Player Discussion Mitch Marner

[Gary Nylund]

It's a fact that he gets unwarranted hate here.

I'm fine with the criticism - and have been part of that criticism. At no point did I suggest he isn't responsible for that criticism.

But the hate is excessive. That's factual.

I don't either - just commenting on what a long way it would go were he to, in repairing his toxic relationship with subsections of the fanbase.

I don't like the word hate but OK, that's just my pet peeve. Some of the hate might be unwarranted, that's probably due to his whiny personality and the dumb things he says in interviews. I mean when you say don't care what the fans think, that's not going to go over well.

IMO he also gets a lot of unwarranted love to balance it out. He's just one of the most, if not the most polarizing players in Maple Leaf history.

I agree it would go a long way, but it's not gonna happen.

 

[Tak7]

I don't like the word hate but OK, that's just my pet peeve. Some of the hate might be unwarranted,

We can leave it there.

Plenty of time to discuss what happens moving forward, but it's gameday. Let's get behind the guy.

 

[GoonieFace]

I think a lot of it was brought on by that awful jacket he wore

 

[Gary Nylund]

We can leave it there.

Plenty of time to discuss what happens moving forward, but it's gameday. Let's get behind the guy.

Agreed. I thought he played great last game, after being garbage in game 4 which was incredibly frustrating. But you could say that about the entire team, not just him so whatever, maybe there's something in the water or the curse has to be lifted before we have playoff success, who knows. But I'm always behind him and everyone else on the team whenever we play.

Hoping for a great game from him tonight. I don't Matthews is going to help tonight so as the next biggest gun on the team, the pressure's on Mitch. Wouldn't it be sweet if we crushed Boston tonight and Mitch led the way with a 4 point night! GLG!!

 

[Tak7]

Agreed. I thought he played great last game, after being garbage in game 4 which was incredibly frustrating. But you could say that about the entire team, not just him so whatever, maybe there's something in the water or the curse has to be lifted before we have playoff success, who knows. But I'm always behind him and everyone else on the team whenever we play.

Hoping for a great game from him tonight. I don't Matthews is going to help tonight so as the next biggest gun on the team, the pressure's on Mitch. Wouldn't it be sweet if we crushed Boston tonight and Mitch led the way with a 4 point night! GLG!!

He's due a Tampa game 2 2023 kind of night, absolutely.

I saw a player who looked like he was having fun out there again in game 5. Hope we get playground Mitch again tonight. Goes without saying: we need it.

 

[thewave]

Mitch has an opportunity to make us all look dumb. Best game of the season needed here tonight.

 

[Gary Nylund]

Mitch has an opportunity to make us all look dumb. Best game of the season needed here tonight.

Yup. He's paid a ton of money to play at an elite level in situations like this, time to earn his money.

Pressure's on Nylander as well. Not to the same extent because his next contract hasn't kicked in yet and he doesn't have the linemates Mitch does but still, we need both of them on their game tonight for sure!

 

[ruaware41]

I don't like the word hate but OK, that's just my pet peeve. Some of the hate might be unwarranted, that's probably due to his whiny personality and the dumb things he says in interviews. I mean when you say don't care what the fans think, that's not going to go over well.

IMO he also gets a lot of unwarranted love to balance it out. He's just one of the most, if not the most polarizing players in Maple Leaf history.

I agree it would go a long way, but it's not gonna happen.

Imo Gardiner was a lot more polarizing. There was probably a lot of undue love for him partly due to the fact that there's a Gardiner Expressway in Toronto and that gave nostalgia for ppl who grew up at some point in Toronto. It's part of the reason I didn't want him gone

 

[Niagara Bill]

It's a fact that he gets unwarranted hate here.

I'm fine with the criticism - and have been part of that criticism. At no point did I suggest he isn't responsible for that criticism.

But the hate is excessive. That's factual.


I don't either - just commenting on what a long way it would go were he to, in repairing his toxic relationship with subsections of the fanbase.

It is not hate, it is disgust. Talent, skill, opportunity, fans who have been patient for 6 years of his career waiting for his maturity, success in season, failure in playoffs, timidity, whining, displays of not being all in, salary negotiations, daddy, getting knocked on your ass snd not getting up, all add to his self created reputation. The fans did NOT create this storm. He did. And only he can dispel it.
The Oilers McD, Bouchard, Hopkins, Drai are engaged, not floating 20 ft from the net.

