Player Discussion Mitch Marner

[francis246]

Agree that there's nothing wrong with showing emotion and IMO the issue is more like these guys don't get mad enough often enough.

Anyhow, not a big deal, not to me anyway. Heat of the moment, people say stuff, it doesn't matter. I'm not the biggest Marner fan around but I think too much has been made of this incident. Marner scored a nice goal later, it's just too bad it was too little too late instead of a game winner making him a hero.

Maybe mad is the wrong word but whinny or bitchy. Whatever it is, Nylander is saying it’s not being channeled in the right way. Which does signal some issues

 

[Niagara Bill]

Marner should've pulled the plug and blamed some mysterious ailment like the other two.

He did. Oh my ankle.
It must be still be bad because he didnt stamp his feet, he only thru his gloves.
But this is a team that understands. They treated the situation with a goalie like any good social service would have and like any bad hockey team and organization would. And it got them zilch except all the good people of Toronto loved it. So kind! So like a loser.
They should have spent the psychology dollars on Mitchy not Sammy.

 

[Gary Nylund]

Maybe mad is the wrong word but whinny or bitchy. Whatever it is, Nylander is saying it’s not being channeled in the right way. Which does signal some issues

Well, Marner has definitely earned the reputation of someone who tends to whine from time to time but whatever. Everyone's piling on to beat up Marner now and I just don't feel like kicking the kid when he's down. I'm not happy with him or anything but that's less to do with these playoffs and more just disappointment that's built up over the years as we keep losing game 7 year after year and right now I feel more sad than anything else.

I don't have much hope left for this series but still, it's not over 'til it's over and all that jazz. Maybe Woll steals one tonight, then Matthews gets his healthy and Mitch becomes Magic Mitch again and we look back at the last game being when we hit rock bottom before rising again. I mean I don't really believe it but ... it's not over 'til it's over and everyone (including Marner, maybe especially Marner) has another chance tonight to show what they're made of. GLG!!

 

[Dayjobdave]

Well, Marner has definitely earned the reputation of someone who tends to whine from time to time but whatever. Everyone's piling on to beat up Marner now and I just don't feel like kicking the kid when he's down. I'm not happy with him or anything but that's less to do with these playoffs and more just disappointment that's built up over the years as we keep losing game 7 year after year and right now I feel more sad than anything else.

I don't have much hope left for this series but still, it's not over 'til it's over and all that jazz. Maybe Woll steals one tonight, then Matthews gets his healthy and Mitch becomes Magic Mitch again and we look back at the last game being when we hit rock bottom before rising again. I mean I don't really believe it but ... it's not over 'til it's over and everyone (including Marner, maybe especially Marner) has another chance tonight to show what they're made of. GLG!!

Well I’m pulling for a rally, and if they do, no one can argue that this isn’t one extreme roller coaster ride.

 

[Gary Nylund]

Well I’m pulling for a rally, and if they do, no one can argue that this isn’t one extreme roller coaster ride.

I just want entertainment and excitement and for that, there's nothing like playoff hockey. Right now it feels like we haven't even started playing yet and it could be almost over. I don't want it to be over already though, hoping everyone wakes up at the same time tonight. GLG!!

 

[Tak7]

piling on to beat up Marner now and I just don't feel like kicking the kid when he's down. I'm not happy with him or anything but that's less to do with these playoffs and more just disappointment that's built up over the years as we keep losing game 7 year after year and right now I feel more sad than anything else.

The hate for Marner reached nuclear levels of unfair a while ago, but criticisms of his performance have been totally warranted.

It always boils down to the contract, right? The contentious nature of those negotiations, by a hometown kid, left a horrible taste in people's mouths. The reality is, had he just taken a team friendly deal, and done it quietly and gotten on with it the way that Rielly did, the immense pressures on his shoulders wouldn't be anywhere near as significant as they currently are.

But if you sit and demand superstar money, threatening offer sheets & playing abroad in order to get it, the expectation is that you perform like such. There's not a person that watches this team consistently that can tell me that he's turned in superstar performances in the playoffs since his time here. Even his great statistical series against Tampa was bolstered by a big game 2 performance.

