TORONTO — Mitch Marner would grab a blue Sharpie and draw tiny smiley faces on his hockey gloves to remind himself to have fun, to enjoy the ride.
Well, after swallowing another post-season series disappointment, his eighth in nine tries; after delivering another ineffective performance personally in another elimination game; and after failing to get a bump on his man right before that man ended the Toronto Maple Leafs‘ season, you gotta wonder how much fun the Mitch Marner Experience is for the player.
“It sucks. It’s all the same shitty pain to be honest. It’s never fun going home early. Never gets easier,” Marner said Monday, made available to reporters for the first time since Saturday’s gutting overtime loss. (But only for three minutes, before questions were cut off by staff.)
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Now Toronto’s management has a decision to make, soon if it hasn’t already. Should they give the supremely gifted winger long-term Leafy security and a raise upwards of William Nylander’s $11.5 million? Or approach Marner and agent Darren Ferris with the idea of waving the player’s no-move clause and working with the Maple Leafs on a relocation plan?
Let’s be real: The Maple Leafs can’t simply sit on their hands and let someone wielding Marner’s skill skate out the final year of his deal for nothing. This isn’t Zach Hyman (wink).
On face value, Brad Treliving cannot win a Marner trade.
Should the general manager reallot his cap space in a blockbuster of that magnitude, he risks the same criticism then-Oilers exec Peter Chiarelli received when he traded future Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall to the Devils for top-four defenceman Adam Larsson.
But what Treliving can do is properly disperse his dollars in a manner more suited to team success, which somehow became secondary under a Shanaplan that prioritized running it back ad nauseam and proving that the original blueprint was designed for a castle, not a monorail.
Naturally, transactions of this magnitude are easier to opine about than pull off. (Can Marner get a package that includes stud goalie Juuse Saros from Nashville? Or big righty Seth Jones from Chicago, the pain of Marner making magic with Connor Bedard be damned?) But it’s not impossible to move 10-figure stars.
Jack Eichel got traded. Erik Karlsson, too.
The catch here is this: How much does Marner truly love playing in Toronto still? That, we don’t know.
We know he was granted a mid-season “break” from the media, whom he has often referred to as “you guys” in the tone of the picked upon.
We know he bristled at the attention his ankle injury received.
We know a swelling segment of the fan base is wishing that a creative east-west player could flip styles and drive north when the playoffs require a more direct game. We know they’re screaming for less Griddy and more grit.
We also know Marner scored one beautiful, no-impact goal and had two assists in the seven-gamer versus Boston. His point total matched that of Nylander, who missed the series’ first three games, and Matthew Knies, a rookie who chugged in straight lines and didn’t fear contact.
We know Nylander appeared to tell Marner to quit crying when the hole got too deep in Game 4, and that Marner threw his gloves in a fit of frustration.
The scrutiny is intense in this hockey market, it’s true.
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As he cleaned out his locker Monday, the Toronto-born Marner said “it means the world” to be a Maple Leaf.
“Obviously, we’re looked upon as kinda gods here, to be honest,” Marner said. “Something you really appreciate, the love that you get here from this fan base and this attention is kinda none like any other.”
Much attention will be paid to what the perceived god wearing No. 16 said before heading off for vacation.
What Marner didn’t say was anything along the lines of this: I need to be better. I need to produce when our series is on the line. (To be fair, of the Leafs who spoke, only endangered coach Sheldon Keefe and goalie Ilya Samsonov expressed self-accountability with any directness.)
Psychology defines a god complex as “a conviction that one is infallible, merits special attention and privileges not enjoyed by other people.”
Of his next contract, which is bound to be a whopper no matter who gives it to him, Marner said he was too focused on playing and hasn’t thought about it at all. Which would be an incredible feat, considering it could be a $90-million-plus payday.
“That’ll come up now, probably within the next week or so,” Marner said, agreeing that he’d like big term.
“That’d be a goal. I’ve expressed my love for this place, this city. Obviously, I’ve grown up here. We’ll start thinking about that now and try and figure something out.”
Marner touched on an improved penalty kill, a power play that needed to come through, how winning a Stanley Cup is hard, and how the group will push through this adversity.
It all sounded like his final shift looked: half-hearted.
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Marner’s teammates all circled in support.
Coach Sheldon Keefe went so far as to take ownership for not getting Marner to come through in the big moments.
Auston Matthews: “In my time here, I’ve learned there’s always a scapegoat. There’s always a narrative. There’s always something. We love Mitchy.”
Morgan Rielly: “He’s an amazing human, great hockey player. So, any heat or anything like that, I believe, would be undeserved.”
Nylander: “He’s an incredible human being, friend. Love the guy. Look, there’s always somebody getting heat here regardless of how it’s going. But we love him. And there’s always going to be something that you guys have to say or whatever.”
Max Domi: “He’s like a little brother to me kind of thing. So, love the kid to death. And seeing what he’s done in his career so far and how big of a role he has here in the hockey mecca and how he carries himself, special person, special player and feel very fortunate enough to be able to play with him at this level.”
Sometimes the Marner discourse gets twisted.
There is no question he’s a helluva hockey player or that he’d love to live out some boyhood dream of bringing a championship to Toronto.
There is, however, piling evidence, short spring after short spring, that Marner’s money, on this particular roster, could be better spent elsewhere if the Maple Leafs are to make a meaningful run in the playoffs.
Maybe there would be more smiles all around.
