I desperately wanted us to draft Marner that year. Was so excited when he was the pick. Thought he'd go down as one of the most beloved Leafs of all time. Finally a local born and drafted star for the first time in so long. I was in the building for his first goal, was an awesome moment.
Sounds funny now, but as a prospect I really thought he could be a modern day Gilmour. But Mitch is no Killer.
He should've been a lock to end up on Legends Row. Instead he chose to nickel and dime the franchise for his big contract, negotiate through the media and drop hints of signing a Columbus offer sheet. Came up short in every big moment, looked like a scared child shooting the puck over the glass while stars on other teams raised their games. And yeah, there's lots of blame for the likes of Matthews and Nylander too. But Mitch SHOULD have been held to a higher standard. He grew up a Leafs fan, was living the dream of every kid that grew up playing hockey in the GTA. And yet his contract garbage and playoff disappearances in the crucial games were the worst of them all.
At the end of the day, if he wins a Cup at his next stop it will never come close to the impact or feeling as winning it here would, breaking the curse of his hometown team with the biggest fanbase in the league. We need to target players that can embrace the noise, the expectations, the madness because they know the reward of immortality awaits the guys who finally get the job done. It was clear a long time ago that Mitch doesn't fall into that camp, it just sucks wasting time and losing him for nothing rather than having dealt him years ago.
Wish him nothing but the worst going forward professionally. Hope he picks a quiet western market where he can put up empty points for years, comfortably irrelevant aside from his annual visit to Toronto.
