Vegas is unlocking Mitch Marner at center while the Maple Leafs are still paying for letting him go
Photo credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images
Mitch Marner scored a hat trick and added five points in his first game as a centre under John Tortorella. Vegas just unlocked something Toronto had ten years to find. That says everything.
Mitch Marner is being tried down the middle for the Vegas Golden Knights, something the team has attempted to middling results, but Vegas seems to have a more positive outlook this time around.
Having recently let go of head coach Bruce Cassidy and replacing him with John Tortorella, Marner has been added at centre on the second between for the Knights game Thursday against Calgary.
Marner played at centre earlier in the season, a move that didn't stick for the 28-year-old, but under Tortorella, Vegas may be able to unlock this new Marner.
And maybe Tortorella is onto something, as Marner came out of nowhere to record his first hat-trick as a member of the Golden Knights and had five points total:
George McPhee reveals that respect and hard coaching are the keys to unlocking Mitch Marner in the middle
Vegas Golden Knights GM George McPhee has given credit to Mitch Marner and believes that he has the traits needed to find his way into a centre role.
McPhee believes that Marner's two way game can become translate from the wing to centre, or that they want to at least try and see if that transition can be had.
Marner's energy and hockey IQ are traits that should be able to make him an NHL center, but he's still performed stronger on the wing.
In Toronto, Marner was seldom used as a centre. Attempts were made, but not dominating as well down the middle vs the wing, along with an existing top-six centre group of Auston Matthews and John Tavares, made things unlikely for Marner to get that chance.
Moving Mitch Marner to centre confirms that the Toronto organization missed a decade of offensive potential
If the Vegas Golden Knights can unlock a centre out of Mitch Marner after a decade in the NHL, the Toronto Maple Leafs may be asking why they couldn't do so themselves.
Marner has 20 goals, 51 assists, & 71 points in 74 games this season for Vegas, a step downwards from his 102 points in Toronto last season.
Vegas is hoping that Marner cannot only be the centre option they can trust behind Jack Eichel, but a move that resets Marner's offense back to his best self.
Moving from wing to centre is a highly difficult move to take, in part due to a need for more physicality and ability to create offence down the middle rather than through the sides.
Although fading as a need, centre still has to be a reliable face-off taker, and with a strong defensive IQ. Marner fits the bill, but his best play comes on the wing, and it's why Toronto kept him there.
But if Mitch Marner had been the centre Toronto needed behind Auston Matthews, perhaps John Tavares never signs, or moves to the wing. The Leafs future could have been very different.
Mitch Marner at centre at this stage is nothing more than just an experiment. But if things succeed, Vegas is hoping they'll get the best out of Mitch Marner, and make Toronto feel sorry.
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Previously on Hockey Patrol
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 3|1158 ANSWERS Vegas is unlocking Mitch Marner at center while the Maple Leafs are still paying for letting him go Can Mitch Marner become a center for Vegas? | ||
| Yes | 607 | 52.4 % |
| No | 551 | 47.6 % |
| List of polls | ||