 

[Gary Nylund]

It is not hate, it is disgust. Talent, skill, opportunity, fans who have been patient for 6 years of his career waiting for his maturity, success in season, failure in playoffs, timidity, whining, displays of not being all in, salary negotiations, daddy, getting knocked on your ass snd not getting up, all add to his self created reputation. The fans did NOT create this storm. He did. And only he can dispel it.
The Oilers McD, Bouchard, Hopkins, Drai are engaged, not floating 20 ft from the net.

+1
I'm guessing I speak for many of us when I say that I don't hate the guy (and I've never hated any player who's played for us over the last 50 years) but I have at times felt some disgust when I think about the way Marner's played.

There have also been times when I've been absolutely thrilled with him. Rarely has that been the case this deep into the playoffs but I though he played very well in game 5, we'll see what happens tonight.

 

[Niagara Bill]

+1
I'm guessing I speak for many of us when I say that I don't hate the guy (and I've never hated any player who's played for us over the last 50 years) but I have at times felt some disgust when I think about the way Marner's played.

There have also been times when I've been absolutely thrilled with him. Rarely has that been the case this deep into the playoffs but I though he played very well in game 5, we'll see what happens tonight.

I don't hate Mitchy. Nothing would make me happier than for him to dominate, to play a role, to be involved, to lead.
But...nothing yet
I don't get angry with Gregor. No expectations. Mitchy has given us expectations.

 

[Tak7]

It is not hate, it is disgust. Talent, skill, opportunity, fans who have been patient for 6 years of his career waiting for his maturity, success in season, failure in playoffs, timidity, whining, displays of not being all in, salary negotiations, daddy, getting knocked on your ass snd not getting up, all add to his self created reputation. The fans did NOT create this storm. He did. And only he can dispel it.
The Oilers McD, Bouchard, Hopkins, Drai are engaged, not floating 20 ft from the net.

Replying to my post about all the unnecessary hate Marner gets, with a personal grocery list of things you don't like about him, isn't the move here, big guy.

 

[Gary Nylund]

Replying to my post about all the unnecessary hate Marner gets, with a personal grocery list of things you don't like about him, isn't the move here, big guy.

He's just saying it's not hate, a better term would be (occasional) disgust and there are reasons for it.

He's not wrong and I've always thought playing the hate card is such a weak cop out. It usually happens when people are out of arguments so they say "you're just a hater". It's nothing but an attempt to change the subject from argument about Marner that they're losing, to a personal attack on someone else.

I've lost track of how many times I've been called a hater, it's just pathetic. He used to be my favorite player, I've never hated him, and never will. I do hate the way he's played for us in some of the biggest playoff games we've had with this core and if some idiots can't understand the difference between hating the person, and hating the way he plays sometimes, that's their problem.

I hope he plays great tonight and helps us win, and I'd be surprised if anyone feels any different.

 

[mapleleafs34]

Imo Gardiner was a lot more polarizing. There was probably a lot of undue love for him partly due to the fact that there's a Gardiner Expressway in Toronto and that gave nostalgia for ppl who grew up at some point in Toronto. It's part of the reason I didn't want him gone

The things I'd do right now to have his point shot our PP.

 

[Lightsol]

He gets more than $60m if he hits free agency, so it feels like a team win, even if it's a small one.

I'm not saying Marner has to sign a deal for $4m - but if he can get a deal done that feels as though the team won, and that he made some concessions to help the team, that would go a long way to change his perception amongst the fanbase.

I noticed the second Tavares signed his big deal and there were talks about "taking discounts", people liked to say "the big 3", but a lot of them weren't subtle about the fact that they expected the hometown Leaf fan to be the one to take the discount. And the reason people are hyperfocused on Marner and his contract in a way they aren't for the others (except Tavares) is because of this expectation.

 

[Lightsol]

176 pages of people bitchin about Mitch, and him being heavily booed on Saturday, suggests otherwise, but please - don't let facts get in the way of your hate boner

I especially love the ones who ask why Marner is so hostile with the media; quite frankly, if you don't have an extreme hatred of the Toronto media at this point, then I'd suggest you weren't actually paying attention until 2015...

The media in the late 90's seemed to go on a tear hiring reporters with one quality; they were willing to tear down anybody and everybody on a Toronto team for a juicy story. The stuff around the Burke/Nonis teams was the nadir of the Toronto media's obsession with tearing down anybody and everybody.

 

[DarkKnight]

I especially love the ones who ask why Marner is so hostile with the media; quite frankly, if you don't have an extreme hatred of the Toronto media at this point, then I'd suggest you weren't actually paying attention until 2015...

The media in the late 90's seemed to go on a tear hiring reporters with one quality; they were willing to tear down anybody and everybody on a Toronto team for a juicy story. The stuff around the Burke/Nonis teams was the nadir of the Toronto media's obsession with tearing down anybody and everybody.

