All Purpose Mitch Marner Talk

[Stephen]

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[kb]

To the poster from the last thread....

Marner: 300 Games, 291 Points, 83 Goals

Matthews: 282 Games, 285 Points, 158 Goals.

What are you talking about? Matthews is the better player.

 

[Stephen]

To the poster from the last thread....

Marner: 300 Games, 291 Points, 83 Goals

Matthews: 282 Games, 285 Points, 158 Goals.

What are you talking about? Matthews is the better player.

It's not even production. When Matthews gets going, the Leafs come to life in a way you don't often see with many players in the game.

 

[Stephen]

Is it realistic to expect Mitch Marner to be able to play a hard, tenacious, gritty game that Brayden Point was able to en route to the Stanley Cup this past season?

 

[HamiltonNHL]

Marner doesn't have an NHL shot.

Hopefully being the highest paid NHL player this year buys this team some arm workouts

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

What is there left to say about Mitch? He’s overpaid and his negotiating tactics soured him to a lot of this fan base. If he wants any goodwill back he not only has to put up points (he’s basically required to put up 90+ year in and year out to justify his contract), but bring it every single night and bring other elements to the table besides his offensive prowess.. Most of all, he cannot be “disengaged” or giving it anything less than 100% in a playoff game.

He’s the highest paid winger in the league. That comes with expectations and it’s entirely his fault that he has those expectations on his shoulders. Prior to his contract signing the idea of trading him would’ve been unfathomable, but now given his lacklustre play, lack of urgency, and how much he counts against the cap, trading him isn’t so crazy anymore.

I hope he paid attention to how guys like Point played this postseason. An effective player to model himself after if he wants to have more of an impact in the playoffs than secondary assists and cute plays that lead to nowhere. And next time don’t come into Game 1 as anything but ready and rearing to go.

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

Is it realistic to expect Mitch Marner to be able to play a hard, tenacious, gritty game that Brayden Point was able to en route to the Stanley Cup this past season?

He just needs to have the will to do it. No reason he can’t unless he’s scared or doesn’t have the give a damn to do so.

If Maroon is too expensive maybe Martin would be a good pickup and returnee. Perhaps he could give Marner the kick in the rear and confidence he needs to elevate his game.

 

[Stephen]

He just needs to have the will to do it. No reason he can’t unless he’s scared or doesn’t have the give a damn to do so.

If a player is deemed to be scared or doesn't have the compete level, I think that would be justifiable cause for moving on from them, and determining that is an issue with Marner and Nylander will be a big part of the evaluation going forward.

Looking at a team like San Jose, that team wasted 2 decades on building their core group around Thornton and Marleau. They just didn't have the same kind of gear that other Western Conference contenders did.

Anyway, as a comparison, Point is just so quiet and humble and dialed in and just focused on playing the game well. Wins a Stanley Cup playing at a Conn Smythe level and there's no ego, just wanting to celebrate with teammates. Whatever kind of character that is, I wish we had it.

 

[HamiltonNHL]

Better luck next year Mitch

 

[A1LeafNation]

If he doesn't have a big year (regular season and playoffs), why are we keeping him?

 

[BrannigansLaw]

Is it realistic to expect Mitch Marner to be able to play a hard, tenacious, gritty game that Brayden Point was able to en route to the Stanley Cup this past season?

He will when he stops being so immature and gets tired of losing. Same goes for Matthews and Nylander.

Hopefully they’ve had their fill of embarrassments by this point.

 

[HamiltonNHL]

If he doesn't have a big year (regular season and playoffs), why are we keeping him?

To justify his contract

 

[stickty111]

Mitch is one of the biggest people at fault on why people say this team lacks character. You demand Matthews money despite being a worse player by a good amount, and even when the GM is offering you player friendly overpayment deals, you turn that down and start complaining and insulting the team through the media. You finally accept a huge overpayment, and you make a "I love Toronto" video soon after?
You show up and don't play really close to expectations and your contract. Mitch has a lot of maturing to do.
This is a huge season for him.

 

[swint]

Legitimate question: How many people here think Marner will put up 100+ pts next season? (Assuming they play a full 82-game schedule)

 

[nuck]

Is it realistic to expect Mitch Marner to be able to play a hard, tenacious, gritty game that Brayden Point was able to en route to the Stanley Cup this past season?

He is a flea so gritty like Gilmour may be out of the question but he can bring it like Pat Kane at least. He was sleepwalking a bit this year along with a number of his confused team mates but he had extended stretches the year before where he was able to dominate. It seems like people have forgotten what his A game looks like because we didn't see as much of it as we felt he owed us. Not a big fan of "on a pace for" but 59 games is a big sample and the guy "slumped" to what would have been a 22g 90pt season. Kane at age 23 had a 23g 66p season and then 0g and 4 assists in 6 playoff games. This is Marner's 23 year old season coming up. Yes the contract stuff pissed people off but lets not panic and assume he is topped out.

