Mitch Marner, Yet Again

[Tak7]

I always say he needs to shoot more to keep defenders honest and not cheating towards the pass

He needs to shoot more because he can score! But you make a great point as well. I do at least appreciate that he's shooting more on the powerplay.

A big part of that PPs success lately has been because the PK has to respect that he can shoot - even if it's that low snappy wrister from the point looking for a deflection etc.

 

[Antropovsky]

McDonagh, who is their other top 2/3 D (20+mins a night), still impressive.

You seriously can't give the kid any credit at all, eh? He made a great move off of a great turnover created by Matthews/Knies. Isn't that how a line is suppose to work?

... two Marner fans are spreading misinformation so I needed to respond (someone has to). They jump on others for not watching every second of every game but they someone confused McDonagh for Hedman and confused backchecking with waiting on the blueline?

One of the better goals Marner has scored for sure but also doesn't happen without Knies and Matthews winning battles.

My beef with Marner is his fear of corners, fear of the front of the net and fear of battling for pucks and position. Its probably the most important thing in the playoffs. There is a reason Biz and Hrudey did entire intermissions highlighting Marners pathetic efforts in battles.

I'll shower him with praise if he ever does it.

It’s the same cycle every single year:

- During the season, Marner fans hype him up and call anyone who disagrees a clown.
-Then the playoffs come, he falls flat, doesn’t battle, and fans/media roast him for his play.
- In the offseason, his fans complain that people have nothing better to do than talk about Marner.
- Then training camp starts, and the predict him to win the scoring title.
- The season rolls around, he is up and down but still soft and those same fans get mad that the so-called trolls aren’t celebrating him.
-Then the playoffs hit—and he falls flat again. Rinse and repeat.

At this point, 8 times bitten, permanently shy. Sorry, not sorry.

 

[Leafsfan74]

C

Marner kind of responded in that way too. Like why are you asking me about this. The reporters in Toronto ask some of the dumbest questions or mind numbingly boring

That is a good sign. The team has to be focused on one objective: the Cup.

I've never seen Matthews so serious, It's a fierce, quiet competitiveness. The rest of the team seems to be on the same page, including Marner.

If you are an athlete at that level and all your peers have a ring, it has to make one feel as if they are walking around all the time with a pebble in your shoe. Once you win a Cup you feel whole. You are always a Cup winner, it will never be taken away. It's why the best at it such as Toe Blake, the Richard brothers, Beliveau and Messier are names still well known by fans who never even saw them play simply because they won so often.

Crosby won multiple Cups with the same core. Ditto for other players. They just watched their former linemate Hyman come one game short of winning a Cup also. Matthews and Marner just played in the Four Nations Cup where many of their teammates had Cups. That swagger of being a winner has to be contagious.

It will be the most interesting post-season and the most honest test of their mettle yet.

 

[thewave]

Dude's whole "life" is Marner. What a world.

What in the Mitch Marner are you on about now. My whole world does not Mitching revolve around Mitch Marnering Mitch Marner for Mitch sake

 

[Lightsol]

You seriously can't give the kid any credit at all, eh? He made a great move off of a great turnover created by Matthews/Knies. Isn't that how a line is suppose to work?

No no no, that's not how it works. If Marner didn't do everything on the play himself, then he's lazily taking credit for stuff his linemates are doing... And if he does do everything himself, then he's not using his linemates and being selfish!

 

[Lightsol]

Were they asked questions from.their local media every day? Furthermore 100 points.has been achieved countless times in NHL history. There have been two interesting chases in Toronto, Matthews chase of Vaives record and 60/70 goal plateaus. Marners point streak was interesting too. All were distractions for the team.

Sure players want to hit goals but media need not ask about it repeatedly. Win a Cup and ask about preparedness for the playoffs, where they feel their game is at, how the team is feeling etc. There is not I in team and the real battle starts soon

But now you're blaming the team for something that is entirely the product of the media... We know our media SUCKS; it's the only reason Craig Simpson is still our #1 color commentator.

 

[Gary Nylund]

C

Marner kind of responded in that way too. Like why are you asking me about this. The reporters in Toronto ask some of the dumbest questions or mind numbingly boring

Good for Marner. I mean it's the obvious way to respond but Marner's been known for saying dumb things to the media so ... it's the time of year to think optimistically so I'll say maybe it's a sign that Marner's maturing, and maybe if he's gotten better at dealing with the media, maybe he'll show the world that the days of him fading after 86 games are over, and he'll be a force to be reckoned with for as long as these playoffs last for the team. Go Mitch, and Go Leafs!!

 

[DarkKnight]

Like most real Leafs fans, nothing pisses me off more than seeing a Leaf top five in scoring. It really irritates me. f*** you Mitch!

