I welcome a rebuttal.
The Leafs see Marner as a future centre. Or at least they did prior to drafting Matthews. Here's a source where Mitch confirms that Hunter told him that he will play centre in the future.
http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/mitch-marner-expects-to-play-centre-on-toronto-maple-leafs/
Additionally, all scouts who've opined on the matter believe that he would have no issues at C. Every major publication lists him as a C.
I hope that's enough evidence to close the chapter on this C/Wing debate. All of the experts say he can play both. Given the Leafs needs, maybe he'll stick at the wing long-term. We shouldn't hold this against him.
Second point, in regards to his defense. Yes, his line was poor defensively, but JVR doesn't bother on that end, and Bozak isn't much better. Again, scouts have always said that Marner is strong defensively. The eye test (to me, and I think most others) confirms this. Now I'll grant you that he does turn it over quite a bit in the offensive zone, but he's a rookie who always has the puck on his stick and often goes for the low percentage pass. He'll have to clean this up a bit, and he will, but otherwise, he's terrific defensively. Quimby provided some stats that attest to this fact, and if you watch him closely you will see how smart/responsible he is on that end. I will only add that Marner finished 3
rd in entire NHL in takeaways/minute. That is
incredible for a rookie.
Meanwhile, Eichel is a notoriously poor defender. That fact is not debatable. Matthews is decent defensively, especially for a rookie so I suppose you can present an argument on that front.