly, which is IMO why he's the perfect poster boy for the teams playoff failures..