I don’t know Mitch Marner personally, but the drama surrounding him is something I’ve grown tired of.
- The Gilmour name-dropping and incorporating his number into Marner’s salary. A clear PR move by Marner's camp, despite the fact Marner was only five when Gilmour retired, and they’re vastly different players.
- The offer-sheet drama.
- The LeBron-like "Letter to Fans" after signing his massive contract—again with the Leaf greats namedropping.
- His dad complaining to the media about Marner not being in captaincy discussions.
- His dad calling Gilmour to complain about Babcock.
- The endless whining about media and social media scrutiny.
- Frequently turning questions about teammates into comments about himself.
- The childish dancing.
- The need for the big goalie hugs and cliche sports superstions, "being the last player off the ice."
- The big hats and mickey mouse outfits.
- Tone-deaf statements like, "We’re treated like gods."
- Constantly framing things as "me and Auston"—more name-dropping.
- His contradictory statements... "you guys (leaf fans) expect alot and I wouldnt have it any other way" in his letter to fans..but then hes the biggest complainer about social media and criticism. Criticism that is more than warranted for a team who has one series winnin 8 years. Or calling the playoffs a war and the hardest trophy to win in sports, but then also being the softest player in the series, not playing physical and avoiding physical areas. Two seperate broadcasts did segments on his unspiring efforts vs Boston and there are numerous videos of him "pulling the chute".
No other Leaf generates anything close to this level of circus.
Individually, I could tolerate a couple of these. But taken together, it’s a mountain of attention-seeking and drama that has become a distraction for the team. If he ACTUALLY played with Gilmour's heart, maybe I could accept some of the attention seeking behavior, but his play doesnt back up his behavior. His perception of himself is much bigger than his play.
He reminds me of P.K. Subban in Montreal and P.K wore out his welcome in Montreal because of his antics.
However, even with the drama aside, I dont think soft, slow, perimeter players with weak shots can drive a line in the playoffs. Ive been correct in this assessment for the past 5 years. AND the money he gets, he absolutely should drive a line.