 

[Clark4Ever]

What is there left to say about Mitch? He’s overpaid and his negotiating tactics soured him to a lot of this fan base. If he wants any goodwill back he not only has to put up points (he’s basically required to put up 90+ year in and year out to justify his contract), but bring it every single night and bring other elements to the table besides his offensive prowess.. Most of all, he cannot be “disengaged” or giving it anything less than 100% in a playoff game.

He’s the highest paid winger in the league. That comes with expectations and it’s entirely his fault that he has those expectations on his shoulders. Prior to his contract signing the idea of trading him would’ve been unfathomable, but now given his lacklustre play, lack of urgency, and how much he counts against the cap, trading him isn’t so crazy anymore.

I hope he paid attention to how guys like Point played this postseason. An effective player to model himself after if he wants to have more of an impact in the playoffs than secondary assists and cute plays that lead to nowhere. And next time don’t come into Game 1 as anything but ready and rearing to go.

Well said, and I agree on all counts.

 

[WestCoastLeafs]

One of the franchises top all-time homegrown talents. Hopefully plays his entire career in Toronto.

There's nothing really more to add.

 

[kk87]

Legitimate question: How many people here think Marner will put up 100+ pts next season? (Assuming they play a full 82-game schedule)

Full season under Keefe? Tons of power play time? Pretty decent chance to be honest.

 

[Stephen]

He is a flea so gritty like Gilmour may be out of the question but he can bring it like Pat Kane at least. He was sleepwalking a bit this year along with a number of his confused team mates but he had extended stretches the year before where he was able to dominate. It seems like people have forgotten what his A game looks like because we didn't see as much of it as we felt he owed us. Not a big fan of "on a pace for" but 59 games is a big sample and the guy "slumped" to what would have been a 22g 90pt season. Kane at age 23 had a 23g 66p season and then 0g and 4 assists in 6 playoff games. This is Marner's 23 year old season coming up. Yes the contract stuff pissed people off but lets not panic and assume he is topped out.

Feels production is never a problem with Marner. Like the numbers pile up even when not accompanied by good play.

 

[Eternal Leaf]

He is a flea so gritty like Gilmour may be out of the question but he can bring it like Pat Kane at least. He was sleepwalking a bit this year along with a number of his confused team mates but he had extended stretches the year before where he was able to dominate. It seems like people have forgotten what his A game looks like because we didn't see as much of it as we felt he owed us. Not a big fan of "on a pace for" but 59 games is a big sample and the guy "slumped" to what would have been a 22g 90pt season. Kane at age 23 had a 23g 66p season and then 0g and 4 assists in 6 playoff games. This is Marner's 23 year old season coming up. Yes the contract stuff pissed people off but lets not panic and assume he is topped out.

Kane already had a cup in the bag by 22 on the shoulders of a legendary playoff performance.

 

[hamzarocks]

Kane already had a cup in the bag by 22 on the shoulders of a legendary playoff performance.

Patty kane in his D+6 ( 2013 lockout year) got his second cup and a smythe. Marner in his D+6 ( 2021) will be looking for his first playoff series win. Marner needs to up his effort and production come playoffs ( along with our other big players)

 

[nuck]

Feels production is never a problem with Marner. Like the numbers pile up even when not accompanied by good play.

I won't argue that it didn't deal feel like we had a 90pt guy this year but he was much more effective at everything two seasons ago and if this is his "off" year then I think his chances of a bounce back are better than not. Glass half full, remember how bad Willie licked the bag last year? A little less player turnover this year, no drama with the contract or the coach, and JT won't start the year with a broken finger. I am not a big Marner booster but I will be surprised if he doesn't do better.

 

[613Leafer]

Marner is a very good player.

The issue is the contract, and not only that, but the contract in the context of the other big forward contracts we have. I just don't see spending ~41M on four forwards while struggling to even put together ~20M for 7 defencemen to be a good use of capspace.

 

[nuck]

Kane already had a cup in the bag by 22 on the shoulders of a legendary playoff performance.

The point was that Kane, Marners closest analog, was not legendary in any area at 23 and he still had monster years ahead of him. Some people seem to be worried that this year is all Marner has.

 

[Stephen]

The point was that Kane, Marners closest analog, was not legendary in any area at 23 and he still had monster years ahead of him. Some people seem to be worried that this year is all Marner has.

Honestly, the more I watch Marner, the less I think he resembles Kane. Kane's game to me is defined by one thing, and that is ultimate control. The way he handles the puck, paces himself, dances on edge work, creates little gaps and separation, passes, shoots, etc. There's a level of precision and explosiveness to hims game. Marner's game can sometimes be described as creative genius, but the whole body of work is more chaotic and sloppy, and very careless. I think he lacks power, pound for pound. From a mechanics point of view, I find Nylander to be a much closer comparable to Kane, though his problem is sometimes you see him put in the work but doesn't get rewarded with a point the same way Marner does.

For me, I don't really care about Marner's point production that much. Like John Cooper said, the Lightning used to not be satisfied beating a team 3-0. They had to make it 9-0. Same thing when Marner's scoring 90 points. Like how much of it is useful in a close game, and are they timely? That's the key.