I like Mitch. I like his game. He's been pathetic to watch, and it feels as though we are nearing the point of divorce here, and frankly, I think it's best for both parties that it goes that way.

 

[Confucius]

Well, Marner has definitely earned the reputation of someone who tends to whine from time to time but whatever. Everyone's piling on to beat up Marner now and I just don't feel like kicking the kid when he's down. I'm not happy with him or anything but that's less to do with these playoffs and more just disappointment that's built up over the years as we keep losing game 7 year after year and right now I feel more sad than anything else.

I don't have much hope left for this series but still, it's not over 'til it's over and all that jazz. Maybe Woll steals one tonight, then Matthews gets his healthy and Mitch becomes Magic Mitch again and we look back at the last game being when we hit rock bottom before rising again. I mean I don't really believe it but ... it's not over 'til it's over and everyone (including Marner, maybe especially Marner) has another chance tonight to show what they're made of. GLG!!

Yeah, we won't have to worry about a game 7 collapse this year.

 

[Gary Nylund]

Yeah, we won't have to worry about a game 7 collapse this year.

If you're looking for a "silver lining", I don't think this is it.

 

[thewave]

If you're looking for a "silver lining", I don't think this is it.

The Keefe curse will be over. Thats pretty silver. Retool maybe?

 

[ToneDog]

It’s fine, Nylander was mic’d the audio will come out. As I’ve said many people have already pretty much confirmed it wasn’t necessarily directed at mitch.

Was listening to the Bunkis podcast last night and he said it was directed at Marner. One can only specualte like the Nylander and Matthews injuries. I doubt the audio ever comes out.

It's no different than breaking a stick, slamming a door, taking a dumb penalty. Players do these things out of frustration all the time.
When they do nothing they don't care, when they do something they're childish.

Many of the comments in this thread are far more juvenile than tossing gloves out of frustration.

I think you are in the minority on this one. Many ex-players did not shine a positive light on it.

 

[Gary Nylund]

I think you are in the minority on this one. Many ex-players did not shine a positive light on it.

Yeah but ex-players, what do they know? Once they're out of the game, they're out of the loop, behind the times and unless they read this forum they don't really know what's what any more.

 

[ToneDog]

The hate for Marner reached nuclear levels of unfair a while ago, but criticisms of his performance have been totally warranted.

It always boils down to the contract, right? The contentious nature of those negotiations, by a hometown kid, left a horrible taste in people's mouths. The reality is, had he just taken a team friendly deal, and done it quietly and gotten on with it the way that Rielly did, the immense pressures on his shoulders wouldn't be anywhere near as significant as they currently are.

But if you sit and demand superstar money, threatening offer sheets & playing abroad in order to get it, the expectation is that you perform like such. There's not a person that watches this team consistently that can tell me that he's turned in superstar performances in the playoffs since his time here. Even his great statistical series against Tampa was bolstered by a big game 2 performance.

I like Mitch. I like his game. He's been pathetic to watch, and it feels as though we are nearing the point of divorce here, and frankly, I think it's best for both parties that it goes that way.

This ^^^^^

Many people have said it, and I don't recall who said it yesterday when talking about this series. WiIl beats skill. A few Leafs do not have the will and are not willing to play outside their comfort zones and pay the price to win. This is series #9 for this core and they are about to go 1-8.

For those that laughed at the Panthers hire of Maurice. He has 4 wins in 5 series and should make it 5/6 in a week or two. All in less than two years. Let that sink in.

 

[57 Years No Cup]

Kipper basically confirmed what I said and saw on x/twitter. Matthews was upset with Nylander because he and Marner wanted to run a specific set play off the faceoff for the PP and Nylander didn’t do something so the play didn’t work. Nylander tells Matthews to shut up and just shoot the puck it isn’t juniors. Insinuating that whatever play matthews and Marner wanted would work in juniors but not the NHL.

Has nothing to do with Marner falling and complaining to the refs. We need to stop chasing dumb narratives off a 30 second clip

@FerrisRox

But when Kypreos says something that doesn't support your narrative he's wrong, amirite?