 

[thewave]

Good for Marner. I mean it's the obvious way to respond but Marner's been known for saying dumb things to the media so ... it's the time of year to think optimistically so I'll say maybe it's a sign that Marner's maturing, and maybe if he's gotten better at dealing with the media, maybe he'll show the world that the days of him fading after 86 games are over, and he'll be a force to be reckoned with for as long as these playoffs last for the team. Go Mitch, and Go Leafs!!

Exactly. Playoffs or bust let's go Leafs go!

 

[francis246]

Good for Marner. I mean it's the obvious way to respond but Marner's been known for saying dumb things to the media so ... it's the time of year to think optimistically so I'll say maybe it's a sign that Marner's maturing, and maybe if he's gotten better at dealing with the media, maybe he'll show the world that the days of him fading after 86 games are over, and he'll be a force to be reckoned with for as long as these playoffs last for the team. Go Mitch, and Go Leafs!!

Absolutely! All we can do is hope he does not shit the bed and produces. Do that and he’ll be revered. Lots to be optimistic about.

 

[Sypher04]

Even if everyone agrees the playoffs are what ultimately are most important, individual player accomplishments in the regular season still matter - here in Toronto and everywhere else too.

 

[Sypher04]

Like most real Leafs fans, nothing pisses me off more than seeing a Leaf top five in scoring. It really irritates me. f*** you Mitch!

If he was serious about winning he’d not even consider going over 99 points. Because individual accomplishments are bad

 

[Sypher04]

The media and anouncers constantly asking about the prospect of Marner hitting 100 points is a reminder of why Toronto isn't a winning sports city. No other serious sports franchise would be talking about this, its why the team has lost so much when it matters.

100 Points is great but it is an arbitrary threshold, this season in particular should be entirely about the team and it seems to be the case based on the players demeanour. I wish the media would stop asking about it. Play the game right way and the results will come to fruition organically. 200 foot hockey is needed to win a Cup. If players hit a milestone great, but win the games that matter.,

Exactly every other serious sports city would be talking about it. And even if that was not the case, it has nothing at all to do with why we have lost.

Now I don’t know the exact context of what question was asked, but the media watching for and asking the players about looming individual milestones has always happened, everywhere.

 

[DarkKnight]

If he was serious about winning he’d not even consider going over 99 points. Because individual accomplishments are bad

He didn’t seem to care about it much after the game.

 

[Sypher04]

He didn’t seem to care about it much after the game.

I mean, I think he’s learning to play the media game maybe a tad better? There’s no way he doesn’t care about hitting 100 point imo especially when he’s been so close before. I’m sure it’s not his top priority, but if he says he cares he’ll he lambasted for it, so he’s guarded in his response.

 

[Lightsol]

Now I don’t know the exact context of what question was asked, but the media watching for and asking the players about looming individual milestones has always happened, everywhere.

Yeah, but pretty sure most other markets asking players about this aren't doing it so they can write a "The players only care about individual records and not winning!" article the next day...

THAT'S what bothers me about the media around this team. 99% of the reporters are only there to try and "gotcha" the players so they can write negative stories about the team the next day. And this isn't a product of the team losing in the playoffs; they've been doing it for as long as I can remember, going back to the 80's. And there's nothing the media in Toronto enjoys more than trying to turn up the pressure and/or distract the players when it counts.

 

[francis246]

Exactly every other serious sports city would be talking about it. And even if that was not the case, it has nothing at all to do with why we have lost.

Now I don’t know the exact context of what question was asked, but the media watching for and asking the players about looming individual milestones has always happened, everywhere.

The context was someone asked him how he feels about getting 100 points or how much would it mean to him; right after he took accountability / responsibility the third goal & he looked at the reporter with disgust and was like, you guys ask us about this last year, I really don’t care about it in a way I’m here focused on winning games and trying to get first in the division. He seemed pissy but it’s because he felt he could have done better on the PK.

I hope these guys are finally dialed in to making a deep run.

 

[Antropovsky]

The media and anouncers constantly asking about the prospect of Marner hitting 100 points is a reminder of why Toronto isn't a winning sports city. No other serious sports franchise would be talking about this, its why the team has lost so much when it matters.

100 Points is great but it is an arbitrary threshold, this season in particular should be entirely about the team and it seems to be the case based on the players demeanour. I wish the media would stop asking about it. Play the game right way and the results will come to fruition organically. 200 foot hockey is needed to win a Cup. If players hit a milestone great, but win the games that matter.,

??? These questions are very typical and it would be more shocking if they weren't asked. Not sure what league or city you are referring to where the media and announcers are actively involved in trying to build a culture of winning for an organization. Can you give examples?

 

[authentic]

Actuallt hope he hits it because why not? To be so close and never get there would be an annoyance at the very least. Sort of like MacKinnon never getting his Art Ross with Kucherov in the way. However, winning a Cup and MVP probably keeps him from losing sleep over it anyway.

