Mitch Marner's Exit Exposes Deeper Truth About Maple Leafs Core
Photo credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
During TSN's FirstUp program on Monday, the debate about Mitch Marner's playoff failures in Toronto led to a much deeper realization: It's not just him.
The discussion surround the Maple Leafs' Core Four and their playoff failures will be one that continues of for years to come, especially as each year passes without Toronto raising the Cup.
A stacked core's repeated failures catalyst for change
A lot of the flak was directed towards Mitch Marner, and while he's gone, it's hard to replace him. But according to TSN's FirstUp show; it wasn't just him:
It's weird, it's the nature of the game but it's also the nature of nine years of ineptitude in big games.
For the Maple Leafs to go further in the playoffs they actually have to subtract someone as talented as Marner which speaks to many things.
It speaks to whatever has just gone wrong with Marner consistently over the years, and not just him. It's Morgan Rielly, Auston Matthews, John Tavares.
It's not about Marner it's about the collection of them.
For the Maple Leafs to go further in the playoffs they actually have to subtract someone as talented as Marner which speaks to many things.
It speaks to whatever has just gone wrong with Marner consistently over the years, and not just him. It's Morgan Rielly, Auston Matthews, John Tavares.
It's not about Marner it's about the collection of them.
Pointing out that it isn't just Marner's fault is fair, and star winger William Nylander avoids being called out if only because he manages to do something come playoff time.
It was boldly put out there too, that as good as Toronto has been, it's never resulted in anything worthwhile and something needed to change:
It also speaks to the nature of hockey playoffs, about the fact that you need to do what you do to dominate in the regular season and translate it to the playoffs.
What the Maple Leafs have done in these wonderful regular seasons hasn't translated, and the way to fix it is to be okay without Marner.
What the Maple Leafs have done in these wonderful regular seasons hasn't translated, and the way to fix it is to be okay without Marner.
But are things going to be okay without him?
Why subtracting a star might be addition by subtraction
There is no 'I' in team, but there are several in individual; and that's what Marner's career is. An incredibly accomplished player with fantastic numbers but they are overshadowed by his inability to produce when it counts.
Losing 100 points from a player is a very rough set of circumstances, but the team has decided to work by committee and a "One for all, all for one" mentality than puts teamwork and sacrifice over personal stats.
Nicolas Roy makes them deeper and gives them their best 3C in a long time. Matias Maccelli is 24, not even scratching his prime, and has the chance to explode alongside Auston Matthews.
Dakota Joshua and Michael Pezzetta are adding a ton of toughness, grit and passion; something Marner seemingly had issues with at times.
This isn't about bringing in a superstar to help them; they have at least four on the roster already. It's about bringing in the right fits, and they've gotten better overall, even if on paper it looks weak.
The harsh reality of nine years without playoff progress
However, the dismal failure year after year is not only tiring, but sadly normal. You come to expect the Leafs to make the playoffs every season, only to falter in either the first or second round.
It's going to be 24 years since the team made an Eastern Conference Finals, they've had two second round berths in the last nine seasons and had their best chance in 2024-25 but injuries and Florida being Florida made things tough.
This is a team who is nearing 60 years without winning the big one, and the fanbase is not only extremely frustrated, but wondering exactly what they have to do. They had half a lineup of superstars and failed; they had a thrown together lineup that failed.
At what point do fans wonder if there's a curse of some kind, as it seems nothing the team can muster is enough for the ultimate prize.
We've had nine years of Mitch Marner, and nine years of failure. Maybe for the first time in a decade, things are going to change.
Least, we hope they do.
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 22 | 2124 ANSWERS Mitch Marner's Exit Exposes Deeper Truth About Maple Leafs Core Who do you think was the problem for the Maple Leafs in the playoffs? | ||
| Mitch Marner | 1058 | 49.8 % |
| Auston Matthews | 619 | 29.1 % |
| Morgan Rielly | 395 | 18.6 % |
| John Tavares | 52 | 2.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
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