 

[Suntouchable13]

It's no different than breaking a stick, slamming a door, taking a dumb penalty. Players do these things out of frustration all the time.
When they do nothing they don't care, when they do something they're childish.

Many of the comments in this thread are far more juvenile than tossing gloves out of frustration.

So not wanting to re-sign Marner to a big extension is childish? Or what? It’s childish not wanting to be stuck in purgatory?

 

[57 Years No Cup]

I don’t want Marner at Marner any money. Offer him 8 per year for 5 years or let him walk

Friendly edit.

 

[ACC1224]

So not wanting to re-sign Marner to a big extension is childish? Or what? It’s childish not wanting to be stuck in purgatory?

No, those can be reasonable thoughts. They can also be idiotic, it depends on the reasons given.

 

[ToneDog]

But when Kypreos says something that doesn't support your narrative he's wrong, amirite?

For some unknown reason, Kyper has Mitch's back. Unfortunately for him, he is facing a Tsunami if they get further embarrassed tonight.

 

[Suntouchable13]

No, those can be reasonable thoughts. They can also be idiotic, it depends on the reasons given.

Ok fair enough.

 

[Larcos_Unal]

Yes let's re-sign Mitch, let's continue running it back, let's continue to go top heavy, let's continue to dress a piss poor D core and recycle bin goaltending.

Mitch is awesome when he's not dealing with brain shambles, but the evidence is clear that he is not equipped to handle the pressure & physicality of a long playoff run. You can probably get a top 4 D, top 6 F and a 1st for him...let some other team deal with his attitude, agent & his dad.

 

[IPS]

I like Mitch. I like his game. He's been pathetic to watch, and it feels as though we are nearing the point of divorce here, and frankly, I think it's best for both parties that it goes that way.

This is about where I'm leaning too.

If we go out in 5 games with Mitch playing like this the hatred from the fanbase is about to get a whole lot worse. He already doesn't deal with media well.

Nylander and Matthews are already locked in, Mitch is the one who's not. He decided to sign last on the last go around of contracts and he's signing last again, except it might be way different this time.

 

[Tak7]

This ^^^^^

Many people have said it, and I don't recall who said it yesterday when talking about this series. WiIl beats skill. A few Leafs do not have the will and are not willing to play outside their comfort zones and pay the price to win. This is series #9 for this core and they are about to go 1-8.

For those that laughed at the Panthers hire of Maurice. He has 4 wins in 5 series and should make it 5/6 in a week or two. All in less than two years. Let that sink in.

This isn't on Marner though.

You could legitimately make the argument that they just haven't done a good enough job supplementing the core with enough help, on the ice or behind the bench, to actually win, but that doesn't change the fact that they haven't held up their end of the bargain.

Can't keep making excuses for these guys, but we also have to be mindful that there's plenty more blame to go around - they don't simply just trade marner for a #1D and all of a sudden everything is fixed. The issues run much deeper than that.

 

[ACC1224]

This is about where I'm leaning too.

If we go out in 5 games with Mitch playing like this the hatred from the fanbase is about to get a whole lot worse. He already doesn't deal with media well.

Nylander and Matthews are already locked in, Mitch is the one who's not. He decided to sign last on the last go around of contracts and he's signing last again, except it might be way different this time.

That was Dubas' decision not Marner.

 

[Tak7]

That was Dubas' decision not Marner.

Probably fair to say it was both - IIRC, Marner didn't seem to be in a hurry to get anything done either.

 

[ACC1224]

Probably fair to say it was both - IIRC, Marner didn't seem to be in a hurry to get anything done either.

He wanted to sign the prior summer and Dubas turned down the offer, cost the team millions in cap.
Marner didn't want to negotiate during the season though.

 

[Tak7]

He wanted to sign the prior summer and Dubas turned down the offer, cost the team millions in cap.
Marner didn't want to negotiate during the season though.

I don't recall specifically that Marner wanted to sign the summer prior, but I'll take your word for it.

Either way, (and I think you and I have discussed this in the past), all the promise and hope of a new era of exciting hockey that came 8 years ago after that defeat to the Capitals, has amassed into absolutely nothing. This has been the most disappointing era of leafs hockey that I've lived through.