Mitch Marner Is To Blame For The Toronto Maple Leafs' Powerplay Issues This Season

A lot of hype came into the Maple Leafs season, from the roster additions to the anointment of Craig Berube as head coach, fans were highly anticipating how improved Toronto would be. Well, so far they've been very hot and cold with a key factor being their powerplay, only going 3-for-30 so far this season for a paltry 10%, which is 29th in the NHL.

A main factor of their powerplay has been the incessant need to keep the Core Four together as a bunched-up, overloaded powerplay line. It was supposed to lead to a ton of goals, but so far nothing has surfaced. It could also be due to Mitch Marner's inability to take a shot:

Marner had a wide-open cage and decided to pass it up, literally. It's kind of absurd to see Marner look down to corral the puck, then look up to see an empty net and decide "The best course of action is to give Boston a chance to reset."

Bruins netminder Jeremy Swayman was caught completely out of position and any rational player would have taken the shot; especially since Marner has nearly 200 career goals you would think he would shoot. While not for certain, a Marner goal could have turned the tides for the Maple Leafs and deflating the Boston crowd and atmosphere would certainly have started to change the momentum.

Egregiously, it was on a 5-on-3 powerplay as well, with one lone Boston defender responsible for three Maple Leafs. Marner's choice to pass first, while admirable from a team-player sense, doesn't win you games. Unless Marner was completely sure he was able to slide the pass through to the other Leafs, or for some reason suddenly had two Bruins on him he needed to shoot. Head coach Craig Berube already chastised Max Domi for passing too much, and now he can't afford Marner giving up these opportunities.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have dropped three straight games, and while they had a bit more life in Boston, it was still another disappointing end for the team against the Bruins. Their powerplay has been awful, and it's evident why: If Mitch Marner and company keep passing up chances to score, they're going to lose their chance to win. Every time.