Marner is who I’m thinking really has a dominant showing in this years playoffs, I’ve got a good feeling about him and I don’t know why.

 

[authentic]

The context was someone asked him how he feels about getting 100 points or how much would it mean to him; right after he took accountability / responsibility the third goal & he looked at the reporter with disgust and was like, you guys ask us about this last year, I really don’t care about it in a way I’m here focused on winning games and trying to get first in the division. He seemed pissy but it’s because he felt he could have done better on the PK.

I hope these guys are finally dialed in to making a deep run.

Honestly, I think they are every year. You don’t get to game 7 OT with a healthy Boston team last season, with two of your top guns out of it and your best goalie only playing 2 games if you’re not all dialed in.

Their play has never been that of a team who doesn’t care, we have simply been in many intense and close series that could’ve gone one way or the other where we’ve faced superior goaltending and perhaps coaching on some occasions. Even our series against Florida were hard fought close games where it seemed odd it was only a 5 game series.

 

[authentic]

Fact is when we lose it’s ultimately that we lost to a better team (though last season a healthy Leafs team probably was the better team to be honest), not because our players don’t have heart or whatever

 

[Leafsfan74]

??? These questions are very typical and it would be more shocking if they weren't asked. Not sure what league or city you are referring to where the media and announcers are actively involved in trying to build a culture of winning for an organization. Can you give examples?

The team has won a single playoff in 9 years, they start the playoffs in 4 games. I don't want to hear any questions about individual stats and I would hope the team wouldn't want to hear it either. Of course the player would like to hit the target and he would get an extra pat on the head by his teammates if he did. That should be way down their list of priorities.

When I hear them ask said questions I remind myself "these guys have to ask questions every day and try and bring something different, they are just doing their jobs" etc.

It's a free country I guess. It does reinforce my opinion of the sports media though, the same media that pressured Dubas his first year in when negotiating contracts and it handcuffed the team for nearly a decade.

 

[Leaf Fans]

I don't follow other teams closely so I for one did miss that. Anyhow, TB has had a ton of playoff success, EDM almost won the cup last year so I think that's a bit different. I agree with what he said:

100 Points is great but it is an arbitrary threshold, this season in particular should be enirely about the team

We're 1-8 in playoff series, changing that should be 100% where the focus is. Not a big deal maybe but I totally get where the poster is coming from.

What Ovi's doing is big news across the entire hockey world, that's a bit different (actually much different).

100 points is something done by a number of NHL players every year and as he said, it's an arbitrary number so it seems silly to make such a big deal out of it. He's having a great season and I think that's true whether he hits 100 or not. The real season starts very soon, how he performs there is 1000 times more important than him hitting some arbitrary regular season number.

I don't think Marner getting to 100 is that big deal to him or the team. It is a nice milestone and I hope he gets it, but Marner sat out a game and rested at 99 points.

 

[Leafsfan74]

Actuallt hope he hits it because why not? To be so close and never get there would be an annoyance at the very least. Sort of like MacKinnon never getting his Art Ross with Kucherov in the way. However, winning a Cup and MVP probably keeps him from losing sleep over it anyway.

Marner is who I’m thinking really has a dominant showing in this years playoffs, I’ve got a good feeling about him and I don’t know why.

I hope he hits it too only because it might help his confidence. If he doesn't that's ok. It's about winning games, especially in the playoffs and a Cup would eliminate any missed regular season target.

This shouldn't be the focus. The effort and process should be and it is clearly working him and his line this year.

 

[Leaf Fans]

... two Marner fans are spreading misinformation so I needed to respond (someone has to). They jump on others for not watching every second of every game but they someone confused McDonagh for Hedman and confused backchecking with waiting on the blueline?

One of the better goals Marner has scored for sure but also doesn't happen without Knies and Matthews winning battles.

My beef with Marner is his fear of corners, fear of the front of the net and fear of battling for pucks and position. Its probably the most important thing in the playoffs. There is a reason Biz and Hrudey did entire intermissions highlighting Marners pathetic efforts in battles.

I'll shower him with praise if he ever does it.

It’s the same cycle every single year:

- During the season, Marner fans hype him up and call anyone who disagrees a clown.
-Then the playoffs come, he falls flat, doesn’t battle, and fans/media roast him for his play.
- In the offseason, his fans complain that people have nothing better to do than talk about Marner.
- Then training camp starts, and the predict him to win the scoring title.
- The season rolls around, he is up and down but still soft and those same fans get mad that the so-called trolls aren’t celebrating him.
-Then the playoffs hit—and he falls flat again. Rinse and repeat.

At this point, 8 times bitten, permanently shy. Sorry, not sorry.

It is great to correct errors and misrepresentations (and blatant lies for you) . People do that for you on most of your posts. Though it is definitely true that Matthews and Knies are great players and along with Marner they make an excellent line, Marner is an excellent player in his own right.