There's been plenty of criticism since the Toronto Maple Leafs lost three games in a row, resulting in yet another early exit from the playoffs in what was supposed to be a promising season. Mitch Marner, the Leafs' winger, is taking a lot of heat for not scoring a single goal in the seven-game series against the Montreal Canadiens while being one of the league's highest-paid players. Among the vitriol and trade rumours, some have opted to protect Marner. Former player turned analyst John Scott, on the other hand, believes those folks are incorrect.
"I kinda don't like when people call him the scapegoat because it makes it seem like he's doing something right and people are blaming him and they shouldn't justifiably blame him," said Scott. "You should blame Mitch Marner. He's the reason the Leafs aren't, you know, moving on."
Scott, while appearing on Sportsnet 590 The Fan, said other guys like Auston Matthews are to blame as well, but Marner is a huge part of the equation.
"And he should shoulder most, if not all of the blame," added Scott. "The defense played pretty well, Jack Campbell played pretty well, they got production from the bottom line, they played good their team. And Mitch Marner, he has to pull his end of the chain."
"He shouldn't even be the scapegoat, he is the reason they didn't win. It's pretty obvious," Scott said.
