After losing a winner-take-all Game 7 against the Montreal Canadiens yesterday evening, the Toronto Maple Leafs' 2020-21 season is officially finished. The Leafs, who held a 3-1 series lead against the Habs, lost three straight games to surrender the series and send themselves into yet another early offseason.
Most Leafs supporters are furious with Mitch Marner this evening after his egregious error led to the game's first goal. But, more importantly, Marner's entire playoff record with the Leafs has been horrible, and Leafs supporters are focusing on that. In six seasons, he has only five playoff goals and has gone goalless in the last two postseasons. All of this for $15 million a year...
Perhaps I'm overthinking things, but there's certainly something wrong with the way the Leafs conduct themselves. Perhaps Marner is a part of the problem, or only a symptom of a larger issue? From the outside looking in, their star players appear to have a great sense of entitlement, which is what gets them into difficulty when they don't produce. You can talk a big game and puff your chest out all you want, but you have to deliver when Judgement Day arrives. Some of the game's greatest players were unwavering in their belief in themselves and their ability, but they also walked the walk. Marner still has a long way to go before he can make the same claim.
