Is Marner the best passer in the league

[frizzer1]

There's the physical act of passing the puck and there's the art of passing it to the open man in position to score.
I don't know where marner stands on the former, but on the latter he's elite.

 

[kesleaf]

I think OP meant passing to his own team.

Lmao

 

[Puckstuff]

Kessel is really good at setting up goals too. Insane vision.

McDavid
Crosby
Gaudreau
Giroux
Kucherov
Kessel
Marner
Backstrom
Karlsson
Thornton

 

[The Best Leafs Ever]

Certainly top 5, but the best is debatable and maybe with time he might be the best passer in the league. This is just the 3rd season he is playing in NHL.

 

[BorntoLose]

He should really rack up the Assists this year im guessing 65+ playing with JT + the crazy PP. Tops in my mind recently are Barzal and Kuznetsov

 

[Glenn Isildur Healy]

I'm gonna leave this below

 

[DDRhockey]

He's up there, but not the best. We'll see how he does this season, but at this point I think these guys are more proven playmakers.

Thornton
Gaudreau
Voracek
Wheeler
Klingberg
Karlsson
Crosby

Backstrom

 

[mallory67]

I'm gonna leave this below

You almost had it. This one is much harder and is, I think, Marner's best:

 

[The_Chosen_One]

McDavid isn't the best passer. At least, not the way I would define his skillset. He's simply great at creating plays with his speed for simple tap-ins. That's what makes him the best player in the world.

When I think of a good passer, I think of someone who can pick people out even from a standstill or on the move. Whether it involves a saucer pass, shot pass, or a flip over the top. Thornton or H. Sedin would be examples of this in their heyday.

As for Marner, I wouldn't say he is the best, but his vision on the PP is ridiculously good. You'll never see Marner telegraph his passes (something Willy was guilty of last season), which makes Matthews/Tavares even scarier.

Agree. McDavid is the best skater in the NHL by far and it has to do with how he generates momentum. His stride is perfect, clean, very efficient and I'd say skating is a critical part of his game.

Marner, in contrast, is more of an orthodox passer, i.e. Gretzky, Savard, Thornton or even Scott Gomez and if we're going to throw in defensemen, Leech and Pronger. These types of players are defined by their passing and it's true that Pronger was insanely physical, producing beautiful passes from a standstill was natural to him. Now does that mean Marner is the best in the league? I'm not so sure about that yet. Easily top 10, though.

 

[HamiltonNHL]

Starting to get some muscles too.

 

[Damisoph]

idk about that but he's without a doubt our best playmaker. The kid's got vision

 

[Prospero]

I think Mitch is a premier passer, but he needs to be a scorer of great goals (as opposed to a great goal scorer) to open things up on the ice for his passing.

 

[Antropovsky]

I think Mitch is a premier passer, but he needs to be a scorer of great goals (as opposed to a great goal scorer) to open things up on the ice for his passing.

To date... isn't Marner meeting that expectation? I find that he will score a dazzling goal here and there (Detroit Winter Classic)(Reimer Goal)... but generally speaking his goal scoring ability doesn't seem to be great.

 

[Prospero]

He's scored some absolute dandies, but it's clear his passing is his strength. A YouTube video of Marner's best passes might be 10x longer than the goals. I think he would benefit from feigning the pass and shooting short side more often. His opponents have him typecast as a passer only.

 

[Optimist]

He's my favorite Leaf, and of course is one of the best passers in the league. But he is still prone to passing the puck to where nobody is within 20' of it. Those kind of passes ensure that I have no fingernails left at the end of a game..

 

[moon111]

Marner in the 80's offensive-era would be incredible.

 

[ULF_55]

There must be a stat for this somewhere?

Or do we have to be subjective?

Is CBD the best supplement that exists?

 

[Myopic]

There's no doubt Marner is a premier point producer in the league. That said he is soft as butter and is a black hole (floater) in his own end. He does not deserve to be paid more than David Pastrnak at 6.75M/year.

I hope the kid doesn't demand $8M-$9M after Matthews gets his $12M/yr deal.

 

[ACC1224]

There's no doubt Marner is a premier point producer in the league. That said he is soft as butter and is a black hole (floater) in his own end. He does not deserve to be paid more than David Pastrnak at 6.75M/year.

I hope the kid doesn't demand $8M-$9M after Matthews gets his $12M/yr deal.

Marner wears 16.

 

[Tak7]

No, he's not.

Giroux / McDavid / Barzal / Voracek / Kucherov / Crosby, to name a few.

He's an elite level passer, but he's not the best. Not yet.

 

[Myopic]

Marner wears 16.

Thanks, I'm not interested in buying his jersey. I'm an adult.

 

[jfc64]

Among the 50 best.

 

[MapleLeafs77]

No. Crosby. Enough said.

 

[ACC1224]

Thanks, I'm not interested in buying his jersey. I'm an adult.

Congrats, you do seem quite mature.

 

[ABCUser]

Gretzky was Gretzky.

But Marner ... on the power play ...

Look, last season, I don't know about you guys or gals, every time Marner was on the power play, I was talking to the TV, give it to Marner! Give it to Marner!

Gretzky did not overpower anyone with his speed or shot. But he anticipated better than anyone, and out deek you always.

That's Marner on the power play, last year and right now. Also when he plays with Kadri there is some of that.

This is what is really encouraging too, which is what happened last night.

Matthews on the other side of the ice, he was beginning to do his own Marner thing too.

Holy S***!

That's why Micky Redmond was saying, oh no not again!

Because we were all thinking the same thing, oh wow, they did it again!

I get your encouragement but it's always a bad idea to put Marner, or any player not named Lemieux, in the same sentence with the Great one.
Mitch is averaging .57 assists or roughly 47 assists a year. The other guy is around 1.32 a game or 108 a year. Not quite 3X the difference but you get the idea.

No, he's not.

Giroux / McDavid / Barzal / Voracek / Kucherov / Crosby, to name a few.

He's an elite level passer, but he's not the best. Not yet.

Agreed, he's getting there but an objective post.