The Toronto Maple Leafs Plan To Replace Mitch Marner Isn't Working, Should Fans Be Concerned?

The Toronto Maple Leafs had known that when they let Mitch Marner walk after a difficult postseason for the club in which the pending free agent Marner was a major target of criticism for a lack of physicality throughout the season, but replacing his attributes was going to prove difficult.

Marner, coming off a 100 point season in which he was without his goalscoring partner Auston Matthews for part of the season, the team was more focused on replacing the culture, adding tougher and more physically aggressive players.

While Marner was defensively responsible, Toronto wanted more raw strength. Now fans can't be sure what to make of their new look Leafs.

It seemed that Marner's price for Toronto was beyond their range, and didn't fit the Leafs planned new identity they're now forging.

But has it been worth it? The stats don't paint a rosy picture, and neither does fan perception.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have not had an easy going start to begin their season, and it's leading to the question of how much better the Leafs are without their former star.

Marner was the scapegoat, but that covered up some very real additional issues that didn't get their focus, most specifically the struggle of Joseph Woll to be the starter with Anthony Stolarz going down, and the Maple Leafs bottom-six unable to produce offense.

Toronto fixed their depth scoring issue with the additions of Dakota Joshua and Nicolas Roy, as well as Matias Maccelli as an offensive addition, but it was pointed out from TSN's Travis Yost that Marner is outplaying all three of them.

Marner has 10 points in his first seven games, and Joshua, Maccelli, & Roy combined? Just five.

Maccelli specifically has dealt with struggles and has found himself dropped out of the top-six for the third line.

Dakota Joshua has been largely quiet to start the season, with him now at full health, he needs to be more.

Nicolas Roy has been solid, but he's largely been relegated to the defensive end for his effectiveness, leaving that bottom-six offense Toronto wanted more of still lacking. The Leafs cannot excuse having these same flaws as last season.

It was correctly pointed out by JFresh that this roster construction is one that Leafs fans have been hammering for.

They wanted a meaner, more physically imposing team, and players like Marner moved out for physical competitors. But for whatever reason, it hasn't yet worked.

Teams need physicality, and they need size, but they also need offense. No team wins just by who can hit the hardest and play the most aggressive without being able to net goals at the other end.

The Leafs were hoping to balance the two, but haven't seem that they have the winning formula yet, or at least the pieces in order right now. Many fans say to wait until the postseason when it matters, but they can't wait forever for their physical side to come.

A guy who was supposed to be one of the leaders of the Leafs new physical look, Brandon Carlo, looked on as Anthony Stolarz was knocked into his own net by an opposing player. The Leafs wouldn't touch Jack Hughes in his own end, letting him dance through them.

If fans thought Toronto's lack of grit started and ended with Marner, this season hasn't verified that, and it's many of the Leafs «bruisers» not performing to this harder play style.

There's still much of a season left to play, but this was a Leafs team that was promised to be more physical, more aggressive, more intense.

Why aren't they that? It's a question that the Leafs will have to answer soon, and will need to know how to create the team they wanted them to be.

Vegas has gotten their money's worth with Marner so far so early, having two goals and 10 points in his first seven games in Vegas, and building chemistry on the top line with Jack Eichel and Pavel Dorofeyev.

Vegas is first in the Western Conference, but like Toronto, The Vegas Golden Knights have dealt with their fair share of challenges, with star winger Mark Stone being placed on the IR after suffering an awkward fall against the Calgary Flames.

The Vegas Golden Knights are in a strong situation, and Mitch Marner hasn't been the problem for them so far, and has been one of their bright spots. Vegas fans are happy, and it should be a concern for the Leafs.

Is it that Mitch Marner was at his best with a change of scenery and how he's playing now wasn't possible in Toronto at this point? Possibly, but his 102 points are coming through the Leafs door.

Either way, many anti-Marner Leafs fans are happy not to have him, even as Toronto faces their own challenges, adamant that he'd only worsen them rather than solve them. Golden Knights fans don't seem to have buyer's remorse yet.

This is what the fanbase wanted, a team of physical bullies with a culture that demands physicality and a harder effort, but even then that roster design hasn't come to fruition.

If it doesn't, it becomes an uncomfortable question if the Leafs have made a major mistake getting rid of Mitch Marner.