It's funny too, some of the same people who are constantly saying what idiots the media are, when Marner treats them like idiots they're aghast.

Expecting another effort like last game.

 

[Lightsol]

It's funny too, some of the same people who are constantly saying what idiots the media are, when Marner treats them like idiots they're aghast.

Expecting another effort like last game.

"How dare he act hostile to the same media who ran stories like Kessel's love of hot dogs making him too fat to care and how they harrassed James Reimer's mother over the 18 wheeler collapse!"

 

[Aashir Mallik]

He’s progressively gotten better as the series went on

He was horror bad game 1 and 2, he was mediocre as hell game 3 and 4, and was good game 5, hopefully builds on that for a great game 6

 

[DarkKnight]

"How dare he act hostile to the same media who ran stories like Kessel's love of hot dogs making him too fat to care and how they harrassed James Reimer's mother over the 18 wheeler collapse!"

He doesn't help his cause with the haters with his defensive answers, so I argue he needs to play the game, but sweet lord he's spot on with his disdain for them. Fans thinks he's taking directly to them, he's looking at Steve Simmons.

 

[Niagara Bill]

He's just saying it's not hate, a better term would be (occasional) disgust and there are reasons for it.

He's not wrong and I've always thought playing the hate card is such a weak cop out. It usually happens when people are out of arguments so they say "you're just a hater". It's nothing but an attempt to change the subject from argument about Marner that they're losing, to a personal attack on someone else.

I've lost track of how many times I've been called a hater, it's just pathetic. He used to be my favorite player, I've never hated him, and never will. I do hate the way he's played for us in some of the biggest playoff games we've had with this core and if some idiots can't understand the difference between hating the person, and hating the way he plays sometimes, that's their problem.

I hope he plays great tonight and helps us win, and I'd be surprised if anyone feels any different.

AMEN!

 

[francis246]

He doesn't help his cause with the haters with his defensive answers, so I argue he needs to play the game, but sweet lord he's spot on with his disdain for them. Fans thinks he's taking directly to them, he's looking at Steve Simmons.

I think players from all the major sports teams would want to take Simmons to the corner way and deal with him. The guy is a clown

 

[GoonieFace]

He's just saying it's not hate, a better term would be (occasional) disgust and there are reasons for it.

He's not wrong and I've always thought playing the hate card is such a weak cop out. It usually happens when people are out of arguments so they say "you're just a hater". It's nothing but an attempt to change the subject from argument about Marner that they're losing, to a personal attack on someone else.

I've lost track of how many times I've been called a hater, it's just pathetic. He used to be my favorite player, I've never hated him, and never will. I do hate the way he's played for us in some of the biggest playoff games we've had with this core and if some idiots can't understand the difference between hating the person, and hating the way he plays sometimes, that's their problem.

I hope he plays great tonight and helps us win, and I'd be surprised if anyone feels any different.

I just picture some 11 year old punk when I hear the word “hater”.

 

[ITM]

I don't think it's controversial to say that although we absolutely want Marner to produce, Marner doesn't have to produce. He just needs to pass the old Maple Leaf Gardens eye test that sees him battle, in a game and on a night that's there for his taking.

We've never spited our club and our players for losing. We spite apathy.

And in this day and age, players absolutely make way too much money to be apathetic however difficult that kind of wealth is to fight through in its induction of apathy and sense of having fulfilled everything a person could aspire towards.

Can any of us forget Marner's salute to the fans by including 9 and 3 as an homage to Doug Gilmour in his nigh-11M dollar contract?

Tone deaf as that is, here's a thought: Pay homage to players like Doug Gilmour by embracing the idea that bleeding on the sweater in the playoffs is the only tribute that counts because it's the one the rest of us would do for free given half the chance.

 

[Gary Nylund]

I just picture some 11 year old punk when I hear the word “hater”.

I just take it as someone who has zero interest in thoughtful discussion.

I especially love the ones who ask why Marner is so hostile with the media; quite frankly, if you don't have an extreme hatred of the Toronto media at this point, then I'd suggest you weren't actually paying attention until 2015...

The media in the late 90's seemed to go on a tear hiring reporters with one quality; they were willing to tear down anybody and everybody on a Toronto team for a juicy story. The stuff around the Burke/Nonis teams was the nadir of the Toronto media's obsession with tearing down anybody and everybody.

I haven't paid attention to the Toronto (sports) media in over 20 years and anyone that does, deserves what they get. The only time I ever see what they're saying is when someone shares something here, or if I happen to see something on the news. That said, just like there's no reason to hate Marner, there's no reason to hate the media so the bolded is just weird.